How to Use the Google Authenticator App

What does Google Authenticator do?

Google Authenticator generates time-based verification codes that you enter after your password when signing in to a connected account. To use the Google Authenticator app, connect an account once, then open the app and enter its current six-digit code on that account’s verification screen.

Two-step verification is a security method that requires a second check in addition to a password. Google Authenticator creates that second check on your phone, so a supported account can use a code even when the phone has no cellular service or internet connection.

Google Authenticator does not send codes by text message. The changing code displayed beside an account name is the code to use. Each provider controls its own security settings, backup methods, and account recovery.

How do I install the official Google Authenticator app?

Install Google Authenticator from the built-in app store on a compatible Android device, iPhone, or iPad. Avoid download pages, file-sharing sites, and apps with similar names.

1. Open the official app store on the mobile device.
2. Search for “Google Authenticator.”
3. Check the app name, Google branding, developer or publisher information, permissions, and store listing before installing it. The listing should identify Google as the developer.
4. Install the app and open it.
5. Follow the opening prompts. If the app offers Google Account synchronization, decide whether to sign in or continue without synchronization.

Installing Google Authenticator does not automatically connect existing accounts. Each service must be added from that service’s own two-step verification settings.

How do I connect an account to Google Authenticator?

To connect an account, start on the account provider’s security page, not inside Google Authenticator. Look for options named two-step verification, two-factor authentication, authenticator app, or verification app.

1. Sign in to the account you want to protect and open its security settings.
2. Select the option to add or set up an authenticator app.
3. Keep the displayed QR code or setup key on the screen.
4. Open Google Authenticator and select the option to add a code.
5. Choose “Scan a QR code” and point the phone’s camera at the code. If scanning is unavailable, choose “Enter a setup key” and carefully type the account name and key supplied by the provider.
6. Google Authenticator will display a changing code. Enter that code on the provider’s setup screen to confirm the connection.
7. Save any backup codes supplied by the account provider in a secure place separate from the phone.

A setup key is the secret string that allows Google Authenticator to generate codes for one account. Do not share a QR code, setup key, current code, or backup code with anyone.

How do I use a Google Authenticator code to sign in?

If you are asking “how do I use Google Authenticator app,” the immediate answer is to open the app, find the entry matching the service and username, and type its current code into the service’s verification field.

1. Enter the username and password on the service’s normal sign-in screen.
2. When the service requests an authenticator or verification code, open Google Authenticator.
3. Find the account entry that matches the service and the username being used.
4. Enter the displayed six-digit code before it changes.
5. If the code changes while you are typing, use the new code and submit it promptly.

The countdown indicator shows how long the current code remains valid. A Google Authenticator code is not a password and should be entered only on the verification screen for the account it belongs to.

How do I transfer Google Authenticator codes to a new phone?

Transfer Google Authenticator accounts before erasing, resetting, exchanging, or giving away the old phone. Keep both devices available until you confirm that the new phone generates accepted codes.

Depending on how Google Authenticator was configured, codes may synchronize through the same Google Account or may need to be moved with the app’s transfer feature. Synchronization and manual transfer are different methods.

1. Install the official Google Authenticator app on the new phone.
2. If codes were synchronized, sign in to the same Google Account in Google Authenticator and check whether the entries appear.
3. For a manual move, open the transfer or export option on the old phone and select the accounts to transfer.
4. On the new phone, choose the import option and scan the transfer QR code shown by the old phone.
5. Test sign-in for important accounts using codes from the new phone.
6. Confirm that backup codes and other approved sign-in methods remain available before resetting the old device.

A transfer QR code contains sensitive account information. Scan it privately, do not save or share an image of it, and remove account data from the old device only after testing the new one.

What should I do when a Google Authenticator code does not work?

A rejected Google Authenticator code usually means the code expired, the wrong account entry was selected, the phone’s time is incorrect, or the provider’s authenticator setup changed.

• Rejected code: Wait for a fresh code, verify the username and service shown in Google Authenticator, and enter the new code without spaces. Do not reuse an older code.
• Incorrect device time: Turn on automatic date, time, and time zone in the phone’s settings, then reopen Google Authenticator and try a fresh code.
• Missing account: Check whether Google Authenticator is using the expected Google Account. If the entry was never synchronized or transferred, use a backup method approved by the account provider.
• QR code unavailable: Return to the provider’s two-step verification settings. The provider may offer a setup key or require the old authenticator connection to be removed and configured again after identity verification.
• Old phone unavailable: Try a saved backup code, security key, trusted device, or another recovery method previously enabled for that account.
• No recovery method works: Follow the affected service’s account-recovery or support process. Google cannot restore access to every third-party account, because the account provider controls verification and recovery.

Never disable security or follow instructions that claim to bypass two-step verification. If someone asks for a Google Authenticator code, setup key, transfer QR code, or backup code, do not provide it.