Since iOS 15, the iPhone has been able to generate security codes to validate your connections using double authentication. The system is even able to fill them in automatically.
You may not know it, but your iPhone has a particularly interesting security feature. Apple has in fact grafted a validation code generator for secure connections with double authentication directly into the password manager of iOS 15.
More secure than a simple code sent by SMS, the system offered on the iPhone can replace third-party authentication applications such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. But the most practical in the iPhone module is probably its ability to automatically fill in these famous codes when you log in, provided of course that you have configured it to work with your favorite sites and applications.
To show you how the iOS code generator is activated and works, we have chosen to take the example of Facebook. We will thus secure our account by configuring the double authentication using the validation code generator integrated into the iPhone. You will be able to see how the connection to the Facebook account is thus secured, iOS taking care of automatically filling in the validation code without you having to look for it.
Two configuration options
There is no standard way to enable two-factor authentication with the passcode generator built into the iOS password manager. However, the method is quite similar on each platform since it consists of going to the Security Settings to configure double authentication with an authentication application.
Where it gets complicated is how to do it. If you do all the manipulation from the iPhone, the process is quite simple and intuitive. If you activate double authentication on a service from a computer, however, you will need to manually scan the QR Code (or enter the generated authentication code) in the module for Configuring a validation code integrated into the password manager of iOS.
Also see video:
Configure the code generator from an application
For our example, we are going to activate two-factor authentication from the Facebook application for iPhone. Note that this procedure can be reproduced with other services (Twitter, Instagram, etc.) offering double authentication, by going to the security settings dedicated to each one.
Open Facebook, tap the app’s main menu, and tap the gear icon. Then enter Password & Security and select the Use two-factor authentication option. Then choose Authenticator app. A page with a QR Code and a code made up of numbers and letters is displayed. Tap the Configured on the same device option.
The iOS password manager should then open. Then select the account used to connect to the service. The Validation Code option is automatically enabled. In principle, a validation code is automatically displayed and updates every 30 seconds. Copy it (it does not appear in the screenshots), go back to Facebook and paste it into the Enter confirmation code field and press Continue. Then enter your login password and press the Continue button to validate the connection between Facebook (or other) and the double authentication code generator of the iOS password manager.
If here Facebook offers a “Configured on the same device” option, this is not always the case. Other applications do not offer a redirect link. Sometimes a long press on the QR Code is enough to activate the verification code generator in the iOS password manager. If not, you will have no choice but to proceed manually.
Configure the code generator manually
If you plan to activate two-factor authentication from a PC to configure it with the verification code generator of iOS, go to the Security settings of the service to activate two-factor authentication (two-factor authentication) with an application. authentication.
In our example, on Facebook, click on the drop-down menu at the top right and enter the Settings menu then Settings and privacy.
Select Security & Login in the left column, then click Use Two-Factor Authentication.
Click Authenticator app and then Add app. A pop-up with a QR Code is displayed.
From your iPhone now, open the Settings, go to Passwords, access the account for which you want to use two-factor authentication with the iPhone. Tap Set up a verification code, then in the pop-up that appears choose to Scan a QR Code.
All you have to do is scan the QR Code displayed on your computer screen to validate the configuration of your iPhone’s password manager as an authentication application.
A new Validation Code entry is then proposed and displays a validation code, updated every thirty seconds. Copy the code and paste it into the Two-Factor Authentication pop-up that appears on your PC screen to validate the link between your iPhone and your account.
Login with iPhone Code Generator
When the verification code generator is activated on your iPhone, you no longer need to enter it manually, iOS takes care of it for you.
Open the iOS application or the mobile web version of the service to which you want to connect and for which you have activated two-factor authentication with your iPhone and connect with your usual username and password.
The service should then ask you for your second authentication factor. Activate the cursor in the field provided for this purpose, then in the iOS keyboard, press the suggestion displayed above the letters and which says “Validation code for…”.
The validation code for two-factor authentication is then automatically filled in the dedicated field, allowing you to log in without having to worry about anything.
While we’ve used Facebook here to show how iOS’s built-in code generator works for two-factor authentication, the procedure can be replicated on other services with a similar scheme.