HT5593: Apple ID: About two-step verification and SMS

Learn about Apple ID: About two-step verification and SMS
John Komar

Q: Cannot get two step verification to work

I cannot get the two step verification SMS message received on my iPhone. I tested my iPhone by sending text messages to it from other sources and it works but the SMS message from Apple needed to verify two step verification does not go through. I have iOS 8.1 on an iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s, iOS 8.1

Posted on Oct 25, 2014 1:54 PM

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Q: Cannot get two step verification to work

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  • by Sooner Al,

    Sooner Al Sooner Al Oct 25, 2014 2:33 PM in response to John Komar
    Level 2 (268 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 25, 2014 2:33 PM in response to John Komar
  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Oct 25, 2014 2:38 PM in response to John Komar
    Level 8 (39,813 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 2:38 PM in response to John Komar

    Are you using your iPhone 5S as your trusted device to receive the SMS message at the same time you are trying to recover the very same iPhone?  I'm not sure that works!  I suggest if this is the case you try a different second-step in your verification.  If you don't have another trusted device, then use the recovery key.

  • by John Komar,

    John Komar John Komar Oct 25, 2014 2:59 PM in response to Sooner Al
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 2:59 PM in response to Sooner Al

    Thanks. Tried reset and it didn't fix it.

  • by John Komar,

    John Komar John Komar Oct 25, 2014 3:08 PM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 3:08 PM in response to sberman

    Thanks for your reply but I am not trying to do a recovery. All I am trying to do is set up two step verification for my Apple account. To do that you have to specify a trusted device that can receive SMS messages. I tried to get it to send the code to my iPhone so I could use it as my trusted device but my iPhone will not receive the code. Yet my iPhone can receive text messages from other cell phones. So then I used my friend's Android cell phone as my trusted device and the text message with the verification code from Apple went right through to that phone. So I am wondering why it doesn't work with my iPhone, especially since it seems to be able to receive other messages, yet it works with my friend's phone. I am wondering if I have some preference in my iPhone's settings set up wrong.

  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Oct 25, 2014 3:14 PM in response to John Komar
    Level 8 (39,813 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 3:14 PM in response to John Komar

    Ah, I understand, thanks for the clarification.

     

    You said: "... my iPhone can receive text messages from other cell phones."  Are at least some of these cell phones non-Apple devices?  If not, it could be that you can receive iMessages but not SMS text messages.  In this case (if you have not tested receiving a text message from a non-Apple cell phone), contact your cellular carrier and make sure you are set up to receive SMS messages.

  • by John Komar,

    John Komar John Komar Oct 25, 2014 3:36 PM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 3:36 PM in response to sberman

    I can get text messages on my iPhone from both Apple and non Apple devices. My just received an SMS message from my friend's LG phone. I also tried sending an SMS message from Skype to my iPhone and it went through as well. The only message I can't receive apparently is from Apple's two step verification website.

  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Oct 25, 2014 3:43 PM in response to John Komar
    Level 8 (39,813 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 3:43 PM in response to John Komar

    Have you used the correct international code in listing your telephone number?

     

    For example, in the U.S., you should list the telephone number as +1 (xxx) yyy-zzzz.

  • by John Komar,

    John Komar John Komar Oct 25, 2014 4:25 PM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 4:25 PM in response to sberman

    Yes, it filled in the +1 automatically.

  • by jjk9,

    jjk9 jjk9 Nov 6, 2014 3:31 PM in response to John Komar
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 3:31 PM in response to John Komar

    Did you ever get this to work? I did the two-step verification setup without any problem however, now that I upgraded to Yosemite it is asking me to verify again and now I don't receive any sms from Apple. I have tried all the suggestions that I have read here in the support pages: toggling messages on and off, making sure there is a check mark beside the primary email associated with the account, all kinds of reset, etc. nothing works. Somewhere in the pipeline the sms message is not coming through. I still have the original message saved with the original code from a +44 number. It seems as though something has changed in the manner in which the sms messages are sent and/or received. Has anyone been able to solve this?? I'm being locked out of my own account.

  • by jjk9,

    jjk9 jjk9 Nov 6, 2014 3:53 PM in response to jjk9
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 3:53 PM in response to jjk9

    Also, I read this on one of the Apple Support Documents: 

    How do I use Find My iPhone notifications to receive verification codes?

    Find My iPhone notifications can be used to receive verification codes on any iOS device with Find My iPhone turned on.

     

    How indeed do you do this? It isn't clear at all. It just says that you can use your "Find My iPhone" notifications to receive the verification codes. But how?

  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Nov 6, 2014 3:57 PM in response to jjk9
    Level 8 (39,813 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 3:57 PM in response to jjk9

    It seems totally clear to me!

     

    Just as you can send a sound using Find My iPhone to an Apple device that has it turned on, so you can have a verification code sent to the same device.

  • by jjk9,

    jjk9 jjk9 Nov 6, 2014 4:07 PM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 4:07 PM in response to sberman

    Indeed it is clear in its intention but not in how to do it. When I sign in to Manage Your Apple ID I don't see the option of send the verification code via Find My iPhone.

  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Nov 6, 2014 4:14 PM in response to jjk9
    Level 8 (39,813 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 4:14 PM in response to jjk9

    Correct - you are not told "how" the notification is to be sent (e.g., Find My iPhone).

     

    You are simply told what device(s) are capable of receiving the notification.

  • by humanengr,

    humanengr humanengr Apr 4, 2015 6:37 PM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 4, 2015 6:37 PM in response to sberman

    Apple ID: About two-step verification and SMS - Apple Support shows Apple only sends SMS through selected carriers.