Table of contents

• Requirements
• Installation
• Activation
• Operation
• No Notification

Requirements

• Must be installed on an Android Phone that has not been rooted.
• Device's Android Version must be 7 or later.

Installation

You can download the IBKR Mobile app on your smartphone directly from;
Google Play Store , 360 Mobile Assistant or Baidu Mobile Assistant.

How to install IBKR Mobile from the Google Play Store:

1. On your Android phone tap on the Play Store app.
2. Tap on the search bar at the top, type IBKR Mobile then tap Search.
3. Locate the app IBKR Mobile from Interactive Brokers Group, then select it (Figure 1.).
4. Tap on Install to the right (Figure 2.).
   
5. Once the installation completes, tap on Open to launch the IBKR Mobile app.

Figure 1.                                                                              Figure 2.

 

Activation

Once the app has been installed on your device you will need to activate it for the username you would like to enroll. This operation happens entirely on your phone, requires Internet access and the ability to receive SMS (text message).

1. On your phone open the IBKR Mobile app:

1.a. If you're opening IBKR Mobile for the first time since its installation, proceed to step 2.

1.b. If when opening IBKR Mobile you land on the login screen, tap Services on the top left (Figure 3.) and proceed with step 2.

1.c. If when opening IBKR Mobile you land on your Home Page, Portfolio, Watchlists, or similar, tap the Menu icon on the top-left (Figure 4.). Then tap Two-factor Authentication (Figure 5.), followed by Activate IB Key (Figure 6.) and proceed with step 2.

Figure 3.                                                   Figure 4.                                                    Figure 5.

Figure 6.

2. Tap Register Two-Factor (Figure 7.), review the instructions and tap Continue (Figure 8.).

Figure 7.                                                         Figure 8.
 

3. Enter your IBKR Account Username and Password then tap Continue.

Figure 9.

4. The default mobile phone number on record for your account will be already selected. If you are not able to receive text messages (SMS) on that number, you should choose a different one from the list (if applicable) or add a new one. To add a new mobile phone number, tap Add Phone Number, enter the new number¹ and corresponding Country.  Once you have selected your preferred mobile number from the list or added the new mobile number, tap Get Activation Code.

Figure 10.


5. An SMS message will be sent with an Activation Token. Enter the token in the Activation Code field, create a PIN² then tap Activate.

Figure 11.                                                         Figure 12.
 

6. You will receive a message with the outcome of the operation. Tap Done to finalize the procedure (Figure 13.).

Figure 13.                                                         Figure 14.
 

Once the IBKR Mobile Authentication (IB Key) has been activated, you can close the app. Refer to Operation instructions below on how to use the authentication module.

Notes: 

1. You must enter your phone number without your country's trunk prefix (123 instead of 1123 or 0123) and only enter numbers without any spacing or special characters.
2. The PIN must be at least 4 and up to 6 characters (letters, numbers and special characters allowed). Refer to KB2269 for additional guidelines.

Operation

Once activated, you can use the IBKR Mobile Authentication (IB Key) to validate your login attempt as follows:
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do not have Internet access while operating the IBKR Mobile, please refer to the section "What if I do not receive the notification?"

1) Enter your IBKR Account credentials into your trading platform or Client Portal login screen and click Login. If your credentials have been accepted, a notification will be sent to your phone.

Figure 15.

2) On your phone, swipe down from the top and check your notification drawer. Tap on the IBKR Mobile notification. If you have not received the notification, please refer to KB3234.

Figure 16.

3) The IBKR Mobile Authentication (IB Key) will open, prompting you for your fingerprint or your PIN, according to the hardware capabilities of your phone. Please provide the requested security element.

Figure 17.                                                    Figure 18.

4) If the authentication has succeeded, the trading platform or Client Portal login process will automatically move ahead to the next phases.

Figure 19.

What if I do not receive the notification?

If the notification does not reach your phone, it may be because notifications are disabled, no internet access is available or you have a poor, unstable connection. In these cases the seamless authentication may not be available but you can still use the manual Challenge/Response authentication method as described below: 

1) On your trading platform or Client Portal login screen, click the link "Click here if you do not receive the notification" .

Figure 20.

2) A Challenge code will be displayed on the screen.

Figure 21.

 

3) Launch the IBKR Mobile app on your Smartphone, select Authenticate (if necessary), enter your PIN and the Challenge code you obtained in the previous step. Tap Generate Passcode.

Figure 22.                                                         Figure 23.
 
 

4) A Response String will be displayed.

Figure 24.

 

5) Enter the Response String into your trading platform or Client Portal login screen. Then click OK.

Figure 25.

 

6) If the authentication has succeeded, the trading platform or Client Portal login process will automatically move ahead to the next phases.

Figure 26.

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References:

• See KB2748 for instructions on how to recover IBKR Mobile Authentication (IB Key).
• See KB3234 for troubleshooting missing IBKR Mobile notifications
• See KB2745 for instructions on how to clear the cache for the IBKR Mobile app.