Can't receive certain texts (2FA etc) when using Wi-Fi Calling

[CorrectHorseBat]

I have an iPhone 12 Pro on O2 and using Wi-Fi Calling.

I can receive most texts but 2FA codes, e.g. from eBay don't come through when using Wi-Fi Calling, I have to wait to get mobile reception back. As far as I understand it Wi-Fi Calling on O2 should now support SMS.

Please can somebody from O2 help? O2Sarah-?

Many thanks.

[Cleoriff]

@CorrectHorseBat 

Why can’t all current Wifi Calling handsets support SMS over Wifi Calling?
Each device that supports Wifi Calling today will need to receive a software update in order for SMS over Wifi Calling to work. There are some handsets we support today that are now too old to receive software updates and therefor will not become compatible with SMS over Wifi Calling. Newer devices will receive updates, but it will take time for the manufacturers to develop and release the software, for which we have no further details or ETA – but we’ll continue to work closely with manufacturers to help implement this.

I’ll update this thread as and when new devices become compatible with SMS over Wifi Calling.

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Welcome-News/SMS-over-Wifi-Calling/td-p/1526303 

Written by @Chris_K 24th January 2022.

[Chris_K]

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@CorrectHorseBat wrote:

I have an iPhone 12 Pro on O2 and using Wi-Fi Calling.

I can receive most texts but 2FA codes, e.g. from eBay don't come through when using Wi-Fi Calling, I have to wait to get mobile reception back. As far as I understand it Wi-Fi Calling on O2 should now support SMS.

Please can somebody from O2 help? O2Sarah-?

Many thanks.

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Hey there - apologies for the delay. I've had a check with one of the project team behind the SMS over Wifi implementation and we're not aware of any reason why 2FA SMS wouldn't work. So long as those texts are correctly formatted from the sender, they should be processed on our side like any other normal text.

One thing I'd like to check/confirm is, with the texts you say you are receiving, when they come through are they in a blue bubble (iMessage) or a green bubble (SMS)?

Essentially I'm just trying to establish if:

1) Do you have a wider issue where SMS over Wifi isn't working at all

2) Are some SMS (green bubbles) coming through - just not 2FA ones?

It's best to test when you've got zero mobile signal at all but still have a Wifi connection. If it's #2 above, it'd be good to understand where those texts are coming from and if you can reproduce them easily - ie, what are you doing to trigger the 2FA SMS that you're not receiving?

[CorrectHorseBat]

Thanks for responding @Chris_K and not ignoring my comments like some other posters!

I've just tested the feature again, I was able to receive an SMS (green bubble) from another "normal" mobile number (on EE), when using WiFi Calling without any phone reception.

I thought it was just 2FA codes but it seems like it's from any number that isn't a normal mobile number. I texted "NUMBER" to 2020 and my phone number only came through on an SMS (green bubble), when I got phone reception back. So this does seem to be a deeper issue with the SMS implementation over Wi-Fi O2 is using. I tried it twice and I've had the same issue repeatedly.

I hope that is a fairly repeatable scenario you can understand, please do let me know if you have any questions.

[Chris_K]

Thanks for the response @CorrectHorseBat. Just so my understanding is clear then, you're able to receive SMS via 'SMS over Wifi' from friends/family (normal mobile numbers essentially), but so far your experience is you're unable to receive SMS via the service from short codes or non-standard numbers.

Let me feed this back internally and I'll see what comes from it - the number to 2020 is a good one we should be able to test with on our side. If you have any other examples of where you were expecting to receive an SMS over Wifi which never arrived until you regained mobile signal, please do feel free to PM them to me.

[CorrectHorseBat]

Hi @Chris_K that's spot on from my experience, yes.

If I login to Twitter or eBay on an unfamiliar device they send SMS codes from "Twitter" and "Verify" respectively, these only come through when I get mobile signal back. The same behaviour occurs on things like 2020 as you said above.

Hope to hear something positive back soon, many thanks.

[EnigmaticMyra]

Hi there. Is it supported now? Thank you. 

[EnigmaticMyra]

Hi Chris! Hoping you are aright. 

I have the same model of phone and I having difficulties getting my OTP messages too over Wi-Fi calling. 

Is it supported in 2023 for the 12 pro max? Thanks. And take care. 

[pgn]

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@EnigmaticMyra wrote:

Hi Chris! Hoping you are aright. 

I have the same model of phone and I having difficulties getting my OTP messages too over Wi-Fi calling. 

Is it supported in 2023 for the 12 pro max? Thanks. And take care. 

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Did you mean to tag @Chris_K here, @EnigmaticMyra?

[EnigmaticMyra]

I did! I’m sorry this forum looks abit complicated and is all new to much. 

hoping you’re having a brilliant afternoon.

[pgn]

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@EnigmaticMyra wrote:

I did! I’m sorry this forum looks abit complicated and is all new to much. 

hoping you’re having a brilliant afternoon.

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It can be daunting at first, @EnigmaticMyra 😉

Chris is a member of the O2 Social Media Team, and is not a regular here on the Forum - you might be better putting your query to one of the Social Media platforms listed in the link just below this post (if you use Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, that is!) - hope that helps?