Recover an account protected by 2-Step Verification (2024)

If 2-Step Verification is enforced at your company, administrators or users won’t be able to sign in to their accounts if they lose access to their method, or haven't set up 2-Step verification. For example:

• An administrator or user loses their security key.
• A user loses their phone and can't generate 2-Step Verificationcodes.
• A user doesn’t enroll in 2-Step Verification by the end of the new user enrollment period.
• A newly-created user can't sign in to their account to set up 2-Step verification.

Prepare for account recovery

• Administrators should have a spare security key—Administrators should enroll more than one security key for their administrator account and store it in a safe place.
• Save backup codes ahead of time—Administrators and users should generate and print backup codes in case they’re needed in the future. Keep backup codes in a secure location.
• Generate codes for a user—If a locked-out user doesn't have backup codes, you can generate codes for them. See the instructions in User account on this page.
• Set up an additional administrator—If an administrator can’t sign in to their administrator account, another administrator can generate backup codes for them.
• If security keys are required, set up a grace period—When you set up enforcement for 2-Step Verification, set up a grace period. Users can enter a backup code for 2-Step Verification during the grace period. For details, go to Deploy 2-Step Verification.

Use backup codes for account recovery

If you need to recover an account, use backup codes. Accounts are still protected by 2-Step Verification, and backup codes are easy to generate. If you move users into a configuration group or change their organizational unit and 2-Step Verification isn’t required, their accounts are no longer protected by 2-Step Verification. For more details, go toAvoid account lockouts when 2-Step Verification is enforced.

Recover an account

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