Copy a verification code or link from your phone to your laptop

Short code or long link? Decide first

A six-digit two-factor (2FA) code is often quicker to read and type than to transfer, and typing leaves no copy anywhere else. Codes are short-lived and usually work once, so a slow handoff can cost you the code.

Transfer when retyping invites mistakes: a long sign-in or meeting link, a street address, a tracking number, or a code that mixes letters and digits. Some services also expect a sign-in link to be opened in the browser that requested it, which means moving the link rather than switching devices.

Copy a 2FA code from iPhone to Mac with Universal Clipboard

On Apple devices, the clipboard already travels. Universal Clipboard works with a Mac, iPhone, iPad or Apple Vision Pro when the devices are near each other, signed in with the same Apple Account, and have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Handoff turned on. Copy the code on the phone and paste it on the Mac.

Apple notes that copied content stays on the other device only briefly, or until you copy something else, so paste it straight away.

Android to Windows: Phone Link copy and paste

Windows Phone Link offers cross-device copy and paste for Surface Duo and select Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, ASUS, vivo and Xiaomi phones. Turn it on in Phone Link under Settings, Features, Cross-device copy and paste. From then on, anything you copy on either device replaces the clipboard on both. It carries text and images; Microsoft says very long text may not paste.

Send a link from computer to phone with Chrome

If you use Chrome on both devices and are signed in with the same Google Account, open the page and choose More, Cast, save, and share, then Send to your devices, and pick your phone. With notifications on, the phone alerts you and the tab opens in Chrome. On a phone, Send to your devices sits in the Share menu, so it also works in the other direction.

Not signed in? Choose More, Cast, save, and share, then Create QR code, and scan the code with the phone’s camera.

Any phone, any computer: a short sharing session

When your devices do not share an ecosystem, or one is a work laptop you cannot sign in to, use TempGenerator’s Share between devices tool. Start a session on the laptop, scan its QR code with the phone or type the 6-character code, then paste the code or link on the phone and send it. On the laptop, choose Copy text, or Open link for a link.

It works across networks, needs no app or account, and either device can send. A message holds up to 16 KiB of text, plenty for codes, links and addresses.

The same applies to temporary email. If you read a TempGenerator inbox on one device while finishing a sign-up on the other, send the code or verification link across instead of retyping it. The inbox countdown and the code’s own expiry are separate clocks, so finish while both are running.

Keep one-time codes safe

Moving a code between your own devices is very different from giving it to someone. The FTC puts it plainly: never give your verification code to someone else, and anyone who asks you for it is a scammer.

• Use a code promptly. If it has expired, request a new one; sending the old one again will not help.
• Pair only your own devices and keep the connection link private, because anyone holding it can read and send in the session.
• Do not send passwords, recovery or backup codes, or identity documents. Transfers are stored on our server until the session ends and are not end-to-end encrypted.
• Once the code is pasted, end the session from the device that started it. Ending it deletes everything straight away; otherwise it expires after 15 minutes.

Common questions