Google Authenticator - Moving to a new phone.

warren_1979 · 11 Jun 2019 at 10:18

Hi.

It seems all the guides on the internet for moving GA to a new phone are incorrect. I cannot find for the life of me find a 'change phone' option for GA in my Google security settings. According to all the guides it should be there but it is not.

So how do I do this then without losing access to all my 2FA sites? From what I can gather I will need to log into all the sites that use 2FA and disable this service, then log into my google account and disable 2FA for my Google account, then set everything up from scratch from the new device. This is nuts! It is also easy to screw this up and have the headache of trying to contact customer support for each site in order to gain access again.

Is this correct or am I reading this wrong?

Cromulent · 11 Jun 2019 at 11:28

I can't help with using Google Authenticator, but if you switch over to use Authy, it syncs all of your 2FA in the cloud so you can easily switch to a different device. I'm not sure if you can import from Google Authenticator though.

HecFam · 11 Jun 2019 at 11:39

I recently swapped phones and had to do exactly that, log into each site, disable 2fa and re-enable it using the code onto my new phone.

I searched for an option of transferring it but never found one. I think I only have 8 2FA accounts registered in my authenticator, so wasn't the end of the world, but certainly wasn't great.

Big Elf · 11 Jun 2019 at 11:49

Go to the 2FA page and get some codes using the 'Backup Codes' option which you can use if you only have a single device. You can use the Authenticator on multiple phones using the 'Add phone' option as long as you set them all up at the same time as it necessitates scanning a QR Code for the initial setup. I have 3 phones and a Tablet setup at the same time. You shouldn't need to disable 2FA.

I don't know whether this link will work but try https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification

grudas · 11 Jun 2019 at 12:00

there is no way of transferring to a new phone sadly..

you gotta disable on each side, enable, use new device.. done..

so if you got loads then have fun :|

warren_1979 · 11 Jun 2019 at 13:05

Thanks. What a pain in the backside. I think I'll look into Authy going forward.

Big Elf · 11 Jun 2019 at 13:23

Have you looked at the settings I posted?

grudas · 11 Jun 2019 at 15:41

Big Elf said:
Have you looked at the settings I posted?

that gives you access/option to change phone for your google account surely? nothing to do with all the other accounts.

Randomface74 · 11 Jun 2019 at 15:42

This is why 2fa blows.

Big Elf · 11 Jun 2019 at 16:05

grudas said:
that gives you access/option to change phone for your google account surely? nothing to do with all the other accounts.

Doesn't it resync with all accounts after adding a new device?

warren_1979 · 11 Jun 2019 at 17:05

Big Elf said:
Doesn't it resync with all accounts after adding a new device?

No I don't think it does.

silk186 · 11 Jun 2019 at 17:08

I switched to Authy for this reason.
The easiest way is to disable and re-enable 2FA with Authy on each site.

EssexBoy · 11 Jun 2019 at 17:12

If prefer this strict policy to prevent access.

Big Elf · 11 Jun 2019 at 17:38

warren_1979 said:
No I don't think it does.

While I'm not 100% certain and don't have it set up now but I used Google Authenticator with my Microsoft Account. I'm pretty certain I switched or added phones at the time and didn't have any problems. It just authenticates a new phone (and re-authenticates the old phone if required) when you set up the 'Add Phone' option. I can't see why Google would make it difficult to use their Authenticator app in all/most scenarios.

I think you're making it unnecessarily hard on yourselves if you don't even try this option first.

Broken Hope · 11 Jun 2019 at 20:49

billysielu said:
This is why 2fa blows.

You mean this is why Google Authenticator blows right? Since there are plenty of apps that will store the 2FA seed in the cloud and you can use it on whatever devices you want.

ping8781 · 12 Jun 2019 at 11:55

Is this any use??

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/move-google-authenticator-from-one-android-device-to-another/

Scam · 12 Jun 2019 at 18:14

billysielu said:
This is why 2fa blows.

Except it's generally regarded by most experts as the definitively best "tool" a person or organisation can implement to safeguard accounts/credentials. In fact it was Google themselves that posted that a week or so ago.

Cromulent · 13 Jun 2019 at 04:23

I will add one thing. If you looking for the best 2FA you can get then buy yourself a Yubikey. If you get the NFC version then it works on Android as well as Windows, MacOS and Linux.