How to import Google Authenticator to your computer
Last updated: 24 August 2026
Google Authenticator can hand over every account at once, but the QR code it produces is in a format almost no other tool can read. This one can — in your browser, with nothing uploaded.
Why moving out of Google Authenticator is normally so hard
Google Authenticator has no export file, no cloud sync you can read, and no way to display the secret behind an account once it has been added. For years the only route off the app was to switch off two-factor login on every site and set it all up again from scratch.
The app does have a Transfer accounts feature, but it produces a QR code in Google's own
otpauth-migration:// format — a compressed binary payload holding many accounts at once.
Ordinary QR readers see gibberish. Most online 2FA tools only handle one account per code and fail on it
entirely. That gap is why people assume their accounts are trapped.
This tool decodes that format directly, on your device. One scan brings everything across, keeping each account's name, hash algorithm and digit count intact.
Step by step: from the app to your browser
- Open Google Authenticator on the phone that currently holds your accounts.
- Tap the menu, then Transfer accounts, then Export accounts. Confirm your screen lock if asked.
- Tick the accounts you want to move — or select them all — and continue. A QR code appears. If you have many accounts the app splits them across several codes.
- On your computer, open the 2FA code generator and press Import Google Authenticator.
- Give the batch a name if you like, such as “Personal Gmail”, then choose Scan the QR code and point your webcam at the phone. No camera? Take a screenshot of the QR on your phone, send it to yourself, and choose Upload screenshot instead.
- Every account appears in your saved list, each with a live code and its own countdown. If the export was split, you are told which part you scanned and how many remain — repeat for the rest.
Nothing is deleted from your phone. Exporting copies your keys, it does not move them. Google Authenticator keeps working exactly as before, and both will show the same codes.
Two Google accounts? Put both on one screen
Google Authenticator ties its accounts to whichever Google login is active on the phone. People with a work Gmail and a personal Gmail end up signing out and back in just to read a code from the other one.
Keys here are not tied to any account, so they can sit together. Export from the first Gmail and import it as “Personal Gmail”, export from the second and import it as “Work Gmail”. Both sets then appear in one list, grouped by source, with a filter box once the list grows. No switching, no signing in.
Weighing up whether to leave the app at all? See the alternatives compared. Codes being rejected after a move? See why 2FA codes fail.
Is it safe to scan an export code into a website?
Treat that QR code as seriously as a password list, because that is effectively what it is: every secret key you selected, in one image. Only scan it into software you are willing to trust.
Here, the decoding runs entirely in your browser. The QR is read by local JavaScript, the payload is decoded on your device, and the codes are computed with the browser's built-in cryptography. Nothing is transmitted — you can load the page, disconnect from the internet, and the import still works.
If you would rather not take that on faith, use the strongest option: on the main page, open the guide and choose Download a copy of this app. You get one self-contained HTML file. Open it from your own disk with the network off and do the import there. A file you hold cannot be changed by anyone afterwards.
Never share the export QR. Not in a chat, not in a screen share, not in a support ticket. Anyone who photographs it owns every account on it. Delete any screenshot you made once the import is done.
Getting your accounts onto a new phone
The same tool works in the other direction. Every imported account has a QR icon beside it that redraws that single key as a standard code any authenticator app will accept — Google Authenticator, Aegis, 2FAS, 1Password or Bitwarden.
So the full path from an old phone to a new one is: export from the old phone, scan it here, then scan each account into whichever app you have chosen on the new phone. If you would rather not rely on any device at all, print a paper recovery sheet from the saved accounts list — one row per account with a scannable code — and store it somewhere physically safe.
Common questions
Is it safe to scan my Google Authenticator export code on a website?
The export QR contains every one of your secret keys, so it should only ever be scanned by software you trust. On 2FA Auth Code the decoding happens entirely inside your browser using local JavaScript — nothing is uploaded, and you can disconnect from the internet before scanning and it will still work. For maximum assurance, download the single-file version of the tool first and run it from your own disk with no network connection at all.
Why does Google Authenticator show several QR codes when I export?
The app splits large exports into batches so each QR code stays scannable. Each code contains a subset of your accounts. Scan them one after another; the tool reports which part you just scanned and how many remain, and merges everything into one list.
Can I still use Google Authenticator after importing?
Yes. Exporting copies your keys rather than moving them, so the app keeps working exactly as before. Nothing is deleted from your phone, and both can generate the same codes at the same time because they derive from the same secret.
What is an otpauth-migration:// QR code?
It is Google's own format for transferring accounts. Instead of one account per QR code, it packs many accounts into a single compressed binary payload (a protobuf) encoded in the QR. Most online 2FA tools only understand ordinary otpauth:// codes and will fail on it, which is why importing usually seems impossible.
Which accounts cannot be imported?
Counter-based accounts, known as HOTP, are rare and are not supported. If your export contains any, everything else is imported and you are told exactly how many entries were skipped rather than having them dropped silently.
Do I need an account or to install anything?
No. There is no signup, no app to install and no charge. Open the page, scan, and your codes appear.
Ready to move your accounts?
The importer is free, needs no account, and works offline once the page has loaded.