Hello
So before I came to Japan, I transferred my American phone number to Google Voice.
The phone # came from a family plan that my family in the US still uses, but I was removed from the plan. I can still use the phone number.
Anyway, when accessing different websites that I used 2FA with my phone number (now on Google Voice) 50% of the time the 2FA text message arrives, and 50% of the time it doesn’t
Why does this happen? Is it because the phone number is no longer associated with a phone plan? Is there a way to ensure that my US phone number (on Google Voice) always receives the 2FA texts 100% of the time?
If not, is there a method to get a new American phone number and use that (on Google Voice or something) to ensure 2FA text messages always work?
Thanks for the tips
1 comment
It depends on the institution you are dealing with, but yes, some do not support sending sms messages to voip sms #s. For those, the workarounds are either:
– 2-factor code through email
– 2-factor code through voice-call
– Talking to the institution to see if they support a key-fob solution (most financial institutions will do this for you but it takes some hoops, and they expire every few years)
Alternatively, if you are ever back stateside, and don’t mind paying the small monthly fee, i would recommend activating Google-Fi (different from voice) on either your own phone if it supports dual sim or a different device to act as a hardware keyfob would, and let it receive your auth-texts for you. I know, I know. It’s a hassle but it 100% works.