Ported number from EE to O2 and not receiving 2FA / Verification SMS messages / texts

[Vazzer]

Hi, I hope someone from Tech Support can help me on here because the normal routes have proved fruitless so far. I've moved to the O2 network from EE with a new phone and I'm having trouble with the number port. After the port, calls seem to be working fine, texts from individuals and O2 seem to be working but verification SMS texts from e.g banks, NHS, TfL, HMRC aren't coming through which is making app migration and accessing services painful.

I called O2 on 202 (live chat fails to launch) and I was told my phone wasn't working after some other basic checks and I was told to call the manufacturer. I didn't accept since there are reports of this issue all over the forum indicating an incomplete port. They said I would need to wait up to 5 days for a response from a back-end team but I'd be grateful an O2 tech can pick this up and check for me or if there are any settings on my account that need to be modified.

Thank you.

[MI5]

@Vazzer 

Send a direct message to O2 on one of the socials.

They are good at sorting these kind of issues.

(https://o2uk.co/O2CFB) , X (https://o2uk.co/O2CTW) or Instagram (https://o2uk.co/O2CIG)

[Vazzer]

Thanks @MI5, I've seen that mentioned a few times and although I'm reluctant to use the socials for this kind of thing I think I'll give it a go.

[Vazzer]

I've gone full circle. On X they have found that the analyst I spoke to this morning escalated a ticket with the back-end team and I've been told I need to wait for them to get back to me. I guess I'm stuck until they get to that ticket. I didn't realise porting was fraught with such pitfalls and that it's not a strightforward fix. I just hope I don't miss anything important.

[Enlli]

Porting should be simple and quick as far as the customer is concerned. Problems can occur and O2 seems to have more than most.

[MI5]

Keep reminding them on X @Vazzer until it's sorted 👍

[Vazzer]

Thanks for the advice @MI5 

[Vazzer]

Thanks @Enlli 

I can't say it's necessarily a worse problem for O2, I haven't ported a number in years, but just searching the internet this issue does seem to be widespread across numerous operators. From the experience I've had so far though, I think there should be more awareness from the support staff. It seems a little crazy that I have had to approach O2 Support, this forum and the socials to feel like the problem has been understood.

I guess this has become a bigger issue in recent years with the prevalence multi-factor authentication and major services using SMS as a way to quickly provide information and it feels like the penny hasn't dropped with the operators. Not having access to some of these SMS texts is crippling!

[Vazzer]

Just to keep this topic up to date in the hope it may help someone some day, the issue still persists and it's been over a week since the port now. I did start receiving 2FA / OTP SMS messages in dribs and drabs that were old and essentially useless due to the time it took to reach the phone. It's as if they were queued somewhere and going around a circuitous route before reaching the phone several hours / days later. I guess it's better than then disappearing completely into the ether. Oddly though I don't seem to have received any delayed SMS messages from NHS services, e.g. the NHS app when I am trying to authenticate.

O2 have closed my ticket without any explanation and no solution. In fact I have had no contact from them at all since the ticket was logged. The social media team have been checking for updates and they told me today the ticket was closed but they couldn't see why.

I'm really not sure what to do next, but I'll see if the X / Twitter team has any suggestion for next steps. This is a very poor show at the moment from O2 though.

[jonsie]

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