Authenticator

[benualson]

Planning on resetting my Lumia 928. I have several sites in my Authenticator app. Do I need to go disable 2FA on all of those sites and re-enable after reset? Or, are those backed up somehow to my MS account? From what I have read, I'll have to disable/enable unless I had saved the QR codes which if I had I could rescan.

Thanks.

 

[gpobernardo]

Planning on resetting my Lumia 928. I have several sites in my Authenticator app. Do I need to go disable 2FA on all of those sites and re-enable after reset? Or, are those backed up somehow to my MS account? From what I have read, I'll have to disable/enable unless I had saved the QR codes which if I had I could rescan.

Thanks.

Just to be sure, it may be better to disable two-step authentication first before performing the reset since the sites stored in the Authenticator app doesn't seem to be saved anywhere - mine got erased when I transferred phones. I didn't disable two-step authentication since I have more than one means of generating/accessing codes (authenticator, email, SMS).

 

[xandros9]

Planning on resetting my Lumia 928. I have several sites in my Authenticator app. Do I need to go disable 2FA on all of those sites and re-enable after reset? Or, are those backed up somehow to my MS account? From what I have read, I'll have to disable/enable unless I had saved the QR codes which if I had I could rescan.

Thanks.

When I reset, I open all those sites and pretend I moved to a new device.

Disabling it first then reenabling them is probably safer though.
They are not saved to your account.

Cool, I never thought of saving the QR codes! That's a great idea! I will try that next time.

 

[benualson]

Got it done. Turned off 2FA on all my accounts for the reset. Thanks!

 

[lyubomeer]

Sorry for off-topic, kind of. But I've got almost the same question.

I just found this app in store, called 2FA, for 2 factor authentciation used for many sites. Was wondering if it is secure and if it has backup to onedrive, it means I always can restore that backup, even if my phone bricks, or smth. Am I right? Thanks in advance for your responses

 

[eusty]

Instead of using 'somebodies' 2FA app why not use the Microsoft one?

https://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/authenticator/e7994dbc-2336-4950-91ba-ca22d653759b

 

[benualson]

Instead of using 'somebodies' 2FA app why not use the Microsoft one?

Agreed

 

[lyubomeer]

Does it have a backup tho?

 

[hotphil]

IIRC, you have to regenerate the codes after a reset/fresh install.

 

[xandros9]

Does it have a backup tho?

No, unfortunately.

 

[hotphil]

I just found this app in store, called 2FA, for 2 factor authentciation used for many sites. Was wondering if it is secure and if it has backup to onedrive, it means I always can restore that backup, even if my phone bricks, or smth. Am I right? Thanks in advance for your responses

​It says it will sync settings across devices, so I guess there may be some kind of cloud backup in there.
​My concern would be I can't see how it's supported - it's free, doesn't seem to have ads and yet I'll be giving them all my login info. So the only way they can make money is by using/selling my info(?). That concerns me.

 

[lyubomeer]

​It says it will sync settings across devices, so I guess there may be some kind of cloud backup in there.
​My concern would be I can't see how it's supported - it's free, doesn't seem to have ads and yet I'll be giving them all my login info. So the only way they can make money is by using/selling my info(?). That concerns me.

Could be.

 

[lyubomeer]

IIRC, you have to regenerate the codes after a reset/fresh install.

Are there any other trusted workin authenticator apps on the market with more features than the Microsoft one?

 

[Richard Culverhouse]

Are we talking about the Microsoft app? Anyone know how to recover the password?

 

[hotphil]

What do you mean by "the password"?

 

[lyubomeer]

​It says it will sync settings across devices, so I guess there may be some kind of cloud backup in there.
​My concern would be I can't see how it's supported - it's free, doesn't seem to have ads and yet I'll be giving them all my login info. So the only way they can make money is by using/selling my info(?). That concerns me.

There's actually an IAP for .99$ to unlock more than 3 account backup to OneDrive or dropbox(afaik). Does it seem legit?

 

[noersetiawan]

What will happen if you lose the only mean to generate the authentication code and have no logged in device whatsoever? Are you locked out of your account with no way to get it back?

 

[lyubomeer]

What will happen if you lose the only mean to generate the authentication code and have no logged in device whatsoever? Are you locked out of your account with no way to get it back?

There will be a way to restore it, afaik. Like another email/phone/security info. Not 100% sure tho

 

[hotphil]

Yep, you just use the backup email/phone/password or whatever to get back in.
​The concept of two-factor authentication rocks. If anyone's not using it for a service that supports it, you probably should consider it.

 

[hotphil]

There's actually an IAP for .99$ to unlock more than 3 account backup to OneDrive or dropbox(afaik). Does it seem legit?

That makes me less suspicious then.
I'm always wary of who I give information to. I've not heard of those dudes before so can't really form an opinion of if they're legit or not.
Being legit is no defense against being hacked and having user info stolen.
Now I'm starting to sound paranoid.​