Upgrading your phone without locking yourself out of exchange two-factor codes

Getting a new phone is exciting, and the old one is often traded in or reset within a day. If that old phone held the authenticator app for your exchange accounts, or the passkeys you use to sign in, wiping it too early can leave you facing a long recovery process. The fix is simple but needs to be done in the right order: list what lives on the old device, move each item while the old phone still works, test on the new phone, and only then reset the old one. This guide sets out that order for exchange accounts in particular.

Make a list before you start

Open your authenticator app and write down every account it holds, not only exchanges but also the email accounts linked to them. Then check each exchange's security settings to see whether you use an authenticator code, a passkey, or both. Passkeys may sync through your phone's platform account, while authenticator codes may or may not be backed up depending on the app. Knowing exactly what you have prevents the surprise of discovering a missing code after the old phone is gone.

Move each account while both phones work

For authenticator codes, use the app's official transfer or backup feature if it has one, or go into each exchange's security settings and change the authenticator to the new device, which usually requires a code from the old one. For passkeys, confirm they appear on the new phone after signing into your platform account, or register a new passkey from the new device. Work through your list one account at a time and tick each off.

Test before you reset anything

Sign out of each exchange on the new phone and sign back in using the new authenticator or passkey. Approve a small security action, such as viewing your security settings, to confirm the codes are accepted. Only when every item on your list works on the new phone should you remove the old device from your accounts. Many exchanges show a list of authorised devices; remove the old phone there after testing, so it can no longer approve anything.

Keep a recovery fallback

Store backup or recovery codes for each exchange in a safe offline place, such as a printed sheet kept with important documents. If your exchange supports more than one passkey, consider registering a second one on another device you control. Then, when you finally reset and hand over the old phone, you know that losing the new one later would not leave you locked out, because a tested fallback exists.

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Scenario checkpoint

• Writing down every exchange and email account stored in the authenticator app first.
• Changing the authenticator in each exchange's settings while the old phone still works.
• Signing out and back in on the new phone to test every code before resetting the old one.
• Removing the old phone from authorised devices and storing printed recovery codes offline.