I constantly read stories online of people losing their phones or moving on to new ones before finding out that they have lost access to their 2-FA apps.
This can lead to a lot of pain and effort as people will be locked out of all of their wallets and exchanges.
This post is to remind and encourage you to back up your 2-FA apps as soon as possible to avoid any future headache.
1) Google Authenticator
- Firstly open up your Google Authenticator app
- When you are on the page, click on the 3 dots in the top right
- Click on 'Export Accounts'
- You will get a pop up saying how you can export it to 10 accounts - click continue
- You can then choose which websites you want to export - I suggest doing them all. Then click 'Export' in the bottom right corner.
- This is when a QR code will pop up
You can now scan this with the Google Authenticator on a different device.
Another thing you can do is screenshot the QR code. After this you could print out the page and keep your physical copy of your QR code safe. You could also keep the screenshot of the QR code somewhere safe.
Though it must be emphasized how important it is that you keep the QR code safe and secure since it is the key to your 2-FA and to your exchanges.
2) Microsoft Authenticator
- Open up your Microsoft Authenticator app
- Click on the three 'bars' in the top left
- Go on 'settings'
- Activate iCloud backup
To do this you will need a Microsoft account to act as your recovery account. Also you will need to have an iCloud account if you are using IOS. For a much more detailed report on how to back up and recover your Microsoft Account, check out: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/user-help/user-help-auth-app-backup-recovery
Thank you for reading, and make sure to back up your 2-FA apps if you haven't already. It could save you a lot of time and pain in the future!
