topic Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts in Mobile Services

Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

david42315 — Tue, 13 May 2025 07:57:07 GMT

This seems to have started just in the last couple of days - I am not receiving some SMS messages, in particular the 2-factor verification codes from my bank and credit card company. However, some other numbers have been able to send me texts.

This is on an Android phone (Moto g85), using the standard Google messaging app for texts. I have tried the usual - clearing the cache, stopping the app, restarting the phone etc. None of that helps.

I can receive SMS from some numbers, but not from others (a couple of friends say they get "Message not sent" when trying to text me).

What is consistent is that the security codes sent by text from my Bank and Credit Card company never seem to get through - which is really, really frustrating.

Is this happening to anyone else?

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

bristolian — Tue, 13 May 2025 09:30:40 GMT

Can you receive standard person-to-person texts? If unsure, send to yourself for testing purpose.

Someone getting "message not sent" is likely an error at the sending end, but it would be interesting if a pattern could be established, such as a particular originating network.

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

david42315 — Tue, 13 May 2025 11:22:38 GMT

Yes, I can receive texts from SOME people. Received one OK from someone on the Three network.

Another friend who I THINK is on Vodafone was the one who's texts were not arriving (they emailed to say that they got an error message their side when trying to send).

I don't know how the banks etc send their 2-factor auth texts, but I'm guessing they just have some sort of API into an SMS gateway? Maybe something is broken there...

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

Alex_H — Tue, 13 May 2025 14:13:03 GMT

Hi @david42315,

Welcome to the EE Community

I would recommend noting down the time/date of a couple of examples of texts not coming through and then giving us a call on 150. One of our guides can run some checks and use the examples to help investigate what may be happening with the texts to help get it sorted.

Alex

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

david42315 — Wed, 14 May 2025 09:28:14 GMT

Just had another failed text message today at about 10.15am.

Someone on the Three network tried to text me - then emailed to say the text was showing as "Not sent" on their phone,

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

david42315 — Thu, 15 May 2025 08:01:16 GMT

And just happened again this morning (8.30 am UK time).

Tried to sign in to a work Microsoft account, prompted to authenticate via SMS, clicked the button to send the text (which has always been 100% reliable in the past), and ... nothing. No text arrived,

Luckily, they do at least have an option to authenticate with a voice callback.

The only consistent factor so far is that texts NOT sent directly from a mobile (e..g, authentication texts from bank, credit-card co, Microsoft etc) do NOT arrive.

I can try calling 150 again, but they will just run through the same script and ask if I've restarted my phone, cleared the cache etc.

Re: Unable to receive 2-factor authentication SMS texts

Alex_H — Thu, 15 May 2025 10:25:38 GMT

@david42315 I would definitely recommend giving us a call when you can as this is something one of our guides would need to investigate.

This particular diagnostic with being unable to receive bank/company SMS like you are reporting should result in speaking to our level 2 tech team so that they can check your examples in the system I mentioned and then investigate further depending on what that shows regarding the incoming texts.

Alex