Recovery codes

Where your eight recovery codes come from, how to use one when you cannot get the email code, and how to make a new set.

Updated September 2, 2026

Recovery codes let you finish a two-factor login when you cannot get to the email with the six-digit code. Hailo gives you eight. Each one works once.

When you get them

Recovery codes are shown once, at the end of turning two-factor on. The page is titled Two-factor auth is on, save these codes and warns "Save these now, you'll only see them once." Under it: "Each code below works one time, instead of the six-digit code we email you. Use one if you ever lose access to your email. Print this page, paste into a password manager, or stash in a secure note, anywhere you'll find it later but no one else will."

The eight codes look like h3kf-9q2x. The page gives you three ways to keep them:

  • Copy all copies the eight codes to the clipboard.
  • Print opens the print dialog.
  • Download .txt saves them as a text file.

Then press I've saved them, back to Account. Once you leave, Hailo cannot show you the same codes again.

Use a recovery code

  1. Log in with your email and password.
  2. On the Two-factor verification page, type a recovery code into the Six-digit code box instead of an emailed code.
  3. Press Verify.

The code is used up. The Two-factor authentication page under Settings > Account > Manage shows how many you have left: "You have N of 8 recovery codes left."

Recovery codes do not work during the 15-minute lockout that follows five wrong codes. Wait it out, then use one.

Make a new set

  1. Open Settings > Account and press Manage on the Two-factor authentication row.
  2. Under Recovery codes, press Generate new codes.
  3. A page titled New recovery codes shows eight fresh codes. Save them with Copy all, Print or Download .txt, then press I've saved them, back to Account.
Heads up

Generating new codes burns the old set. Every code you saved before stops working the moment the new page appears, whether or not you had used it.

Make a new set when you have used most of them, when you are not sure where the old list went, or after anyone else may have seen it.

If a recovery code does not work

What happens What to do
"That code didn't work. Try again, or use a recovery code." The code has already been used, was regenerated, or was mistyped. Try another from the list.
"Too many wrong codes. This account is locked for 15 minutes." Recovery codes are blocked during the lockout. Wait 15 minutes.
You have no codes left and no access to your email Reset your password from the login screen with Forgot?. The reset email goes to the same address, so first restore access to that inbox. If you cannot, contact support. See Reset your password.
  • Turn on two-factor authenticationAdd a six-digit email code to every login, handle the login challenge, and turn two-factor off when you need to.
  • Trusted devicesSkip the two-factor code for 30 days on a Mac you trust, how the Mac app keeps that across relaunches, and what revokes it.
  • Reset your passwordGet a reset link from the login screen or from Account, choose a new password, and know what a reset does to your trusted devices.
Still stuck? Send a note from the contact page and a real person at Hailo answers. Include the studio name you signed up with and, if it is about a specific screen, what you clicked.
Contact support