How to transfer Steam Guard to a new phone

Problem this solves

You are replacing a phone and cannot tell whether to transfer Steam Guard or recover access.

What you can do afterward

Choose an official route based on the access you still have and check the resulting restriction.

The important question is what access you still have. A lost handset, a lost phone number and a deleted authenticator can lead to different next steps. Choose your situation before changing another security setting.

Choose your transfer or recovery route

If your situation does not match a route exactly, follow the current Steam prompts and use its support options. A tutorial cannot determine which verification methods Steam will offer on your particular account.

Before changing anything, preserve the access you have

Open the official Steam app yourself. Keep the old phone available while you work through the change, and postpone wiping or handing it over until you have checked the new setup. If you are also changing numbers, identify which number Steam currently has and whether you can still receive its messages.

• Check the account: make sure you are working on the intended Steam account if the app contains several.
• Check email access: open the associated inbox through your usual trusted route so you can read security notices.
• Keep recovery information private: store the saved authenticator recovery code securely, separate from the phone. It is different from the ordinary changing login code.
• Review commitments: note any marketplace delivery or confirmation still awaiting action before starting a voluntary phone migration.

Valve’s setup instructions [4] explain the recovery code. You never need to send that code to this site, paste it into the selector, or share it with somebody offering to move the authenticator for you.

If the old authenticator still works

Install the official Steam Mobile app on the new phone and sign in. In the new app’s Steam Guard section, use Move Authenticator and follow the confirmation prompts. Valve lists the existing authenticator as a supported way to authorize the transfer. [1]

Valve’s detailed transfer walkthrough also asks for an SMS code after sign-in with the old authenticator. Check that you can receive messages at the registered number before starting. The general FAQ describes broader authorization options, so the old authenticator’s availability alone should not be treated as a guarantee that every verification step will work. If Steam requests SMS that you cannot receive, use its offered recovery or Support options while preserving your existing access. [7] [1]

Read the action before confirming it. If the screen instead says it will remove the authenticator, stop and establish why you are in a removal flow. Do not follow removal instructions merely because a guide uses “transfer” as a loose description of setting up another phone.

If you are changing your phone number as well, take extra care with that distinction. Valve’s FAQ has separate guidance for losing number access and recommends transferring where possible. Keep the access you still control while following the current prompts; do not assume every number-change situation will use the same verification sequence. [1]

If the old phone is gone but the registered number still works

Begin sign-in in Steam Mobile on the new phone. When asked to confirm it, use the option indicating that the old authenticator is no longer available, then follow the SMS transfer steps. This is the alternative transfer route documented by Valve. [1]

The number must be the one associated with the account, not simply a new number you now own. If the handset was lost, ask your mobile provider whether you can retain that number on a replacement SIM. A broken screen or lost handset does not, by itself, tell you whether SMS recovery is still possible.

Stay aware of which flow you opened. A web recovery screen that proposes removing an authenticator is not interchangeable with an in-app transfer. Read its confirmation and resulting notice instead of assuming that every SMS-assisted action has the same wait.

If neither the authenticator nor SMS is available

Use Steam’s lost-authenticator recovery page. Follow its options for the contact methods you still control. A saved recovery code can help, but using a recovery path is not automatically the same as transferring the authenticator. Read any removal confirmation and its consequences. [3] [4]

If you cannot complete self-service recovery, continue through the official Support route. Keep relevant purchase records available in case Steam needs an ownership check. Avoid guessing answers or repeatedly changing settings on another signed-in device just to see whether it unlocks access. There is no reliable completion time to promise before Steam identifies and resolves the account’s case.

The useful distinction is between regaining access and being able to trade. You may successfully recover the account while a security restriction remains. That does not mean the recovery failed or that you should start removing and re-adding protection again.

If trading is still restricted afterward

First identify the action that actually completed. Use Steam’s confirmation, account notice and current restriction message. Do not start a guessed countdown from when you first noticed the message, and do not assume that clearing one restriction clears every other condition.

Example: you transferred the authenticator and recovered a forgotten password

Suppose the transfer notice shows one expiry and a password-recovery notice shows a later one. Reaching the first date does not establish that the second restriction has ended. Record both messages and their displayed dates, then recheck the blocked feature after the relevant restriction expires. Password recovery is a separate event from moving an authenticator; the restriction guide explains its rules.

Example: the account can trade, but one received skin cannot move

Inspect that item. A CS2 skin received in a trade has seven days of Trade Protection; it arrives immediately but cannot be transferred onward during protection. That item notice is separate from a phone-transfer restriction. Removing Steam Guard cannot make it available sooner. [5]

Example: you can exchange an item but cannot use the Community Market

Check the Market message itself. Purchase history and account status are separate Market eligibility checks, so successful phone setup is not proof of Market access. The account eligibility guide explains which evidence to check. A new phone is a recent event you remember; it is not automatically the cause of every restriction you notice afterward.

Finish the handover and check delivery plans

Before treating the migration as complete, confirm that the new official app shows the intended account and that you can handle a sign-in you deliberately initiated. Save the recovery code presented during the transfer securely, separate from your phone; Valve’s transfer walkthrough [7] shows this step. Do not assume that the old authenticator remains a working backup after a transfer.

If you use a marketplace, review each pending transaction’s current state and deadline. Identify what still needs action from you: sending an offer, confirming it, or completing some step within the service. Read that service’s current instructions before assuming Steam’s temporary restriction pauses its deadline. If you cannot meet an existing commitment, use its support route instead of improvising another transfer or cancellation.

Keep a short handover record: the action you completed, whether the new app works, the restriction Steam currently displays, and any unfinished delivery. That gives you a concrete next step if something remains blocked, without repeatedly changing account security settings.