Switching phones is when two-factor codes go missing. To transfer Google Authenticator to a new phone, use the app's own Transfer accounts export while you still have the old phone, or turn on Google account sync. Do it before you reset, trade in or sell the old device.

Before you start

  • Keep the old phone switched on and unlocked until the new one shows working codes.
  • Update Google Authenticator on both phones.
  • Find the recovery codes each website gave you when you set up 2FA. They are your backup if the transfer fails.

Method 1: Transfer accounts with a QR code

  1. Install Google Authenticator on the new phone.
  2. On the old phone, open Google Authenticator and tap the menu, then Transfer accounts, then Export accounts.
  3. Select the accounts to move. The app shows a QR code (for many accounts it splits them across several codes).
  4. On the new phone, choose Import existing accounts and scan each QR code.
  5. Open a few of your sites and check that the new codes are accepted before you touch the old phone.

Anyone who can scan these QR codes can copy your secrets, so do this in private and do not take a screenshot of them.

Method 2: Google account sync

Recent versions of Google Authenticator can save your codes to your Google account. If you turned sync on, install the app on the new phone, sign in with the same Google account and your accounts appear. If you are not sure it was on, use Method 1 while you still have the old phone.

Method 3: Re-enroll in another 2FA app

The Transfer accounts export only works between Google Authenticator installs. To move your codes to a different app, including the built-in authenticator in a password manager, you add each account again from the website's own 2FA settings:

  1. Sign in to the site and open its Security or Two-factor authentication settings.
  2. Choose to set up a new authenticator app. The site shows a QR code and usually a text key.
  3. Scan the QR code in the new app, or paste the key.
  4. Enter the six-digit code to confirm, and save the new recovery codes.
  5. Only then remove the account from Google Authenticator.

It takes about a minute per site. In DroidPass, open Authenticator, tap + and choose Scan QR code or Enter manually (or, inside a login, use Add Another Field and pick One-time password (2FA)). The app then shows a six-digit code that refreshes every 30 seconds, and tapping it copies it. The free plan includes one 2FA code; moving many accounts needs Pro, which has unlimited codes. The full walk-through is in our guide to the best Google Authenticator alternatives, and DroidPass's built-in authenticator shows the codes next to the matching login.

If you already lost the old phone

You cannot export from a phone you no longer have. Sign in to each site another way and use the backup code you saved when you set up 2FA, then set up a new authenticator. If a site has no backup code, its support team has to verify you before they reset 2FA. Google accounts also let you sign in with other verification methods you added earlier.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer Google Authenticator to a new phone without the old one?

No. The export needs the old phone. Without it you have to use each site's backup codes or account recovery, then set up 2FA again on the new phone.

Does Google Authenticator back up to the cloud?

Recent versions can sync your codes to your Google account when you sign in and turn sync on. If you are not sure it was enabled, export with Transfer accounts while you still have the old phone.

Can I move Google Authenticator codes into DroidPass?

Not by importing the export QR code. DroidPass scans the standard 2FA setup QR code a website shows, so each account is added again from that site's own security settings.