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Overview
This article may assist in resolving issues that are associated with text message multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods. If you are trying to log in and your password is accepted, but you never receive the text message containing your MFA code, follow these steps in order to resolve the issue.
Have a new or broken phone? Sign in using another MFA method. If there are no more methods and the steps below do not work for you, please contact the CTS Help Desk by submitting a ticket.
Instructions
Step 1: Clear Stalled MFA Texts (Airplane Mode Trick)
- Toggle Airplane Mode on for 10 seconds, then turn it off.
- Verify you have Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi calling turned on to receive text messages via the internet if needed.
- Wait a minute to see if stalled text messages come through.
This forces a fresh network handshake, reboots your wireless software, and pings your carrier's SMS center to instantly push backlogged codes to your device.
Step 2: Check Your Device and Carrier Security Settings
The most common reason for a missing text code is an aggressive spam filter on your mobile device or an automated block by your cellular carrier.
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Check Your "Unknown Senders" Folder: If you use an iPhone or Android, automated text messages from corporations often bypass your main inbox. Open your Messages app and look for a Filtered, Spam, or Unknown Senders folder. Message filtering settings or blocked contacts can be removed and tested.
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Review Third-Party Security Apps: If you use call/text blocking apps (such as Hiya, RoboKiller, ActiveArmor, or Truecaller), check their block logs. These services frequently tag corporate verification short-codes as spam.
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Restart Your Device: This forces your phone to reconnect to your local cell tower, which clears out stuck SMS queues on your carrier's network.
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Try to send another verification and wait a minute for the short code to go through.
If you find that your messages are frequently blocked or filtered automatically, contact your phone carrier for assistance.
Step 3: Contact the CTS Help Desk and Use Other Methods
If you cannot log in and have tried the above steps, please indicate that in your reply or a new MFA support ticket. We will verify your identity to set up an alternative method—such as the Microsoft Authenticator App—which uses internet data instead of cellular SMS to send push notifications or code prompts.
Why is this happening?
When you do not receive login text codes from companies like Google or Microsoft, it is usually because of a miscommunication between the company, the cell network, and your phone. Instead of normal 10-digit phone numbers, these texts come from automated 6-digit numbers called "shortcodes."
Here are the main reasons they fail to deliver:
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Overactive Spam Filters: Phone companies use filters to block scam texts. Because millions of these codes are sent at once, the filters sometimes mistake them for junk and delete them.
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"Middleman" Outages: Shortcodes travel through third-party networks before reaching your phone company. If these networks have a glitch, normal texts from your friends still work, but the automated codes will not.
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Work Phone Rules: If your company's IT department updated your phone's security settings, your phone might accidentally block texts that come from corporate login screens.
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Clogged Texting Apps: Your texting app saves lots of temporary files. If these files get too full or glitch out, the app can freeze and trap the incoming text in the background.
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Cell Tower Glitches: When your phone updates or switches between cell towers, your SIM card can temporarily forget how to receive special shortcode texts, even while regular texting works fine.
Need Help?
Need additional information or assistance? Contact CTS.