Fix · GitHub and Git

I lost my phone or my two-step sign-in codes for GitHub

Blocks your workSecurityNot checked against the vendor's current screens

What you may see

I cannot sign in to GitHub because I do not have the second step
I changed my phone

Most likely cause

The second step lives on the old phone, and the recovery codes were not saved.

Check first (about two minutes)

Look for the recovery codes you saved when you turned two-step sign-in on (a file, a photo, a password manager).
Check whether any device is still signed in to GitHub (an old laptop, the phone app).

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who knows Git and GitHub very well and explains them to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

Menu and button names change over time. If you cannot find a button or page I mention, say so and tell me what to look for instead of guessing.

THE PROBLEM
I lost my phone or my two-step sign-in codes for GitHub

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
The second step lives on the old phone, and the recovery codes were not saved.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Walk me through the official GitHub account recovery path for lost two-step codes, step by step, naming the pages (they may be labelled differently).
2. Remind me to save new recovery codes in a safe place once I am in, and to set up a second device or a password manager.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- I can sign in and I have new recovery codes saved in two places.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not suggest ways to bypass the sign-in or to use someone else's account.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Walk me through the official GitHub account recovery path for lost two-step codes, step by step, naming the pages (they may be labelled differently).
Remind me to save new recovery codes in a safe place once I am in, and to set up a second device or a password manager.

Do not do this

Do not trust emails or messages that offer to "recover" the account for a fee.
Do not send your recovery codes to anyone.
Do not suggest ways to bypass the sign-in or to use someone else's account.

Try another entry

I lost my phone or my two-step sign-in codes for GitHub

What you may see

Most likely cause

Check first (about two minutes)

The fix prompt

Steps

Do not do this

Related

How can we help?