Nintendo Account 2-step verification and a lost phone: what now

Your phone fell in a lake, got stolen, or got wiped for an upgrade. Now your Nintendo Account wants a 2-step verification code from an authenticator app that no longer exists. The Switch eShop, your cloud saves, your Nintendo Switch Online membership, all of it sits behind a six digit number you cannot see. Breathe. Nintendo built a couple of fallbacks for exactly this, and most people get back in without ever talking to support.

This guide covers the official routes, in the order you should try them, using only what Nintendo Support says. Menu names differ a little between regions (some pages call it "2-step authentication"), so match the wording to what you see on screen.

Why a lost phone locks you out

Nintendo Account 2-step verification uses an authenticator app, and Nintendo's pages name Google Authenticator. The app on your phone makes the six digit code. Nintendo is clear about the consequence: if you cannot use the app because you changed or lost your smart device, you cannot confirm the verification code, so you cannot sign in that way.

That is the whole point of 2-step verification. A thief with your password still cannot get in. The catch is that it also stops you, unless you have one of the backup routes below.

Route 1: use a backup code

When you set up 2-step verification, Nintendo gave you 10 backup codes. They exist for this exact day. Here is how to use one:

1. Go to the Nintendo Account sign-in page and enter your email or sign-in ID and password as usual.
2. On the 2-step verification screen, select "Use another method to verify your identity".
3. Enter one of your 10 backup codes and continue.

Each backup code works only once. Once a code is used, it cannot be used again, so cross it off wherever you keep them. Check the obvious places first: a screenshot in your photo gallery, a note you printed at setup, a password manager, an email you sent yourself.

Do not burn through codes testing them. Use one to get in, then fix the setup right away (see below) so you are not relying on the rest.

Route 2: no backup codes? Use an email code

Lost the codes too? This is where most people panic, and it is usually fine. Nintendo has an email fallback:

1. On the "Enter backup code" screen, select "Use another method to verify your identity".
2. Nintendo sends an email with a verification code to the email address on your Nintendo Account.
3. Enter that code and submit it to finish signing in.

This only works if you can still open that inbox, which is why your Nintendo Account email matters as much as your password. If the email does not show up, Nintendo says it can take up to 30 minutes to arrive. Check spam and junk, and add [email protected] to your contacts or safe senders list. Give it time before you ask for another one.

Route 3: a text message to your phone number

If you registered a phone number on your Nintendo Account, the email verification screen also offers another method that sends a code by text message to that number. A lost phone does not always mean a lost number. If you kept your number with a replacement SIM, a text code can still reach you.

A few things Nintendo says about phone numbers worth knowing:

• Phone number registration is only available in some countries, and child accounts cannot add one.
• Each account can hold one number, and it has to be able to receive texts. Landlines will not work.
• If you cancel a phone line, delete the number from your Nintendo Account first. Otherwise verification codes go to whoever gets that number next.
• Real Nintendo texts contain a code and no link. A text with a link asking you to visit a site may be phishing.

When none of the routes work

Here is the hard edge. Nintendo says that if you have no access to your backup codes or to the verification code on your smart device, you will not be able to sign in. It also says you cannot remove 2-step verification if you have forgotten your password and cannot get the authenticator code or find your backup codes.

In that situation, Nintendo's troubleshooting page says to contact Nintendo Support for further help. Go through the official Nintendo Support site for your region. Nintendo will never ask you for your password or a verification code, and anyone in a DM or a comment section offering to "unlock" your account is not Nintendo. Have your account email and sign-in ID ready when you reach out.

If you think someone else got in, not just that you lost a phone, follow our guide on how to recover a hacked Nintendo account as well. It covers signing out of all devices and checking your sign-in history.

Once you are back in: fix the setup today

Getting in with a backup code or email code is the easy half. The real fix is making sure the next lost phone is a non-event. Do this before you close the tab:

1. Go to Sign-in and security settings on the Nintendo Account website and open the 2-step verification section.
2. If you used some backup codes, select the option to review backup codes, then "Generate new codes". You get a fresh set of 10.
3. Save the new codes somewhere you can reach without your phone, and throw away the old list. Nintendo advises acting before your codes run out, because if all 10 are used and the app is gone, you cannot sign in.
4. To move the authenticator to your new phone, remove 2-step verification (Delete settings, then Remove) and set it up again on the new device. Nintendo warns that leaving it off raises the risk of someone else getting in, so set it up again straight away.
5. Check that your account email is one you still use, and add a phone number if your country supports it.

Curious how those six digit codes actually work? Our free 2FA code generator shows how a setup key turns into time based codes, all in your browser.

Keep the codes next to the login

The pattern behind nearly every lost-phone lockout is the same: the backup codes were saved somewhere nobody could find later. A screenshot on the phone that just died does not count.

That is the problem LoginScout is built for. In this gaming password manager, every account is a card with the platform, login, password, recovery email, 2FA backup codes and notes, encrypted on your device. Your Nintendo card can hold the account email, the 10 backup codes and a note about which consoles are linked. If you want the six digit codes in the same app too, the LoginScout authenticator keeps them next to your logins.

The short version

Lost the phone with your Nintendo authenticator? Sign in and use a backup code. No codes? Choose "Use another method to verify your identity" and get a code by email, or by text if you registered a number. Once you are in, generate new backup codes, set up 2-step verification on your new phone, and store everything somewhere that does not die with your phone. You can create a free vault for up to five accounts in about a minute.