Backup Third Party Account help

[Jay16]

Hey everyone

I just got a new iPhone and I’m looking for ways to transfer my duo mobile to it. The problem is that I have a recovery password for the backup that I’m not confident if I remember.

The new iPhone has not been turned on. I have access to the original iPhone and the Instagram account along with backup codes. 

What are my options and best/safest way forward?

I originally downloaded duo mobile for school (required) and I later added Instagram

[Flavio Miranda]

@Jay16 

Explore the DUO website, they have some documents related.

https://guide.duo.com/duo-restore#enable-backup-3pr-ios

[Jay16]

Hi Flavio

I already read that document. It doesn’t say how I can remove a backup recovery password safely. I do not want to lock myself out. 

What happens if i turn off duo mobile 2fa through instagram settings? Can I then set it back up. Does the existing duo mobile account disappear. 

[DuoKristina]

Regarding resetting the third-party backup password, if you toggle the third-party backup option off and back on on your old phone it will prompt you to set the password again, so you can make it something you know. Then make sure you have an updated iCloud backup before you attempt restore on your new iPhone.

If you turn off 2FA using Duo as the authenticator app in Instagram (or any third-party service), it won't automatically disappear the corresponding account in Duo Mobile, but you can delete that account from Duo Mobile on your old phone and start over with Instagram setup on your new phone if you don't want to try restoring it.

If you do this, make sure to save the Instagram backup codes so that you can still log in if something happens to your phone so you can't put in the Duo Mobile code.

[Jay16]

So if i turn off third party backup it will not ask me the recovery password at all 100%? Does it matter if i have to do this on the original device i enabled it on? I have the original device which is the old iPhone.

What happens if i turn off third party backup and never turn it back on. I want duo mobile on the new iPhone but also to keep working on the old iPhone. How do i do this correctly?

[DuoKristina]

> So if i turn off third party backup it will not ask me the recovery password at all 100%?
Correct. if you turn this option off it won't ask for a password, and will remove any existing third-party account info from your Duo Mobile backup.

> Does it matter if i have to do this on the original device i enabled it on?
Ordinarily I would say yes, to disable it and then re-enable it and set a new password, and then let it create a new backup and restore that new backup to the second phone using the new backup password, but your next question makes this not the ordinary backup/restore situation.

> I want duo mobile on the new iPhone but also to keep working on the old iPhone. How do i do this correctly?

It's not intended to work this way. We only intend people to use backup from one phone & restore to another, so there isn't an active account sync that would maintain the same accounts on both devices. The accounts might still work to generate passcodes on both phones because it's based on the OTP seed info that would exist on both phones if you restored the third-party account using the backup, but there is the possibility that one phone's app could go out of sync in the future and stop generating valid codes. Also if you were to enable third-party backup on both phones, they would each create their own backup, not share the same one, because the backups would have unique encryption keys. If you got a third phone you would have to choose which of the two backups to restore; you could not restore both.

A more reliable way to possibly to use Duo Mobile to generate codes to log into a service on two phones at the same time is to set up both phones separately if the third-party service you use allows you to set up 2FA with multiple concurrent authenticator apps. However, I am not aware that Meta products do this and can't think of seeing this be possible in any of the other third-party services where I personally set up Duo for my OTP codes.

[Jay16]

I looked it up and it says that Instagram allows you to add additional devices to authentication apps but I’m curious if you think I should do it. 

Let’s say I do this the normal way where I don’t need both phones to be connected to the third party account. When i setup the new phone i would do it through QuickStart and then my options to transfer data would be by iphone to iphone transfer or iCloud backup. Which setup method works when third party backup is on and when it is off. Which one should I do?

[DuoKristina]

If you do not enable third-party account backup in Duo Mobile then your Instagram account will not be restored to Duo Mobile another phone.

If you look at the instructions for creating a Duo Mobile backup it says:

Back up your device to iCloud, with iCloud Keychain enabled to use Instant Restore. Nightly iCloud backups will include Duo Restore information. Encrypted iTunes or Finder backups will also work.

The "iCloud Keychain enabled" part is key, because the Duo Mobile account info is stored there.

Then, because you have a third-party account, you need to enable to additional option to back up third-party accounts and set a backup password.

If you use Apple's Quick Start, you can opt for either of the data transfer options. If you use iPhone to iPhone transfer, the iCloud Keychain data will transfer. If you choose iCloud backup, the iCloud Keychain data will be included in the restore from that backup.

If maintaining uninterrupted Instagram access is important to you, you should be sure to obtain backup codes from Instagram while you can still log in - before starting any of the phone migration - and get your backup codes. That way if something goes awry with your phone migration you can still log into Instagram.

https://help.instagram.com/1006568999411025?helpref=faq_content

I have my Instagram backup codes saved in my Password Manager app just in case I ever need them.