Like everyone is saying, the most recent update knocked codes out of sync. The right code is only displayed for about 10 seconds. My phone's time is correct, and I have even tried adjusting my phone time forward by various increments but it doesn't work. Google responses to these reviews have been ignorant and unhelpful; they have no clue what they're talking about. WHAT WORKS FOR ME is to force quit the app (the ||| button on your phone, then swipe up on the app) and reopen it EVERY TIME.
Reviews for Google Authenticator
← Back to Google Authenticatorworks fine until you switch phones. The transfer app seemed to move everything, and it worked for 2 days, then lost all its data. There's no backup capabilities, so if you lose or destroy your device, your accounts are gone, meaning you have to disable 2 factor authentication and redo it. Not so easy to do if you cant log in to start with.
This App is ridicules. The requirements to establish a Key Code are never explained. Do you need all numbers, all letters, a combination of the two, how many spaces?? There is no link that gives you an explanation. When I used six numbers, it sais that it was too short. After adding more numbers, it said there were invalid characters used?? I tried all of the combinations, same result. 2- Step Verification is a great idea but not using Google Authenticator.
Got really tired of things not working correctly. Cloud syncing refused to work. On the rare occasion it actually did sync it would add all the entries from the cloud as duplicate entries. Lacking in a lot of features and it's a pain trying to migrate to a different app. I switched to Aegis Authenticator and it was the best decision I ever made. Took a while to switch my accounts to Aegis thanks to Google not allowing you to export to other apps, but no regrets.
"We've made the app easier to use and more visually appealing." You more than doubled the size of that font and it looks like trash now. Zero reason to not be able to adjust the size of the font ourselves instead of having some drop out UX designer decide they think font for an 87 year old is the best choice. And fix your damn broken clock sync. Jfc.
I'm an IT professional and I understand the security implications of backing up the seeds in the cloud (though Google does just that anyway with your passwords if you want). Anyway, what users want is a way to EXPORT THE SEEDS so they can be imported into another device. Still doesn't solve the "lost/stolen phone" problem, but much better than nothing.
In the last couple of weeks (June 2023) it stopped working on my Android phone. Seems to me some update to the Android system that caused the issue. I tried on 2 android devices. I did everything from reinstalling, syncing the time, nothing works. I searched for other options, nothing helped. It works on Apple devices, but not Android. If they don't fix it soon, I will have to switch to another app.
The latest update is horrible. The app now runs slowly. The "Click to reveal PIN" feature is just a pain in the backside, especially as there's no option to turn it off. There's still no built in option to lock the app with biometrics (like Microsoft and many others have), and there's no ability to back up in case your phone dies/is lost (no transfer to another phone is NOT backup).
Was fine for over a year then all of a sudden my codes won't work on any website I use it for. I tried syncing but it keeps telling me "it appears to be synced already." I made sure it was updated. I transferred it from one email to another and I was able to log in to one account. Tried logging into the same account again and couldn't do it. Uninstalling and reinstalling fixed it for now but I'm not optimistic.
This app is great... if you never want to change devices ever again. When trying to export to a new phone, it can't process special characters(possibly including spaces). The editing inside the app also doesn't allow you to remove parenthesis from certain keys like nintendo or facebook. I honestly can't believe that a security app developed by the biggest name in tech has such a horrible oversight. As it is now I'm stuck burning a backup code. You only get a few of them, so that's bad.
WAS a great, helpful, and useful app for years. . . until ≈40 minutes ago, when it claimed I suddenly no longer had a subscription (despite clearly showing with one click that more than six months remain on my account, as I purchase a full year each time I renew), and literally none of the steps they recommend be taken accomplish anything. What a ridiculous, pathetic support system that pretends to exist. Do NOT pay unless they fix it, because you will receive neither assistance nor refund.
Agree with Ken &Travis. Just paid the year's sub and then 2 days later nothing was working right. I haven't been able to log in since about the 1st of Nov. I tried to trouble shoot that just it opens more links: no success. I have tried to contact customer support and explain it to them but I never hear anything back. I even downloaded the new launcher but I now have to create a new character. After playing for 20 years. I am so frustrated.
The app has completely failed on my phone. All of the app accounts that I had connected to it, and that demand it's use for 2fa, have disappeared, and I can't even figure out how to reconnect them. It really sucks when you have money in accounts that require an Authenticator generated code to gain access to them so you can transfer or use that money, but instead, you can't do squat! Your money is just stuck there. It's unbelievable!
Works well about half the time. I use this for a lot of apps at work and often times I'll put in a number, only to get an error saying it's expired when it isn't. One time at complete random, it started giving an error that it has no permissions to my camera, when I changed absolutely nothing! Every single setting said it had permission. I uninstalled and reinstalled, that didn't fix it. The workaround is to scan the QR code with a barcode scanner outside of this app and open in the app.
It's not the worst authenticator app by any means, and the addition of backup support is a big improvement. However, the interface is severely lacking. There's no ability to adjust the font size or display view, and many entries are difficult to find because important text isn't visible on the screen. Additionally, there's no way to automatically sort or rearrange your entries. You have to manually move them one at a time which is ridiculously cumbersome. Hopefully it gets better!
The authentication works, but the user interface clearly had zero thought put into it whatsoever. Even the very most basic features like the ability to sort the sites for which you are storing authentication information are missing. And better still, even if you manually sort them in alphabetical order, if you switch to a different phone your sort order is forgotten and has to be done all over again. Truly awful and one of these days I'll get around to replacing it even if that's a huge job.
I've used this authenticator for several years now, and one feature I've always wanted was a way to group codes together or make separate sections for social media accounts, work accounts, etc. Other than wanting that ability, the app is pretty self-explanatory and easy to use. Moving codes up or down on the list to a specific spot is a bit tedious.
Well, I hate to not be able to root for this app anymore after these years of usage. But while trying to transfer my codes to another phone, instead of succeeding at moving them the app simply deleted the codes on EVERY device. With no warning. (Or, if there is a warning, it is so easily accidentally missed that it was no better than nothing because I don't remember seeing any warning.) I've already contacted Google Support. They say there is nothing that can be done to restore it.
App suddenly desynced from the correct time, and the directions in the Help do not match the reality of what is actually in the app, as if they are outdated for a previous version. As a result, my codes only work for the first few seconds and then stop working. I then have to wait several more seconds for a new one to generate. There is no apparent support to contact about this error.
The app works. However as an application it's a little... threadbare. Once you start adding multiple accounts there is no way to sort them. It just puts them in a list. You can sort them manually. But that is cumbersome. Another issue is that the timer on the right side is covered up for the very bottom entry. So the only way you know when the timer ends and the numbers change is to manually drag it up a line or two. Solution = Setup a dummy account and make sure it is last.