Google Authenticator codes not updating

Google Authenticator is a common Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) app for mobile phones. When you log into a website, it asks for a code, you get the code from your 2FA app, type that code into the website form.

WordFence (my favorite WordPress security software), has 2FA as one of its many features, and connecting with Google Authenticator is built-in.

Now that I have 2FA set up for a few accounts, the code often doesn’t work. Huh?

The codes expire quickly. Google Authenticator shows a “decreasing pie” icon; the code expires when the pie is “all eaten”. You’d think the code would automatically update. But it doesn’t.

On my old phone, the code doesn’t always update when I start the app, either.

Updating Your Authenticator Codes

Updates are paused while they are visible. I’d prefer noticing a code is about to expire and wait for it to refresh before typing it into a website, but okay, they are paused.

To update the code, finger-hold (or very-long-tap) for a few seconds on any of the codes, and all the codes will get updated.

It is that simple.

p.s. The other thing many sites say to do is check the app’s settings, refresh the “Time correction for codes”, the time on your app should be synchronized with the “real time”, but they can get out of synch. This time is different from your phone’s clock (resetting the time correction doesn’t change your phone’s time). If this “time correction” setting fixes your problem with 2FA, you could check your phone’s time is being updated, normally to your phone network clock.