Restoring Google Authenticator after factory reset?

[Nocmj1]

I am planning to do a factory reset on my phone. I use a Samsung Galaxy S21. I use Google Authenticator for 2-step verification and would like to restore the accounts after I reset my device.

 

I am confused about how to back up and restore the accounts in my Google Authenticator apps on the same device. I know that you can export accounts to QR codes, but this seems more designed to transfer accounts to another phone. On a side note, I am also hoping to switch to Aegis, which I gather can import QR codes generated by Google Authenticator.

 

Has anyone restored their Google Authenticator on the same phone after a reset, or have any recommendations?

 

Thank you.

[Levent]

AFAIK you cant. I use a secondary phone to move my 2FA accounts before formatting my primary device.

[pythonmegapixel]

8 minutes ago, Levent said:

AFAIK you cant. I use a secondary phone to move my 2FA accounts before formatting my primary device.

Can't you just take a screenshot of the QR code and save it to another device, then scan it off that other device after reset?

[Eigenvektor]

21 minutes ago, Nocmj1 said:

Has anyone restored their Google Authenticator on the same phone after a reset, or have any recommendations?

I use a secondary device, which also serves as a backup in case the primary device becomes inaccessible, for whatever reason.

[Nocmj1]

28 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

Can't you just take a screenshot of the QR code and save it to another device, then scan it off that other device after reset?

This is what I wasn't sure about - apparently Android blocks screenshots of the QR code, so it would have to be a photo and I am worried about whether scanning a dodgy photo of a QR code will work!

[Nocmj1]

21 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

I use a secondary device, which also serves as a backup in case the primary device becomes inaccessible, for whatever reason.

The only other thing I have is an iPad. So do you think it would work to export the Google Authenticator codes to my iPad, reset my phone, then import them back into Google Authenticator on the phone after the factory reset?

[Eigenvektor]

1 hour ago, Nocmj1 said:

The only other thing I have is an iPad. So do you think it would work to export the Google Authenticator codes to my iPad, reset my phone, then import them back into Google Authenticator on the phone after the factory reset?

I don't see why not. Google Authenticator is also available for iOS as far as I can see.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-authenticator/id388497605

 

You could always use the iPad to take screenshots of the exported QR Code(s). Depending on the number of accounts you have, there can be more than one during export. Then just scan those with the phone after reset.

 

QR codes are designed to be resilient, you have to take a fairly messed up image for it to become unusable.

 

Adding them to the iPad as a backup is a good idea anyway, in case your phone is stolen or lost.

 

If there is another app that can import the codes, you can always use that. Google Autheticator uses the standard TOTP/HOTP algorithms used by many other authenticator apps (Authy, Microsoft Authenticator, Bitwarden, ...)