Set Up Your 2-Step Login

This guide provides instructions for setting up and managing 2-Step Login in BambooHR, enhancing account security. Users can enable this feature through various verification methods, including SMS, authenticator apps, and backup codes. The guide details both required and optional setups, emphasizing the importance of 2-Step Login in protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access. Users are informed about receiving email notifications upon enabling the feature and provided with troubleshooting tips if login issues arise. Additionally, it outlines procedures for managing and resetting 2-Step Login settings, specifying that support cannot reset these settings for users. The document serves as a comprehensive resource for ensuring secure account access within BambooHR.

  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Set Up Your 2-Step Login
Article Text
This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

How do I set up 2-Step Login for my account?

Purpose: This guide helps you set up and manage your 2-Step Login settings in BambooHR, ensuring your account remains secure. Whether 2-Step Login is required by your company or you choose to enable it, you will find instructions for setting it up using one or multiple verification methods: text message (SMS), authenticator apps, and backup recovery codes. 

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Table of Contents

 

2-Step Login

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), or 2-Step Login, correctly identifies a user by requiring two items: something you know (such as a password) and something you have (such as a mobile phone). This second factor comes in the form of a time-based single-use code or an SMS text message.

Why is this required?

The #1 way sensitive information gets compromised is when people use the same password for more than one system. If your password is stolen elsewhere on the internet, your account is at risk. 2-Step Login provides a safety net against this exact concern, as well as protection against phishing and social engineering. Because the system requires your authorization to log in, it prevents anyone from accessing your account even if they learn your password, because they would also need access to your specific device.

If you are having trouble logging in or need help with other account access issues, check out the FAQ - Login guide for answers to common login questions and troubleshooting tips.

Required setup

All BambooHR customers who have purchased Payroll are required to enable 2-Step Login or Single Sign On (SSO). 

When the 2-Step Login requirement is first enabled at your company, you will receive a notification the next time you log in to your account. This notification will let you know how many days you have to set up your verification method (or if you have to enable it immediately). 

To start setting up a verification method, click Setup Now. If you have the option to set it up later and prefer to do that, click Not Yet to continue access to BambooHR. 

A new modal will appear once you click Setup Now. You will start with an authenticator app, which is the quickest and most secure way to set up your login. Just click Set Up and follow the steps listed here.

If you do not have a smartphone, you can choose to receive a code by text message instead. Click the blue hyperlink: Get a text (SMS) message.

Once set up, you can choose a second method or use backup recovery codes. See below for information on how to set up each verification method. 

To manage or reset your 2-Step Login settings, click here for more information.

Optional setup

If 2-Step Login is not required at your company, you can manually opt into using 2-Step Login.

To set up 2-Step Login, log in to BambooHR and click on your profile photo in the bottom left corner. Click 2-Step Login from the dropdown menu to continue. From here, you can set up and manage your 2-Step Login settings. For more information on how to set up each method, see below. 

On this page, you can also reset your verification method or set up another verification method if preferred. To get backup recovery codes, simply click Get Codes. Once clicked, you will also have the option to generate new backup codes if needed.

If you are using both Text Message (SMS) and Authenticator App options, you will be able to choose a preferred method by clicking Manage > Set as Preferred within the preferred option.

Mobile-only users: If your company requires 2-Step Login, mobile users will need to log in to BambooHR through a web browser or mobile browser to set it up. After setting it up, they can log in to BambooHR through the app and provide the code from their selected verification method.

Verification methods

Authenticator app

The setup modal for using an authenticator app explains how to download an authenticator app and enter the verification code.

If you do not have an authenticator app and would like to use Google Authenticator, click on iOS or Android (blue hyperlinks). Or, you can search for an authenticator app of your preference in your mobile app store. 2-Step Login will work with any authenticator app.

After downloading your preferred authenticator app, follow the instructions below: 

  1. Open the authenticator app and tap to add a new authenticator.
  2. You have the option to scan the QR code or enter the code manually.
  3. Once you scan the QR code or enter the code, you will see a six-digit code associated with your BambooHR login credentials. This code will automatically change every 30 seconds.

In BambooHR, click Next to enter the authenticator app code.

If you are using a mobile device, you will not be able to set up 2-Step Login by scanning the QR code. Click here to learn how you can navigate this process.

Enter the six-digit code from the authentication app. You can mark the box if you would like the system to remember your computer for six months. After six months, we will ask for another code. Please note that if you log in to your account on another device, you will need to enter a new code. 

Click Continue.

If you attempt to authenticate with a code too many times without success, you will get locked out for 30 minutes.

From here, you can either click Continue to BambooHR to automatically log in to BambooHR or add a backup method (text message or backup codes).

How do I set up the authenticator app method through the web browser on my mobile device?

On your mobile device, you will not be able to scan the QR code for the authenticator app method. Instead, tap Enter Code Manually.

This action will open a modal with a 10-digit code you can use to set up the authenticator app. You will likely need to turn your device to landscape mode to see the complete code.

In the authenticator app, tap to add a new authenticator and select Manual entry. Enter your account email address and add the 10-digit passcode for the key.

Once you set up the authenticator, you will need to enter the new six-digit passcode in BambooHR through your web browser to log in to your account.

Text message (SMS)

If you are using SMS as your verification method, you must have the following mobile app versions or newer:

  • BambooHR iOS 4.3.8
  • BambooHR Android 4.2.6
  • BambooHR Hiring App iOS & Android 1.6.6

If you do not have a smartphone, you can choose to receive your login code by text message instead. Select your country code and then enter your phone number in the 2-Step Login SMS Setup. Then, click Send Verification Code to receive your code. (The code will expire 10 minutes after it is sent.)

After receiving your code via SMS, enter the six-digit code. If you do not receive a code, click Resend Code and try again. It may take up to five minutes to receive another code. 

Please note that if you click Remember this computer, the system will remember your device for the next six months, meaning you will not have to use 2-Step Login on your device during this timeframe. After six months, you will need to enter a new code.

Backup recovery codes

After setting up your first verification method, you can use backup codes as another verification method. Click Get Codes for a list of backup codes. If you lose your phone with the authenticator app or do not have access to your phone, the backup codes are available for use. You have the option to download or print your backup codes and store them in a safe place.

After you use a backup code to log in to your account, a strikethrough will appear on the code, and you cannot use it anymore. You can generate new codes if you have lost them or believe they are compromised. Click Ok, Got It to return and log in to BambooHR. 

You can access your backup codes by clicking on your profile photo in the bottom left corner when logging in to your BambooHR account. Click 2-Step Login from the dropdown menu and then click Get Codes within the Backup Recovery Codes section.

Email notification

Once you set up your 2-Step Login, you will receive an email notification confirming that it is enabled.

Manage or reset 2-Step Login

For security reasons, BambooHR Support cannot reset 2-Step Login for employees (and non-employee users) and administrators.

Employees & non-employee users: If you need your 2-Step Login reset, please contact an HR administrator at your company. Once it has been reset, you will receive an one-time bypass to log in using only your email and password. After logging in, you can then reconfigure your 2-Step Login settings.

Administrators: If you are unable to access your 2-Step Login verification method, contact another Full Admin in your BambooHR account to reset it for you.

If you need to update your 2-Step Login settings in BambooHR, the steps depend on whether you can still log in to your account.

If you can log in, you can manage your 2-Step Login settings directly from your BambooHR account. Examples of updates you can make include the following:

  • Switch your verification method: If you want to switch your preferred verification method (e.g., from SMS to Authenticator App)
  • Update your phone number: If you changed your phone number)
  • Regenerate backup recovery codes: If your originals are lost or compromised

If you cannot log in, you will need an administrator to reset your 2-Step Login for you. Common reasons include the following:

  • You no longer have access to your phone number or authentication app
  • You are not receiving verification codes to complete login

Here's what the 2-Step Login settings look like in your BambooHR account, so you know exactly where to find and manage your verification methods:

From your BambooHR homepage, click your profile photo in the bottom left corner and then select 2-Step Login.

On the 2-Step Login page, you can view, manage, or reset your verification methods:

  1. To reset a current verification method, click Manage and then Reset.
    • The Disable option is only available to those who are not required to set up 2-Step Login. Clicking Disable will turn off the verification method. If you are required to use 2-Step Login, you will not have this option.
  2. If you use more than one verification method, you will have the Set as Default option. Choose this option if you want to switch your preferred verification method.
    • If you only use one verification method and want to add another one, simply click Set Up  under the other method.
  3. If your phone number has changed, click Manage within the Text Message (SMS) section and click Change Phone Number.
  4. If you need new backup recovery codes, click Regenerate Codes.
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