Digital security is always needed and to help you enforce yours, we teach you how to transfer Google Authenticator to another phone.
How to transfer Google Authenticator to another phone
How to transfer Google Authenticator to another cell phone is a question of many people on the internet. The process wasn’t always intuitive.
But luckily Google made the process easy and quick to do, no matter what mobile operating system the user uses. This 2-step verification tool is an excellent alternative to increase your digital security on the internet.
What is Google Authenticator?
Google Authenticator is a tool from the technology giant and which aims to increase security regarding access to virtual accounts. The process is done by generating codes that must then be confirmed by the user, working as a kind of verification in two stages.
First, the user who wants to gain security through 2-step verification must download the Google Authenticator app — available for Android and iOS — after signing in with their Google account, all enabled verifications will appear in the app, which can be linked with the most diverse accounts, such as Nintendo and Ubisoft accounts.
Supported services will ask you to link them to the Google Authenticator tool, which should already be installed on your smartphone.
After linking your accounts, each time you try to log in, a code will be required for access to be authorized. To do this, just open the Google Authenticator application and use the code shown for that specific login you want to use.
This way, the company you are trying to log in to will know that you are actually using the service at that time and that your password has not been stolen.
That is, the codes generated by Google Authenticator are randomly generated and expire in a short time, so it’s okay if someone ends up seeing the codes assigned to your accounts. Next, we’ll see how to transfer Google Authenticator to another phone.
Two-step verification
In case you’re wondering what 2-step verification is mentioned in the previous topic, we’ll explain. Also called two-factor authentication, two-step verification is an extra layer of security for you to access virtual private areas, such as your social media accounts. This is one more way to verify the authenticity of the login, or, better said, that you really are you.
Here’s how it works: the first step of authenticity verification is for the website (or some service) to ask you to enter your password to use a virtual private environment.
To reduce the chances that this login attempt is someone else who may have access to your password (or have stolen it), this service sends a verification code to some other means available only to you, such as SMS to the number of registered telephone number or to the e-mail that appears in the company’s database. It is preferable that the user always enable 2-step verification when available.
That’s where Google Authenticator comes in. The platform of this American company works as an aggregator of various temporary codes for accessing various virtual services available on the internet.
In other words, in addition to adding a layer of protection, Google Authenticator also provides convenience, since access to multiple accounts is available in one place, within reach of a few touches on the screen.
How to transfer Google Authenticator to another phone
Naturally, when purchasing a new mobile device, the user will have to migrate all their accounts and settings from one device to another.
It shouldn’t be any different with security issues, so accounts used in Google Authenticator also need to be transferred between smartphones. Fortunately, the process is currently simple to do and works for both Android and iOS devices.
To get started, you’ll need to have both mobile phones — old and new — both set up with the same Google account.
- On the old one, open the Google Authenticator app and tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Then just tap “ Export accounts ” and select the accounts you want to transfer.
- After selecting accounts, the app will show a series of QR codes. It is important to note that, if there are many attempts to transfer accounts, it is possible that the app does not provide any QR code, so, if this happens, a tip is to try to transfer in small groups of accounts.
- Now work begins on the new cell phone. In it, open the Google Authenticator app and tap the cross ( plus symbol ) in the lower right corner.
- Then tap the “ Read QR code ” option. Then point the camera from the new smartphone to the old one so that each QR code is read. The process is quick and should take no more than a few minutes.