How to Use the Authy App After Changing Phones

Changing your phone is always an exciting moment, but it can also bring a few challenges, especially when it comes to transferring essential apps like Authy, which you use for two-factor authentication (2FA). Fortunately, Authy makes it easy to move your 2FA accounts to your new phone. This guide will walk you through the process on both iPhone and Android devices.

Step 1: Prepare Your Old Phone

If you still have access to your old phone, you'll want to make sure it’s ready for the transfer. Authy syncs your 2FA tokens across devices using your phone number and an Authy account. This means you don’t need to worry about losing access to your tokens as long as you can verify your identity.

1. Open the Authy app on your old phone.
2. Make sure multi-device support is enabled. To check, go to Settings (gear icon) in the app, tap on Devices, and ensure the Allow Multi-device option is turned on.

Step 2: Install Authy on Your New Phone

Once your old phone is prepared, the next step is to set up Authy on your new device.

1. Go to the App Store (for iPhone) or Google Play Store (for Android) and download the Authy app.
2. Open the app and enter your phone number associated with your Authy account.
3. Authy will send a verification code to your phone number via SMS or a voice call, or you can use your old device to approve the new one.
4. After verification, your 2FA tokens will automatically sync to your new phone from the Authy cloud.

Step 3: Disable Multi-device (Optional)

To enhance security, you might want to disable the multi-device feature after setting up Authy on your new phone.

1. On your new phone, open the Authy app.
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) and tap on Devices.
3. Toggle off the Allow Multi-device option.

Step 4: Remove Authy from the Old Phone (Optional)

Once you’ve confirmed that all your 2FA tokens are working on your new phone, you may want to remove the Authy app from your old device to prevent unauthorized access.

1. Simply uninstall the Authy app from your old phone.
2. If multi-device is still enabled and you want to keep it, you can also remove the old device from the list in the Devices section of the Authy app on your new phone.

Final Thoughts

Transferring your Authy app to a new phone is straightforward, thanks to the app's cloud-based syncing capabilities. Remember to verify that all your accounts are functioning correctly on your new device before uninstalling Authy from your old phone. This will ensure you maintain seamless access to your 2FA codes.

For more detailed instructions or troubleshooting, you can visit the Authy support page.