topic Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK in Mobile Services

Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:26:26 GMT

I have 2 Japanese apps which required authentication codes. 1 of which was previously installed a couple of years ago and at the time, I received the code as expected within a few seconds.

One of the apps has a ticketing feature. I cannot access the ticket screen or receive my ticket without the authentication code. I checked all of my settings for app and phone. All seemed in order. I contacted the app support staff. I contacted EE technical support twice. Staff stated that everything is in order on my end, nothing is blocked and I should be able to receive SMS codes without any problems. I receive SMS messages from the UK with no trouble. She said it is not possible for them to block anything coming in unless it is in my blocked number list. It is not. Friends in Finland, Greece and the USA using the same app have not experienced problems receiving the code or tickets. Based on that, I deleted and re-installed the Japanese app that had previously been authenticated with no trouble to see if the code would come through for that one. It did not.

The issue has not been resolved. I turned spam protection off, cleared all blocked numbers, cleared app cache and data, deleted SMS messages that were sitting on my phone, re-installed the messenger app, re-installed the Japanese app, removed photos from my phone etc. I removed my SIM card and put it back in. I have followed all advice but to no avail. No matter what I do, the authentication codes from Japanese apps do not arrive. After failing to get an authentication code for the app with the ticketing feature, I searched online and can see that a number of other EE customers are experiencing the same problem since the major security update. Getting an eSIM will not solve my particular problem because in order to download my ticket, it can only be sent to the mobile number on the ticket application without exception.

Has anyone else experienced this issue, followed advice, spoke with tech support and still not resolved the problem? At this point, I am convinced that the network security may be causing the problem and it cannot be resolved unless I switch to another network. Can anyone help? I am desperate to resolve this. Thanks.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

XRaySpeX — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:29:41 GMT

@mrsmoonlight : Where are you when all this is happening? Are you in UK or roaming?

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:30:49 GMT

I am in the UK.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

XRaySpeX — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:33:17 GMT

What phone have you?

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:34:55 GMT

I have a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

XRaySpeX — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:42:38 GMT

I have an earlier Galaxy. Just a wild guess but in the Messaging App Settings > More Settings > Text Msgs > Input Mode: Is it set to GSM? If so set it to UNICODE or Auto.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 15:12:01 GMT

Hi,

Unfortunately, those are not menu options within the messaging app settings.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

bristolian — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 15:43:25 GMT

Are these in-app notifications or SMS ones? If the former, these are entirely controlled within the app and all EE (or any operator) can do is provide your phone with a mobile data connection.

If these are SMS notifications, I suspect the app is irrelevant and you will need to escalate within CS. When you did so previously, what did they offer by means of further action? Or did they just figuratively shrug their shoulders?

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:00:34 GMT

These are verification codes sent via SMS. According to app support, there are no problems on their side to explain this issue. They gave the standard advice about clearing the cache and data, checking permissions settings are correct, uninstalling and reinstalling the app, removing my sim card and putting it back in etc.

Apologies for repeating myself but as I said in the original post, this problem is now related to 2 Japanese apps that require entering a code sent via SMS from Japan. Friends in other countries outside of Japan on other networks had no difficulty receiving the SMS notifications in relation to the same app.

I successfully received an SMS notification for one of the two apps more than 1 year ago. After this issue arose with the second app., I deleted and reinstalled the first app and can confirm the same problem is occurring.

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

bristolian — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:10:48 GMT

All of this confirms my suspicions that if these are being sent by SMS, the app has nothing much to do with the problem.

When you tried reporting this to CS, what did they offer by means of further action? Or did they just figuratively shrug their shoulders?

Re: Authentication code for Japanese apps not being received in UK

mrsmoonlight — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:23:21 GMT

They did not offer any further advice after checking my settings and sending an SMS to confirm I could receive one from them. On their advice I turned my phone off for the period of time they suggested on ending the call. A couple of days later, I contacted EE via 'X' and had a discussion with someone about the issue via DM to confirm that the problem was not resolved.

Ultimately, they read through the notes from my previous call to Tech Support and, sent an SMS to me and stated again that my settings are fine and I should have no problem receiving an SMS from anywhere. Questions regarding the new security tech announced in September and whether there could be a connection were brushed aside. I did explain to them that I was not experiencing problems receiving SMS within the UK.

https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/ee-announces-new-security-technology-updates-to-improve-scam-detection/