Two factor Id - help!!

[ChristinaAlber]

Long story, I’ve been locked out of a social media account that I need for work and after nearly 3 months managed to get back in but have realised I need to up my security with two factor identification, I did this quite easily on my phone with Google authenticator, however then when I tried to log into the account from another device, google authenticator didn’t work, i.e. it didn’t come up with a code. I’ve now got myself in a right mess, deleting and re-downloading Google authenticator to no avail, I can’t work out if Google authenticator is linked to a specific email address or just freestanding, I’ve tried to link my social media accounts to another authentication app, but it says it already is linked to one, which it is, but I can’t access it!

Briefly – in summary, does Google authenticator link to a specific email address? If so, how do I find out which email address are used that might be linked to this social media account, I have three email addresses and none of them seem to show a link. It’s been a fun day failing to fix this!!

[BasicDad]

Authenticators are bound to the device, not a specific account. Some can be backed up to cloud accounts, or at least transferred between devices.

When you login using another device, use the code generated on the device you initially used to setup (your phone in this instance).

[ChristinaAlber]

Thank you! Turns out my IOS passwords held the codes, not Google authenticator. All very helpful to know ..