Why Am I Not Receiving Verification Codes? 10 Fixes to Try

Verification codes usually go missing for one of three reasons: something on your phone is filtering or blocking the text, your carrier or plan isn’t delivering it, or the website sending it has a problem with your number. Work through the checklist below; the quickest checks come first.

If nothing on the list helps, the problem is often the number itself: some sites won’t accept certain kinds of numbers, some codes don’t reach you abroad, and some numbers have been used too often.

Quick checklist: 10 fixes to try

1. Check the number you entered, including the country code.
2. Wait a few minutes before you resend, then use only the newest code.
3. Look in filtered and spam folders, such as Unknown Senders on iPhone or Spam & blocked in Google Messages.
4. Unblock the sender, and turn off any SMS-blocking app.
5. Check your signal and airplane mode; try Wi-Fi Calling if the signal is weak.
6. Restart your phone and free up storage.
7. Check your plan or prepaid balance.
8. Abroad? Turn on roaming; for a new sign-up, use a number that works where you are.
9. Ask for the code another way, such as a call or email, if the site offers one.
10. Ask your carrier about message blocks on your account.

Not getting verification codes? Symptoms, causes and fixes

Is your phone blocking the code?

Signal and airplane mode. Verizon says texts can’t be sent or received when your phone isn’t connected to a cell signal or Wi-Fi, or when airplane mode is on. T-Mobile’s first checks include “at least two signal bars”. Weak signal? WhatsApp suggests Wi-Fi Calling, which “lets you make calls and send texts over a Wi-Fi network”.

Restart and free up space. AT&T’s first tip: “Turn your device off. Wait at least 30 seconds to turn it back on.” T-Mobile wants at least 15% free space. Next, AT&T and Verizon suggest resetting network settings, which Verizon says “won’t impact your personal data or apps”, though you’ll need your device and carrier login details to do it.

Spam protection on Android. When Google Messages suspects spam or a scam, it “can prevent those messages from being delivered” and may hide them in the Spam & blocked folder. Open it from your profile picture, select the sender and tap Unblock.

Blocked numbers and apps. AT&T: “If you’re not receiving messages from a specific person, number, or short code, make sure the number or contact isn’t blocked.” WhatsApp also says to “Turn off all task killers and blockers”.

iPhone not receiving verification codes?

Texts from a sender you haven’t added to Contacts or marked as known can be screened into a separate filter in iOS 26 and later. Check four places:

1. Unknown Senders. Screen Unknown Senders is off by default in iOS 26, but it’s on if you used Filter Unknown Senders in iOS 18 before upgrading. To look, open Messages, tap the Filters button, then Unknown Senders (Apple’s guide).
2. Transactions. If Text Message Filter is on, also look in the Transactions and Promotions folders.
3. Code alerts. Notifications “are on by default for Time Sensitive messages, like verification codes”. In the US, make sure Time Sensitive is still on in Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders > Allow Notifications.
4. Blocked contacts. In iOS 26, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts, tap Edit, and unblock the sender.

Is your carrier or plan stopping it?

T-Mobile counts one-time PINs and two-factor codes as commercial messages: texts a business sends from a 4- to 6-digit short code or a 10-digit number. So a block on business texts can stop your codes while texts from friends still arrive.

• Account blocks. T-Mobile tells some customers it noticed “a setting on your account which blocks all commercial SMS messages”, one-time PINs and security codes included, and has removed it. If a bank’s codes don’t arrive, it suggests asking Customer Care whether that business’s numbers are blocked (T-Mobile’s page).
• Prepaid balance. T-Mobile: “Prepaid accounts must have an account balance for text and picture messages.”
• Traveling. T-Mobile: “While overseas, you will not receive short code messages.” WhatsApp adds: “If you’re abroad, you must enable roaming to receive international SMS and/or phone calls”, which may cost extra.
• Just switched to Verizon? Depending on the original carrier, Verizon says it “can take from 72 hours up to 10 days for text messages to be delivered after you switch.”

Is the website the problem?

• Wrong number or country code. Check every digit and pick the right country: +1 for the US, +44 for the UK. If the form already shows the country code, don’t type it again.
• Too many requests. Google says “If you requested multiple verification codes, only the newest one works.” WhatsApp makes you wait after failed attempts: “There’s no way to make this faster.”
• Slow delivery. Google says that in a densely populated area, or when your carrier has issues, “messages can be delayed. Wait for a few minutes or try the phone call option instead.”
• Signing in to Google? You “might have been sent a Google prompt instead”, Google says, and if something about your sign-in looks different, “like your location, you might not be able to get a verification code through text message.”
• The site won’t accept your type of number. WhatsApp, for example, lists VoIP numbers, landlines and toll-free numbers among the “Unsupported phone numbers”. Not sure what yours is? See how to check if a number is VoIP and VoIP vs non-VoIP numbers.
• The number has been used too often. Google limits “the number of accounts each phone number can create” and “the number of times a phone number can be used for verification”, and its fix is a different number. See what Google’s phone number errors mean.

For site-specific fixes, see our guides to Venmo not sending a code, WhatsApp codes that don’t arrive, the DoorDash verification code and the Netflix verification code.

When should you switch to a different number?

A new number helps with new sign-ups, not with your bank or other accounts still tied to your own number: ask your carrier to fix those. Switch when the problem is the number, not your phone:

• You’re abroad and your carrier doesn’t deliver short codes there.
• Your carrier blocks business texts on your line and won’t lift the block.
• The site rejects your type of number, or says it has been used too many times.

A PVADeals non-VoIP number is a real mobile number from a US or UK carrier, so sites usually treat it like an ordinary phone, and every number is fresh: it has never been sold before. The code appears on your dashboard, so you don’t need a SIM card and it works from any country. See our US phone numbers and UK phone numbers.

How to receive verification codes on a PVADeals number

1. Create a free PVADeals account and add credits: crypto from $3, or a card through Stripe from $5.
2. Choose the website you need the code for, and the United States or the United Kingdom.
3. Pick a rental length: 20 minutes for a one-off code, or long-term (3, 7, 14 or 30 days).
4. Enter the number on the site with its country code (+1 or +44) and choose text message. PVADeals numbers receive SMS only, so don’t pick a phone call.
5. Copy the code from your dashboard, where it appears as soon as it arrives.

A one-off code or an account you’ll keep?

For a code you need once, a short-term number covers one website for 20 minutes; reusing it later sometimes works, but don’t count on it. If the site will text you again, at a new-device sign-in or for two-step verification, rent a long-term number (3, 7, 14 or 30 days, unlimited SMS while it’s live) and turn on Auto Renew: if a two-step verification number lapses, you can lose access. Need one number for every site? An All services plan runs by the month. Compare them in the price estimator.

If the code doesn’t arrive on a PVADeals number

• Choose a text message, not a call.
• Don’t resend too fast. The site’s own limits still apply.
• Flag a bad number. You can flag a number as bad before any SMS arrives (within the 20 minutes for a short-term number, or within 24 hours of purchase for a long-term one) and try another.
• Still nothing? If an eligible number receives no SMS during the rental, its cost goes back to your balance automatically as store credit.

Receive your codes on a second number

If your own number can’t receive a site’s codes, a fresh non-VoIP number usually can. Check the price estimator, or read more about getting a temporary phone number for verification and receiving SMS online in the USA.