Activation is quick and easy
How to log in with 2FA
Your smartphone authentication app
You can use your mail.com account with or without 2FA, so the choice is yours. When deciding whether to activate 2FA, think about your own email security needs. If others may have access to your email password, using two-factor authentication will give your mail.com account an additional layer of protection. However, it will require more effort to log in: You will have to enter a security code in addition to your password and have your smartphone available (see next question).
Yes, you need a smartphone with an authentication app to set up 2FA and log in for the first time following activation. If you are using 2FA to log in to your mail email account in your computer´s web browser, you will need a one-time password each time as the second factor in the two-step verification process. Because this code is generated by the authentication app you have installed on your smartphone and is only valid for 30 seconds, you must have it at hand whenever you log in. However, you do not need your smartphone or the authenticator app every time you want to log in to the mail.com Mail App – you only need to enter the generated code once. Similarly, you do not need a smartphone every time for external email programs; here you save an app-specific password during activation (see next question).
When using two-factor authentication, you need an app-specific password if you use an external email program (e.g. Outlook or Thunderbird) to retrieve your emails via POP3 / IMAP. In such cases, to enable two-factor authentication you must enter the app-specific password one time. You create an app-specific password for this purpose during the 2FA activation process in your mail.com account. You do not need an app-specific password to log in to your web browser or mai.com app with two-factor authentication.
If you activate 2FA but forget your email password or lose access to your authentication app, you will no longer be able to log in to your mail.com account. To regain access, you have to use the password recovery process and provide your secret key code. When your secret key is generated during the two-factor authentication activation process, we strongly urge you to print it and keep it in a safe place.
If you require more detailed instructions, e.g. for the set-up process, the authentication app, or the app-specific password, please visit our Help Center. Here you will find answers to these questions and many more.