thread Re: Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app? in Payments Troubleshooting

Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app?

Michael80 — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 11:03:30 GMT

I've using Google Authenticator on my phone to authorize sign-in to my Square Dashboard. My phone just died and now I can't sign in to the Dashboard on my laptop (because I had to clear my laptop's cookies to address another issue). Fortunately, I can still access my Dashboard on my home PC.

So until I get my phone repaired/replaced, how can I authenticate on my laptop? There is no other option presented to me other than 2FA via Authenticator.

Re: Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app?

MJD — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 11:38:33 GMT

Hey there @Michael80!

When it comes to 2FA this type of issue is massively considered by MOST - but not all - developers, and you should have been provided with backup codes upon activation of 2FA - these backup codes will allow you the opportunity to use a permanent code to override the 2FA function. Without these codes you will likely find it extremely difficult to login without the use of your phone - I always advise people to have google authenticator copied to multiple devices or to transfer it before changing devices where possible.

I have had luck in the past where companies like GitHub have temporarily deactivated (Given a 3hr window for minimal vulnerability) 2FA on my account in the instance I have had issues with it - you can always attempt to contact Square by phone for help with this issue if you do not have access to backup codes.

It's also always a good idea to backup your backup codes to something like a private vault in a cloud like OneDrive to make the securely accessible on all your devices.

If anything in this post has helped you to come up with your solution, please mark the post as best answer - this will help others to find a solution to this issue if ever they are unfortunate enough to be in this position too!

(Also tagging in @isabelle as I believe she has a history of customer support at Square and may know something more than I do about how Square will be able to manage this situation safely and simply for you).

Re: Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app?

isabelle — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 17:03:43 GMT

To temporarily disable 2FA, you'll have to call our Customer Support team. Sorry about that!

Re: Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app?

Michael80 — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 17:23:15 GMT

Thanks, Matt. Sorry for the delay in replying. Was swamped with opening our new business.

Re: Phone died. How do I login without access to the Authenticator app?

TurtleTown — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 18:02:56 GMT

I can disable 2FA at the business level, but that does not disable it for individual employees. So an employee that is locked out due to a dead phone is screwed. An owner should be able to resolve this without calling Customer Support (who has time for that?!).

Workarounds:

1. Don't use an Authenticator app, use text messaging for verification codes

2. Create a whole new Team member with a different email address (this is what I did, but could be an issue if you do payroll, etc. through Square)