To get ready: install an authenticator app on your phone (Step 1 below) any time this week. Everything else can wait until your next login after the upgrade.
?What's changing
The login page has always asked for your name, password, and a fixed Security Number. That third field is being replaced.
From now on, the third field expects a 6-digit code that changes every 30 seconds, generated by an authenticator app on your phone. The rest — your name and password — stays the same.
Why?
A fixed number, once known, is a permanent key. A code that changes every 30 seconds isn't — even if someone learned yesterday's code, it's useless today. This is the standard used by every major bank, Google, Microsoft, and pretty much every serious online service.1Install an authenticator app on your phone
If you already have one (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Microsoft Authenticator, LastPass — any of them), skip to Step 2. They all work identically.
If you don't:
2Enrol — one-time setup on your first login
On your first login after the upgrade, you'll go through a short setup screen. Here's what happens.
Step 2a — Log in as you always have
Go to pearlriverpartners.com → click Investor Login. Fill in your name, password, and your existing Security Number one last time.
Step 2b — Add the account to your app
You'll land on a setup page showing a QR code and a setup key. Open your authenticator app on your phone, then either:
- Easy way — scan the QR: in the app, tap + or Add account → Scan a QR code. Point your phone camera at the QR on your screen. Done — the app now shows "Pearl River" with a 6-digit code changing every 30 seconds.
- Manual way — type the key: in the app, tap + → Enter a setup key. Fill in:
- Account name:
Pearl River - Key: the code shown on the setup page (spaces don't matter — type them or paste)
- Type: Time based (usually the default)
- Account name:
Step 2c — Confirm the code
Back on the setup page, in the "6-digit code" input at the bottom, type the current code that your app is showing. Click Confirm & enable 2FA.
You'll see a green success message + your 10 backup codes — see the backup-codes section below on what to do with those. Save them, then you're done.
3Logging in from now on
Every future login: name, password, current 6-digit code from your app. The code refreshes every 30 seconds — if the timer is running out, wait for the next one rather than rushing.
Tip
Codes have a 30-second lifetime plus 30 seconds of grace on either side, so a code you copy at :29 will still work at :31. But if you can see the app is about to refresh, just wait a moment for the fresh code.★Backup codes — save these before closing the setup page
At the end of enrolment you're given 10 codes that look like ABCD-EFGH-JKLM. Each one
is a single-use replacement for a 6-digit code — you can use one to log in if you don't
have your phone with you (say, it was stolen, or the battery is flat, or you're travelling and left it
at home). Once used, a backup code stops working.
Save them somewhere safe before you close the setup page
You will not be shown them again. Recommended:
- Save into your password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, iCloud Keychain, etc.)
- Or print them and put in a drawer / safe
- Or email them to yourself — but only to a mailbox with strong login protection itself
Don't save them as a note on the same phone that has the authenticator app — if you lose the phone, you lose both.
The setup page has Copy all and Print buttons to make saving easy.
?Troubleshooting
"The 6-digit code doesn't work"
Almost always one of these:
- Wrong app entry. If you've added several accounts to your authenticator app, make sure you're reading the code for Pearl River, not another account.
- Time drift. The app relies on your phone's clock matching the server's clock. If your phone's time is set manually (not automatic), turn on automatic time in Settings.
- Just refreshed. If the timer at the edge of the app's tile is close to zero, the code you're seeing is about to expire — wait for the next one.
- Too many wrong attempts. After 5 wrong codes in a row, the system locks you out for 15 minutes. Wait it out and try again with the current code.
"I've lost my phone / got a new phone"
If you saved your backup codes, log in using one of them in place of the 6-digit code. Then contact us (details at bottom) — we'll reset your 2FA so you can enrol your new phone.
If you didn't save the backup codes: contact us. We'll reset your 2FA over a verified channel (email + a follow-up call if needed) so you can enrol fresh.
"I've enrolled but next time I try to log in it asks for a code I've never seen"
Your app was scanned/added correctly but the account may have been named something confusing. In the app, look for the entry with a code that is currently showing. If there are two Pearl River entries (accidental duplicate), test which one gives the code that logs you in, then delete the other in the app.
"I want to switch authenticator apps / add a second device"
Contact us to reset 2FA on your account. Then at your next login, enrol using both devices at the setup step (most apps let you scan the same QR from multiple devices before you confirm).
Anything else — just ask
Email info@pearlriverpartners.com or investors@pearlriverpartners.com and we'll help. No question is too basic — it's a one-time setup and it's fine to want a walk-through.
Pearl River Capital Partners · Two-factor login setup guide · v1.0