Lost your authenticator or phone

A correct password may still leave you at a verification screen. Start with the backup sign-in methods you set up earlier, then use the account provider’s recovery process if none remain.

Open the service’s real sign-in page and look for Try another way, Use a backup code, or its recovery help. The choices depend on what you enrolled before losing the device. These steps assume the account is yours.

Start with backup sign-in methods, check authenticator recovery, or go to setting up your replacement device if you are already back in.

Try a sign-in method you still have

• An unused backup code. Look where you saved the codes for this particular account: your password manager, a secure printout, or your own saved recovery file. Choose the backup-code option on the service’s sign-in page.
• Another registered device or key. The service may let you use an already signed-in device, a previously enrolled security key, or a passkey available on another device you own.
• A backup phone number. If you registered another number, choose it when the service offers a text or voice call. If you still own the lost phone’s number, your carrier may be able to transfer it to a replacement SIM or phone after its identity checks.

Use a backup code for the right account

For Google, sign in and choose Try another way, then the option to enter a backup code. Use an unused code from that Google Account’s saved set. Google’s backup-code instructions explain that each code works once and that generating a new set invalidates the old set. Other services have their own code formats and rules.

Enter a recovery code only in the official sign-in flow you opened. A code for one account cannot unlock another. If the only copy is inside an account you cannot access, try another enrolled method.

Check whether your authenticator can be restored

Installing the app again is only the first step. A usable backup or earlier synchronisation must exist, and you must be able to unlock the account that holds it.

• Google Authenticator. If you saved its codes to your Google Account, sign in to that same account in Authenticator on the new device. If you used it without an account, manual transfer needs the old device. Follow Google’s Authenticator recovery and transfer instructions.
• Microsoft Authenticator. Follow Microsoft’s restore instructions for your existing backup. Restore is limited to the same device type: iOS to iOS or Android to Android. Some entries need a fresh sign-in; work or school accounts restore only the account name and must be verified again.
• Other authenticator apps. Check the app maker’s official backup and restore guidance. If a backup requires a password or recovery key you have lost, use the affected service’s recovery process.

For a Google Account

Google’s lost-phone and two-step verification help lists the available alternatives, including a previously registered key, another signed-in phone, or a passkey on another device. Special security programmes can restrict the choices. If none of the methods offered works, use Google Account recovery.

For an Apple Account

Apple’s usual verification codes come from trusted Apple devices or trusted phone numbers. On the code screen, choose Didn’t Get a Code? or Can’t get to your devices? to see alternatives. If the number is permanently unavailable, choose the option saying you cannot use it and follow the recovery steps. See Apple’s verification-code instructions.

Recovery contacts, recovery keys, and waiting periods need separate care. Our Apple and Google account recovery guide explains those routes, including Apple’s instructions about device use while a recovery request is pending.

For a work or school account

Contact your organisation’s help desk using its usual directory or support portal. Ask for the approved process to reset your authentication registration. The administrator will need to verify your identity; an authenticator backup alone may not restore access.

Re-enrol and test your replacement device

1. Register the replacement in account settings

   After recovery, open the service’s security settings and follow its process to add or replace an authenticator, phone, passkey, or security key. Complete any confirmation code it requests. Some services impose a delay before a new method can be used.

2. Check that the new method works

   Where the service allows, test a fresh sign-in while keeping a secure recovery session available. Complete a sign-in using the new method before removing your only working backup. Follow the service’s instructions if replacement happens in a single flow.

3. Revoke access from the lost device

   Use each service’s settings to remove lost authentication methods and revoke lost-device sessions. If the phone may be in someone else’s hands, also use the device maker’s official lost-device controls promptly. Removing an app entry alone does not revoke the service’s registered factor.

4. Store a separate recovery option

   Generate replacement backup codes where supported and keep them somewhere you can reach without the main phone. Add another recovery method the service allows, and review your recovery email and phone number.

Reduce dependence on one phone

Where supported, a passkey can replace a password and a separate code at sign-in. It still needs a recovery plan: access may depend on a device, security key, or the account that synchronises it. Start with our guide to passwordless sign-in and check each service’s options before changing your setup.

For more on choosing sign-in methods and planning for a lost device, login.com offers guides to passkeys, authenticators, and account recovery, alongside links to official sign-in destinations.

Instructions checked against vendor guidance on 12 September 2026.