You Need to Do This Before Switching to the New Pixel 7
Whenever you buy a new Android phone, say the Pixel 7 , you want to get it up and running as soon as possible. Any time you spend working with your old phone is time you could spend on all the new gadgets you paid for. I totally understand the excitement, but slow down: there’s an important step you probably need to take before wiping your old phone that will save you a lot of headaches down the road.
This is a warning for those of you using Google Authenticator on your old Android phone. If you do, good on you. The app is a great way to secure your many online accounts with two-factor authentication . With authentication apps like Google Authenticator, attackers can’t get into your Google, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, even if they know your username and password. The last key lives on your phone.
But that’s the point: it lives on your old phone. See, Google Authenticator won’t automatically follow you from your Pixel 6 to Pixel 7. If you wipe your old phone before setting up your new one, all those codes will be gone. Redditor Kracer20 has had difficulty switching phones in the past without migrating their Google Authenticator app, so they put out a helpful PSA on r/GooglePixel , knowing that many on the subreddit will likely get their new Pixel 7 or 7 Pro around now.
How to Transfer Google Authenticator Codes to a New Phone
Google’s instructions make it easy to transfer codes from the old Google Authenticator app to the new one. First, make sure Google Authenticator is fully up to date on your old phone. Then install Google Authenticator on your new phone, then open the app and choose “Get Started”. At the bottom of the page, select “Important existing accounts?”
Now switch to your old phone, open Google Authenticator, then tap More > Account Transfer > Export Accounts . Choose which accounts you want to transfer to the new phone, then click Next. This will generate a QR code. If you move more than one account, your phone may generate more than one code. On your new phone, tap Scan QR Code, then scan your codes.
Once you receive confirmation from the app that your accounts have been migrated, that’s it! You shouldn’t have any problems accessing different 2FA accounts on your new phone. Before wiping data from your old phone, of course, make sure you back up and sync other important data if it’s not already done on your new phone, such as messages, photos, videos, and contacts.
Consider other authentication options
As many have pointed out in this Reddit thread, other authentication apps avoid this problem entirely. If you set up your 2FA codes with a password manager like Bitwarden, you could easily log into your account on your new phone and retrieve your codes there. Of course, there is a security risk: Google Authenticator only lives on your current phone, while someone with access to your Bitwarden account can also access your 2FA codes (sometimes called one-time passwords or one-time passwords in this situations). However, you may find that the convenience outweighs the risk. Just remember to make your Bitwarden password strong and unique .
Another good option is Aegis Authenticator , an open source authentication app with backup support. That way, if your phone crashes or you erase it before transferring it to a new phone, you can still recover your codes without any problems. You may also want to consider Authy , a popular alternative available across devices so you can access 2FA on more than just your smartphone.