How to Turn on Two-Factor Authentication for Your Fidelity Account?

What is Two-Factor Authentication and how does it help me?

No doubt you have heard of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) if you've been reading our articles. I'm a big fan of it myself. But do you know what it is and what it does? Well, in layman's terms it's another layer of protection.

2FA works by making you enter more than just your user credentials to log into your accounts. Two-factor authentication also needs a special code, something that only you have access to. It can be a specific word or a secret question. This makes brute-forcing your accounts much more difficult since the hackers would need to guess not only your password but the 2FA code as well.

Two-factor authentication has become a staple of security within virtually every big company like MSN, Yahoo, and Google. In fact, Google has been using 2FA for nearly a decade now.

How do I enable Two-Factor Authentication on my Fidelity account?

There's no special procedure. You will be asked to enter a unique security code to verify your identity whenever you execute highly sensitive transactions.

How do I get this security code?

The special security codes are received by SMS and automated phone calls to your phone. Fidelity gets your phone number from the contact information you enter in your client profile. It's crucial that you keep your personal information up to date if you want 2FA to work.

How do I use the security code once I get it?

You only need to use this code when asked for it. As I said before, you'll only be prompted for it during certain actions and transactions.

What do I do if the security code doesn’t work?

Make sure you've entered the code correctly if it is the correct code and it still doesn't work press "Select "Request a new code".
Fidelity will send you a new security code, assuming you're using a mobile phone. If you're using a landline phone you'll get an automated call instead.

What do I do if I don’t have a phone near me?

It's still possible to get a security code even if you don't have your main phone on you. If you have entered an alternate phone number on your profile, you can receive the code on that phone. In the event, you do not have a second phone listed you'll have to press the "Select this link if you can't receive a code" link to talk to Fidelity rep who can help you.

What if I don’t have a mobile phone?

Then you can receive a security code via an automated call to the landline phone you've listed.