Recover our OneAuth

Recover our OneAuth

Recover your OneAuth

OneAuth provides a secure and seamless way to sign in to your Zoho account. However, losing access to Zoho OneAuth can get you locked out of your account, unless you have configured at least one recovery mode of Zoho OneAuth.

We recommend that you configure the recovery modes, so that you can recover OneAuth in the following scenarios:
  1. You uninstalled OneAuth from your device without disabling MFA
  2. You have factory-reset your device that has OneAuth installed
  3. You have lost your device that has OneAuth installed
Lost access to Zoho OneAuth? ----> Use recovery mode ----> Recover OneAuth ----> Regain access to Zoho

Ways to recover OneAuth

There are three recovery modes available for OneAuth:

Recovery mode
Steps to set up/use
Passphrase

Passphrase is a unique password you can set specifically for your OneAuth app. It can be used to recover OneAuth if you lose access to your device or uninstalled the app by accident. (Passphrase is also used to backup and sync your OTP secrets with your Zoho account.)
To set up passphrase:
  1. Open OneAuth.
  2. Go to the Settings tab at the bottom.
  3. Tap Recovery, then tap Add under Passphrase.
  4. Enter your passphrase, then tap Next.
  5. Confirm your passphrase, then tap Done.
Backup verification codes

Backup verification codes are a set of five 12-digit codes that you can use to recover your account if you lose access to OneAuth. Each backup code can be used once to recover your account. If you have used up all your codes, you can generate new codes for your account.

To generate backup codes:
  1. Open OneAuth.
  2. Go to the Settings tab at the bottom.
  3. Tap Recovery, then tap Generate under Backup verification codes.
  4. Tap PROCEED. If you have previously generated backup codes, they will be deleted. A set of 5 new backup codes will be displayed.
  5. Save those codes securely. You can take a screenshot of the codes or tap Share to copy the codes.
Backup mobile numbers

You can add a mobile number as a backup mobile number in OneAuth. If you ever lose access to OneAuth, you can recover it by verifying using a OTP sent to this backup number. You can even add multiple mobile numbers.
To set up backup mobile number:
  1. Open OneAuth.
  2. Go to the Settings tab at the bottom.
  3. Tap Recovery, then tap Add under Backup mobile number.
  4. Enter your mobile number, then tap Next. An OTP will be sent to this number.
  5. Enter the OTP received, then tap Submit.
See the steps to recover OneAuth using backup mobile number

How to recover OneAuth using the above recovery modes

Using passphrase or backup verification codes

The steps to recover OneAuth using passphrase/backup codes differ based on whether you are using password-based sign-in or passwordless sign-in. Follow the steps based on your sign-in mode to recover OneAuth.
  1. If you are using password-based sign-in
    1. Download and install OneAuth.
    2. Tap Sign in.
    3. Enter your username and password, then tap SIGN IN. (or go through with your federated sign-in/SAML-based SSO option.)
    4. Tap Sign in another way.
    5. If you haven't configured an alternate MFA mode, tap Can't access your mobile device?. If you have configured one, tap Problem signing in?, then tap Can't access your mobile device.
    6. Do one of the following:
      1. To use passphrase, tap Sign in using passphrase.
      2. To use backup code, tap Use backup verification code.
    7. Enter the passphrase/backup code.
    8. Tap VERIFY to sign in to OneAuth.
  1. If you are using passwordless sign-in
    1. Download and install OneAuth.
    2. Tap Sign in.
    3. Enter your username, then tap NEXT.
    4. Tap Sign in another way.
    5. Tap Problem signing in?.
    6. Verify yourself using one of the sign-in modes available to you.
    7. Do one of the following:
      1. To use passphrase, tap Sign in using passphrase.
      2. To use backup code, tap Use backup verification code.
    8. Enter the passphrase/backup code.
    9. Tap VERIFY to sign in to OneAuth.

Using backup mobile number

The steps to recover OneAuth using backup mobile number differ based on whether you are using password-based sign-in or passwordless sign-in. Follow the steps based on your sign-in mode to recover OneAuth.
  1. If you are using password-based sign-in
    1. Download and install the OneAuth app.
    2. Tap Sign in.
    3. Enter your username, then tap NEXT.
    4. Tap Sign in another way.
    5. Tap Problem signing in?.
    6. Tap SMS Verification. An OTP will be sent to your backup mobile number.
    7. Enter the OTP received, then tap VERIFY.
  1. If you are using passwordless sign-in
    1. Download and install the OneAuth app.
    2. Tap Sign in.
    3. Enter your username and password, then tap SIGN IN. (or go through with your federated sign-in/SAML-based SSO option.)
    4. Tap Sign in another way.
    5. Tap Problem signing in?.
    6. Verify yourself using one of the sign-in modes available to you.
    7. Tap SMS Verification. An OTP will be sent to your backup mobile number.
    8. Enter the OTP received, then tap VERIFY.

What to do if you are locked out and don't have any recovery mode configured

Write to our support team at support@zohoaccounts.com. We will help you in recovering your Zoho account.

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