Sign in with your recovery code
You can restore your account on a new phone with your username, password, and recovery code, without the old phone. You need all three, or the printed kit plus your password.
Step by step
- Install Chillswitch on the new phone and open it.
- On the first screen, tap I have an account.
- Enter your username and password.
- Enter your recovery code, or tap the camera button and scan your recovery kit. Scanning fills in the username and recovery code; the password is deliberately not on the kit.
- Tap Sign in.
The new phone then unlocks your account key. Your contacts see no change.
Messages you may see
- "This phone needs your key." Your encryption key never left your old phone, so Chillswitch cannot restore it for you. The recovery code you saved at sign-up unlocks it here.
- "This phone holds another account." Signing in here replaces it. The other account will not be reachable on this phone unless you have its recovery code too.
- "That recovery code didn't open your account key." Check every character, and make sure you are using the newest code. Replacing a code makes the old one stop working.
- "This account has no backup, so it can't be restored here." No recovery backup was ever saved. Sign in on the phone you set it up on, and create a backup from the dashboard.
After signing in
- Remove your old phone: Settings > Advanced actions > Signed-in phones.
- Allow notifications.
- Check that paid plans show up: Plans > Restore purchases.
If you do not have the code
Without the recovery code and without the old phone, nobody, including Chillswitch, can restore the account. You can create a new account, which starts empty. See if you lost your phone.