Build Your Card App Start free

Step 26 of 30 · about 15 minutesMac only

Two-step sign-in codes

By the endYou know what a two-step code is, where yours arrive, and that nobody should ever ask you for one.

Your app is for:
Your computer:

Many accounts ask for two things when you sign in: your password, and a short code sent to you at that moment. This is two-factor authentication, also called two-step verification. The code proves it is really you, because only you hold your phone or your email. Apple requires it on any Apple Account used in the Apple Developer Program, and Google requires it on the account behind a Google Play developer account.

Where codes come from

  • Apple: a six-digit code pops up on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, on any device already signed into your Apple Account. If none is near, Apple sends it as a text message to your phone number.
  • Google: a "Is it you?" tap on your phone, or a text message with a code.
  • Email: some services, including Claude, send a code or a link to your email address instead of using a password.
  • Text message: a code arrives in the messages app on your phone.
  • An authenticator app: some services show a square barcode to scan. After that, the Passwords app on your Mac, or an app on your phone, shows a fresh six-digit code every 30 seconds.

In every case, the screen that asked for the code is the only place you type it.

The one rule

Nobody legitimate ever asks you for a code. Not Apple, not Google, not your bank, not Claude, not a "support agent" on the phone. A code only travels one way: from your phone or email, into a sign-in screen you opened yourself. If a person asks for it, say no and hang up.

Check that Apple two-factor is on

Your Mac is signed into an Apple Account, so check it here first:

  1. Click the Apple menu, then System Settings (older: System Preferences).
  2. Click your name at the top of the list.
  3. Click Sign-In & Security (older: Password & Security).
  4. Two-Factor Authentication should say On. If not, click Turn On and follow the steps.

While you are there, look at the phone number listed as a trusted number. Codes go there. If you ever change phone numbers, update it first.

On iPhone

On your iPhone it is the same path: open Settings, the gray gear icon, tap your name at the very top, then Sign-In & Security. Two-Factor Authentication should say On. A code for your Apple Account will pop up on this phone.

On Android

Your Google account needs 2-Step Verification, Google's name for the same thing. It also protects the Gmail address behind Google Play.

  1. On your phone, open Settings, tap Google, then Manage your Google Account.
  2. Tap Security & sign-in (on some phones: Security).
  3. Under How you sign in to Google, tap 2-Step Verification. If it says Off, tap Turn on 2-Step Verification and follow the steps.
  4. The simplest second step is a Google prompt: a "Is it you?" message on this phone that you tap Yes on. Google may also offer a text message, a code app, or a passkey.
  5. Google offers backup codes at the end, for when you lose your phone. Write them on your paper list.

You can do the same in Safari on the Mac at myaccount.google.com/security.

Practice

  1. Confirm that two-factor authentication is on for your Apple Account, using the steps above.
  2. If you have an Android phone, confirm that 2-Step Verification is on for your Google account.
  3. Write "Apple codes come to my Mac and my phone" (and "Google codes come to my phone", if you turned that on) on your paper list, so future you remembers.

Last checked October 28, 2026