How to Troubleshoot Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Issues

If you're having trouble receiving or entering your two-factor authentication (2FA) code, here are a few things to check that might help get you back into your account quickly.

🛠️ Common Issues and Fixes

"My 2FA code isn't working or says it's invalid"

This usually happens when:

The code wasn’t entered within 30 seconds (2FA codes expire quickly!)
The time or time zone is not in sync between your phone (where you receive the code) and your computer (where you're logging in)

Try this:

Make sure you're entering the code right after receiving it.
Double-check that both your phone and computer have the correct time and time zone settings.
If things still aren’t working, restart your phone and try requesting a new code.

"I'm not receiving the 2FA code on my phone"

First, confirm your phone has a signal and can receive SMS messages.
Occasionally, restarting your phone can help.
Still no code? Reach out to us and let us know the phone number associated with your account. We’ll be happy to check our logs to confirm if the message was successfully sent.

💾 Where to Find (or Re-Download) Your 2FA Backup Codes

When you first set up 2FA, you’ll be prompted to download a set of backup codes. These are important to save somewhere secure, just in case you ever lose access to your 2FA device.

To view or download your backup codes again:

Log in to your Postmark account
Go to the Users tab
Click your user profile
Click Manage next to “Two-Factor Authentication”

From there, you'll see the option to view or re-download your backup codes—as long as you haven’t used them all.

🖼️ Example:

If all your backup codes have been used, that option will no longer appear. In that case, you’ll need to disable 2FA and set it up again to generate a new set of codes.

😕 “I got a 2FA code randomly—what’s going on?”

If you had Postmark open in your browser and recently restarted or upgraded your browser, the 2FA session may have expired. That would trigger a new code to be sent automatically, even if you didn’t actively try to log in. It's nothing to worry about—just a security precaution.

💡 Pro tip:

Always keep your backup codes in a secure place (like a password manager), and consider setting up an authenticator app as your primary 2FA method for extra reliability.

Need more help? Reach out to our support team and we’ll be glad to assist.