How to Transfer Google Authenticator to a New Phone Without Losing Codes

To transfer Google Authenticator safely, first establish whether you still have the old phone and whether your codes are synchronized to a Google Account. If they are synchronized, install Authenticator on the replacement phone, sign in to the same Google Account and confirm that every entry appears. If the codes are stored only on the old device, use Authenticator’s QR-code transfer while that phone still works. If the old phone is unavailable and the entries were not synchronized, reinstalling the app will not restore them; recover access through each protected service instead.

Choose the correct transfer path

Your situation	What to do
Old phone available and codes synchronized	Sign in to the same Google Account on the new phone, verify the complete list and test important accounts.
Old phone available but codes stored only on the device	Export codes from the old phone and scan the transfer QR code with the new phone.
Unsure whether codes are synchronized	Try the correct Google Account on the new phone first. If entries are missing, keep the old phone intact and use the QR-code transfer.
Old phone lost, broken or erased and codes synchronized	Sign in to the correct Google Account in Authenticator, using another Google sign-in method if necessary.
Old phone unavailable and codes stored only on the device	Use backup methods or account recovery separately for every protected service.

Authenticator can generate codes for a Google Account and for unrelated services such as an email provider, bank, shopping account or workplace portal. Signing in to Google Authenticator on another phone restores only entries that were saved to the Google Account used for synchronization. It cannot restore device-only entries.

Before starting, update Google Authenticator on both phones where possible. Synchronization requires version 6.0 or later on Android or version 4.0 or later on iPhone. Google’s Authenticator instructions for synchronizing and transferring codes explain the supported cloud-sync and QR-code methods.

Check whether your Authenticator codes are synchronized

On the old phone, open Google Authenticator and check the profile icon at the top right of the home screen. If it shows a Google Account photo, initial or email address, tap it and note the exact account. Authenticator can display codes synchronized with multiple Google Accounts on one device, so remembering only that you were “signed in to Google” is not enough.

If the app offers Use without an account, or you selected that option previously, the displayed codes may be stored only on the device. Choosing that option after saving codes to a Google Account removes those codes from the connected Google Accounts and keeps them on the device instead.

The practical synchronization test is on the replacement phone:

1. Install the latest Google Authenticator app from the official app store.
2. Open it and sign in with the exact Google Account shown on the old phone.
3. Wait for the list to load, then compare service names and usernames on both devices.
4. If you use more than one Google Account, tap the profile icon, select Add another account and check each likely account.
5. Do not erase the old phone merely because some entries appear. Confirm that the complete expected list is present.

If nothing appears, check whether you selected Use without an account on the new phone. Also confirm that you did not sign in with a personal Gmail address when the entries were saved under a different personal, work or school Google Account.

Hypothetical example one: Maya sees her personal Google Account in Authenticator on her old iPhone. On her new Android phone, she first signs in with her work account, so no entries appear. After she adds her personal account, the synchronized entries load. She does not need a QR-code transfer, but she still tests important sign-ins before wiping the iPhone.

Transfer codes during a planned phone upgrade

When both phones are available, leave the old phone powered on and unchanged until the migration has been checked. Do not factory-reset it at the carrier shop or hand it to a trade-in service immediately after copying photos and contacts.

If the codes are synchronized

1. Install Authenticator on the new iPhone or Android phone.
2. Sign in with the same Google Account used in the old app.
3. Add any other Google Accounts that may hold additional entries.
4. Compare the full list with the old phone, including usernames where one service has multiple logins.
5. Test critical accounts, starting with primary email, password-manager, financial and workplace accounts.

For a meaningful test, use another browser or computer to start a fresh sign-in, then enter a current code from the new phone before it expires. Do not sign out of every trusted session at once: an existing signed-in session may be the fallback if a code fails.

If the codes are stored only on the device

Google’s current transfer flow uses the same broad menu labels on supported phones. On the old phone, open Authenticator and select Menu > Transfer codes > Export codes. Unlock the phone when prompted, select the accounts to transfer and continue until a QR code appears.

On the new phone, open Authenticator. During setup, select Scan QR code; if you are already at the app’s main screen, use Menu > Transfer codes > Import codes. Scan the QR code shown on the old phone. Authenticator should confirm that the entries were transferred.

A larger export can create more than one QR code. Scan every code in the displayed sequence. If scanning repeatedly fails, cancel the export and transfer a smaller group of accounts. Increase the old phone’s screen brightness, reduce glare, clean the new phone’s camera lens, keep the entire code visible and confirm that Authenticator has camera permission. Never send screenshots of a transfer QR code by email or messaging app, because the code contains the information needed to generate verification codes.

Hypothetical example two: Daniel chose Use without an account on his Android phone and has twenty-four entries. His first export creates several QR codes, but one will not scan from a cracked display. He cancels the export and transfers six accounts at a time, checking each group on the new iPhone before continuing.

Prepare backups before wiping or trading in the old phone

An entry appearing in Authenticator does not prove that you can recover the account later. Complete this checklist before resetting the old device:

• Compare the old and new Authenticator lists, including duplicate service names and different usernames.
• Test every critical account and at least one account from each QR-code transfer batch.
• Confirm that the new phone’s date, time and time zone are set automatically.
• Save fresh backup codes for your Google Account and for important third-party services that offer them.
• Register another sign-in method where available, such as a passkey, security key, trusted device or recovery phone.
• Check that recovery email addresses and phone numbers are current.
• For work or school accounts, confirm access before returning company equipment or losing contact with the administrator.
• Keep backup codes somewhere other than the phone being replaced, such as a printed copy in a secure location or a suitably protected password manager.

Google Account backup codes are single-use. Google provides a set of ten codes, and creating a replacement set invalidates the old one. Other services manage their backup codes separately, so a Google backup code cannot unlock a third-party account.

Erase the old phone only after the new phone generates working codes and your fallback methods are accessible. If a trade-in deadline forces a quick decision, prioritize email, password-manager, financial, government, work and device-platform accounts before less important services.

Recover after a lost, broken or erased phone

Install Authenticator on the replacement phone and try every Google Account that may have held synchronized entries. If entries appear, test them before changing account security settings. You may need another way to sign in to Google itself, such as a passkey on another device, a security key, a backup code, a recovery phone or a previously trusted computer.

If entries do not appear after you have checked the correct Google Accounts and the Use without an account view, treat them as unavailable device-only entries. Google’s supported manual-transfer process requires the old device, so do not rely on a fresh installation, phone number, SIM card or Google password to restore those entries.

Recover each protected service separately:

1. At the sign-in screen, look for options such as Try another way, Use a backup code or Get help signing in.
2. Try a saved backup code, passkey, security key, recovery email address, recovery phone or trusted signed-in device.
3. If you still have an active browser session, open the service’s security settings without signing out.
4. Remove or replace the unavailable authenticator method, completing any identity checks the service requires.
5. Enroll Authenticator on the new phone using the service’s new setup QR code.
6. Create replacement backup codes and invalidate old ones if they may have been exposed.

Use only the service’s official recovery pages and support channels. Requirements differ by provider, and some account recoveries involve waiting periods or manual identity checks. Never give an Authenticator code, backup code or password to someone who contacts you claiming to have found the phone.

For a managed work or school account, contact the information technology administrator or help desk. The organization may be able to reset multifactor authentication, issue temporary access or require re-enrolment under its own security policy.

Secure a phone that is missing or stolen

Protect the missing device while you recover accounts. For Android, use Google Find Hub to locate, mark as lost or factory-reset the device. Remote actions require conditions such as power, connectivity, the correct Google Account, Find Hub being enabled and visibility on Google Play. A factory reset permanently deletes data on the phone and removes it from Find Hub.

For an iPhone, use the Find My app on another Apple device or Find Devices at iCloud.com. Marking an iPhone as lost locks it and suspends Apple Pay cards and passes. If recovery is unlikely, you can request a remote erase; once the erase is carried out, it cannot be undone. Keep an erased lost iPhone associated with Find My so Activation Lock remains enabled, and do not remove it while a theft-and-loss claim is pending.

Also contact your mobile carrier to report the loss and suspend service or the SIM if appropriate. Review recent account activity, remove unrecognized sessions and change passwords if an unlocked phone could have exposed them. If Authenticator entries were not synchronized and remote erasure is unavailable, start recovery with each protected service and replace its authenticator setup.

Fix missing or rejected codes

• Codes are missing after sign-in: Tap the profile icon and check every likely Google Account. Also check whether the entries are under Use without an account, and update the app if an update is available.
• A code is rejected: Confirm that you selected the correct service and username, then enter a newly displayed code before it expires. Similar account labels are a common source of errors.
• The phone time is wrong: Enable automatic date, time and time zone in the phone’s system settings, then reopen Authenticator. Version 7.0 removed Authenticator’s former time-correction setting; the app now uses the operating system’s time.
• The transfer QR code will not scan: Improve lighting and screen brightness, grant camera access, hold both phones steady and export fewer entries in each batch. Create a fresh transfer code rather than saving or sharing an image of an older one.
• Only some codes appeared: Check other Google Accounts and compare usernames, then export missing device-only entries while the old phone remains available.
• You deleted a synchronized entry: Deleting it removes it from devices that synchronize that entry. Recover access through the protected service and set up Authenticator again; another synchronized phone is not an independent backup.

Keep the old phone intact until every critical account works on the replacement. If the old device is already gone and no synchronized copy exists, begin service-by-service recovery promptly while trusted sessions, recovery methods and backup codes may still be available.