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Two-factor authentication: set it up, and what to do if you are locked out

Connect an authenticator app, a text message or a passkey, and the one step that gets you back in if you lose your device.

Two-factor authentication adds a second check after your password. Cargado requires it on accounts created from 19 August 2025 onward. Older accounts can still turn it on, and we recommend it.

The three methods

  • Authenticator app. A six-digit code that changes every 30 seconds. This is the most reliable option.
  • Text message. A code sent to your phone.
  • Passkey. Your device's own fingerprint, face or PIN.

There is no email option. Your email address is already the first factor, so a code sent there would not be a second one.

Set it up

  1. Open Settings from your profile menu.
  2. Find the two-factor authentication section and choose Connect.
  3. You are taken to the secure sign-in screen to finish enrolling. Follow the steps there and you are done.

You do not need a work phone. Authenticator apps run on a desktop computer too: Authy, 1Password and Microsoft Authenticator all have desktop versions. Text message is optional, not required.

One note on passkeys. The Settings screen lists a passkey only once you already have one on the account. If you want to start with a passkey, ask us and we will set the enrollment up for you.

If you cannot get in

Lost the phone, changed devices, deleted the authenticator app, or the text never arrives: you cannot reset this yourself, and neither can an admin at your company. Only Cargado support can clear it.

Email success@cargado.com from the address on the account and include your company name. We verify that the request comes from the account owner, then clear the enrollment so you can set it up fresh on your next sign-in.

If your codes are arriving by text and simply stop showing up, say so in that email. Tell us the phone number and roughly when you last received one. Text delivery is the part we most often need to chase, and knowing it is a delivery problem rather than a setup problem saves a round trip.

Before you remove a method

Removing your only connected method will lock you out on the next sign-in, and the screen will let you do it without warning you. Connect the replacement first, then remove the old one.