Transfer Google Authenticator to a New Phone

If you have your old phone, transfer is easy peasy.

1. Download Google Authenticator to your new Phone

2. Open it 

3. On old phone, open Google Authenticator too

4. On old phone click the three dots and select Export/Transfer Data

5. It will say the transfer can only transfer 10 items at a time.  Don’t worry, if you have 28 passwords, it will generate three QR scan codes.

6. When it displays the first QR scan code, Click the + sign on your new phone (as if you are adding a new password) and scan in the QRscan code from the old phone.

7. It will import the first 10 paswords

8. Hit next, on the old phone and it will show the second QR scan code for the next 10 passwords…..  Again, scan this code into the new phone to import the next 10.  Repeat this until all are imported.    

9. You are done.

If you don’t have your old phone because it is lost, damaged or fried!

As far as I know, you have to set Google Authenticator from scratch and indidviually set up each password again.

Painful I know – but it is designed that way so hackers can get into your Google Authenticator.  i.e. it is there to protect you.

If you want to prevent the above scenario……

You can download Google Authenticator on more than one device.  

I have downloaded and set up Google Authenticator on two of my devices (that no one else uses and have good security password to open them).   In my case it is my phone and my ipad.  I used the the transfer technique above – scanning QR codes from the phone to the ipad (for instance)

In this way, if I fry my phone or lose it – I can buy a new phone and set up Google Authenticator EASILY from the Google Authenticator already set up on my ipad.   And of course vice versa if i wreck my ipad and need to get a new one.  No more setting up each password painfully, 1 by 1, on Google Authenticator.

This is what I do.  It is up to you to decide whether to do something similar for your own situation – only you can assess.