How to move your authenticator app to a new phone without getting locked out

The authenticator app is the one thing a phone backup often does not bring across. Erase or trade in the old phone before moving it and you can be locked out of email, banking and work accounts until each company verifies you, which can take days.

Move your authenticator before you erase the old phone. In Google Authenticator, either sign in to your Google Account so codes sync, or use Transfer accounts › Export accounts and scan the QR code with the new phone. In Microsoft Authenticator, turn on Cloud Backup (Android) or iCloud Backup (iPhone), then choose Begin recovery on the new phone. Test one code from each account before you wipe the old phone.

Google Authenticator

Option A: sync with your Google Account. Open Google Authenticator on the old phone. If you see your Google profile picture at the top and a cloud icon without a warning, your codes are already saved to your Google Account. On the new phone, install Google Authenticator, sign in with the same Google Account, and the codes appear.

Option B: transfer by QR code. Use this if you prefer not to sync codes to Google, or when moving between phones without signing in.

1. On the new phone, install Google Authenticator, tap Get started, then Import existing accounts?
2. On the old phone, open the app’s menu and tap Transfer accounts › Export accounts. Confirm with your PIN, fingerprint or face.
3. Select the accounts to move and tap Next. Larger lists produce more than one QR code.
4. On the new phone, tap Scan QR code and scan each code shown on the old phone (Google).

Both options work between iPhone and Android.

Microsoft Authenticator

1. On the old phone, open Microsoft Authenticator, open the menu and tap Settings.
2. Android: turn on Cloud Backup. iPhone: turn on iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain and iCloud Backup, then in Settings › your name › iCloud › Saved to iCloud, find Authenticator and turn it on. Backup uses a personal Microsoft account as the recovery account.
3. On the new phone, install Microsoft Authenticator and tap Begin recovery, then sign in with the same personal Microsoft account.
4. Some accounts, especially work or school ones, ask you to verify again before codes work.

Microsoft’s backups do not cross platforms: an iPhone backup cannot be restored on Android, or the other way round (Microsoft). When switching platforms, add each account again on the new phone from the account’s security settings.

Other authenticator apps

Authy, 1Password, Bitwarden Authenticator and others each have their own backup or sync. Open the app’s settings and look for Backup, Sync or Export, and turn it on before you change phones. If an app has none, add each account again from the account’s own security settings while the old phone still works.

Work and school accounts

Organizations often block cloud backup. Sign in to your account’s security info page on a computer (for Microsoft work accounts, mysignins.microsoft.com), add the new phone as a sign-in method, then remove the old one. Ask your IT team if anything fails.

Make the next move easier

• Save backup codes for important accounts (Google, Apple, Microsoft, your bank and email) in your password manager or a sealed envelope.
• Add a second method, such as a security key or a second phone number, where an account allows it.
• Write down where your authenticator lives for your family as part of a digital estate plan.

Once the codes work on the new phone, follow how to factory reset an iPhone or Android phone without losing data to wipe the old one.

If you already lost the old phone

1. Use backup codes if you saved them. Google, Microsoft, Apple and most banks offer one-time codes for exactly this.
2. Try another sign-in method on the account’s login screen, such as a text message, a security key or a trusted second device.
3. Use the account’s recovery process. Google, Microsoft and Apple each run account recovery; it can take several days while they verify you.
4. Contact the company for banks, brokerages and work accounts. Most can reset two-step verification after checking your identity.
5. Set up the new phone properly once you are back in: add it as the authenticator, then save fresh backup codes.

Which method suits you

Situation	Best method
Google Authenticator, happy to sync to Google	Sign in to your Google Account in the app
Google Authenticator, prefer no cloud sync	Transfer accounts › Export accounts by QR code
Microsoft Authenticator, iPhone to iPhone	iCloud backup, then Begin recovery
Microsoft Authenticator, Android to Android	Cloud Backup, then Begin recovery
Microsoft Authenticator, switching platforms	Add each account again from its security settings
Work or school account	Add the new phone at your organization’s security info page

Questions

Does a normal phone backup bring my authenticator codes across? Often not. Treat the authenticator as its own step every time you change phones.

Is syncing codes to my Google Account safe? It protects you against losing the phone, but anyone who gets into your Google Account could see the codes. Protect that account with a strong password and a second sign-in method.

Can I keep the authenticator on two phones? Google Authenticator’s QR export can copy codes to a second phone. That gives you a backup, but keep the second phone secure.

What about passkeys? Passkeys saved in iCloud Keychain or Google Password Manager follow your account to the new phone. Passkeys stored only in an app such as Microsoft Authenticator may need to be set up again on the new phone, so check before erasing the old one.

Steps checked against Google and Microsoft help pages in November 2026. App menus change; if a label differs, look for Transfer, Export or Backup in the app’s menu.

Sources

• Google Account Help: Transfer Google Authenticator codes to a new Android device
• Microsoft Learn: Transfer Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone