# Two-factor authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication adds a second proof to your password: a six-digit code, renewed every thirty seconds by an app on your phone. Once it is on, access to your Simafri client area ([my.simafri.com](https://my.simafri.com/)) asks for your password **and** this code: your account stays protected even if your password were discovered.

You turn it on from your profile, in two minutes, and each member of your team turns it on for their own access.

## What you need

* your phone, with an **authenticator app**: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, 1Password, Bitwarden or any other TOTP-compatible app;
* the **password** of your client area.

## Turning on two-factor authentication

1. Sign in at [my.simafri.com](https://my.simafri.com/) and open **My profile**.
2. In the **Two-factor authentication** card, click **Turn on**.
3. In your authenticator app, add an account, then **scan the QR code** shown. If scanning does not work, enter the key shown next to the code.
4. Enter the **six-digit code** the app shows, then your **password**, and click **Turn on**.
5. Your **ten backup codes** appear: store them somewhere safe (see below), then click **My codes are stored safely**.

The app files the entry under the name **Simafri**, with your email address.

## Signing in with two-factor authentication

Signing in then takes three steps:

1. your email address;
2. your password;
3. the **verification code** your app shows at that moment.

You then land on the page you wanted to open. The code changes every thirty seconds: enter the one shown as you type it.

Once the code is accepted, your browser stays recognised for thirty days: the code is asked for at each new password sign-in, on another browser or another device, and after a password change.

Signing in to Simafri Suite with your Simafri identity goes through your client area: it is protected by the same two-factor authentication.

## Backup codes

Backup codes open your space on a day your phone is not at hand. You receive **ten** of them when you turn the feature on, in the form `abcde-fghij`.

* Enter one in place of the app's code, in the same field.
* **Each code works once.** The number of codes left is shown in **My profile**.
* They are shown **only once**, when they are created: store them in a password manager or print them.
* To get new ones, click **New backup codes** in **My profile** and confirm with your password. The previous ones then stop working.

## Changing phones

1. Sign in with a code from the old phone, or with a backup code.
2. In **My profile**, enter your password and click **Turn off**.
3. Click **Turn on**, and scan the new QR code with the new phone.

Along the way, you receive ten new backup codes.

## Lost phone, backup codes nowhere to be found

Write to <support@simafri.com> from the email address of your account. Once your identity is verified, our team removes two-factor authentication from your account: you then sign in with your password, and turn it back on with your new phone.

## Turning off two-factor authentication

In **My profile**, **Two-factor authentication** card, enter your password and click **Turn off**. Your access goes back to signing in with a password.

## Frequently asked questions

### The code is refused: what should I do?

Check that your phone's time is set automatically: the codes are calculated from the time. Then enter the code shown at the moment you type it.

### Why does the code screen ask me to try again in a few minutes?

To protect your account, the code screen accepts five attempts per quarter of an hour. Wait a few minutes, then enter the code shown in your app.

### Can the members of my team turn it on?

Yes: each person turns on two-factor authentication for their own access, from their profile.