Time to move on

[JD Jones]

Maybe. From my Oneplus 5.

A difficult decision because I have 4. (Not to mention my new top of the line Sony Xperia Altice gave me before they were Altice)

My U.S. bank is giving me major headaches with their security protocols.

I love extra security as much as the next guy, but every time I try to log into my account, I get a message with a code, and it says to enter the code when they send me a SMS. I never receive the SMS.

I asked Grok what I should do (Excuse me for not asking you guys first)

Oddly enough, Grok asked me if my phone is 5G. It's not.

Anyway, I asked Grok to recommend one, and it said I should go for a Galaxy A16, and said it's an excellent economical phone.

So, I bought one. An international unblocked version for 135 bucks. Grok said that was a great deal.

Anybody else have problems receiving SMS/MMS messages? I would think the 4G/5G wouldn't be an issue.

 

[CristoRey]

Anybody else have problems receiving SMS/MMS messages? I would think the 4G/5G wouldn't be an issue.

Not sure who/ what Grok is but he got it wrong.

Assuming Altice provided you with a Dominican phone number starting with an 809, 829 or 849 prefix, your U.S. bank can't send a text message to an international/ Dominican phone number or any phone number outside of the USA. I went thru something similar with Truist Bank years ago prior to closing that account.

To get around this problem (and a few others) I purchased a local Miami number thru Skype and would recieve secondary security bs thru that number. Skype is no longer. Good luck with sorting it out.

 

[JD Jones]

Not Altice, it's Claro, but I don't think that makes a difference.

BTW, I just tried to verify my ID on the VA Login.gov website, and it sent me a message to confirm something, and my claro Cel phone SMS said I couldn't respond to it.

 

[CristoRey]

Not Altice, it's Claro, but I don't think that makes a difference.

BTW, I just tried to verify my ID on the VA Login.gov website, and it sent me a message to confirm something, and my claro Cel phone SMS said I couldn't respond to it.

When it comes to headaches in the DR, secondary security/ two step verification/ authentication from US institutions is damn nare top of the list.

 

[NanSanPedro]

I have that problem too from time to time. The only thing I remember that works with my 849 number is Fidelity.

 

[chico bill]

Not Altice, it's Claro, but I don't think that makes a difference.

BTW, I just tried to verify my ID on the VA Login.gov website, and it sent me a message to confirm something, and my claro Cel phone SMS said I couldn't respond to it.

Are using a VPN ? Blocking cookies ?

 

[SKY]

Magic Jack has a US number with texts that work from the US......................And you can pick out just about any State in the US for your number.................

 

[JD Jones]

When it comes to headaches in the DR, secondary security/ two step verification/ authentication from US institutions is damn nare top of the list.

FWIW, I went into the bank app on my desktop, and set up 2FA, which I have never done before.

I changed my mind halfway through and hit cancel, and got a "Congratulations, you just enabled 2FA!" Oh-oh.

I went to the bank app, tried to log in, and I got the dreaded "enter the SMS code here", which of course I didn't get.

I hit the "Send it again" button, and this time it said "do you want another code by SMS, or do you want it sent to your email address?"

I selected "Email," and lo and behold, I got an email with the code, entered it, and logged in. Success.

That's what I wanted all along.

Time will tell if I've tamed the beast.

Now, about that new Galaxy...............

 

[cavok]

I've had quite a few problems receiving SMS codes to my Altice number, even Skype didn't work for some. I have MJ now but haven't had to try it for SMS codes. Fortunately, I was either offered to send a code to my email or a "call" option.

 

[JD Jones]

Are using a VPN ? Blocking cookies ?

No sir. I never realized you could do that on a cel phone.

 

[DrNoob]

SMS predates 5G but you got a newer phone with better security updates to Android, so that is good.
I think either your sender does not send to your DR number or their SMS gateway is not allowed to send to DR (I use such a provider Twilio, for one of my projects and geographic restrictions can be set up in the gateway). The receiving network will deliver as long as the device is on their register and has a signal - no 5G necessary.

That said, if your bank or whichever website you are trying to use gives you the option to setup the 2FA codes in your phone in an app, like Google Authenticator (or Microsoft) then that would be the best option as you would not have to rely on having signal or the email option being available.

BTW I was getting SMS on a secondary 4G phone over the last two weeks in the DR in Santiago, Puerto Plata and Las Terrenas (but it is a UK mobile phone with free incoming SMS globally)

 

[JLSawmam]

Yes, receiving SMS messages is "hit and miss" here. I use the "2FA Auth" app from Google Play on my cell phone, and it's great for those websites that offer that method of authentication. Interesting note...my US bank did offer that method but now it is not available, no idea why the change. But the SMS works, so all is fine (for now)

 

[Tom0910]

download the Fongo app,don't be a cheap charlie and pay the 5 bucks problem solved. You're welcome.

 

[JD Jones]

I've logged into my account various times and the "send code to email" is working perfectly. Happy camper!

 

[cavok]

I've logged into my account various times and the "send code to email" is working perfectly. Happy camper!

That works for many but I had one tell me they don't send to emails because emails are no longer very secure.

 

[JLSawmam]

That works for many but I had one tell me they don't send to emails because emails are no longer very secure.

That's interesting. In this instance, the e-mail is being sent to the address on file with the bank (or whoever) after you have successfully logged in to that point. If someone is hacking into your account, they also need access to your e-mail. Seems to me that method is about as secure as a message to your phone, since someone could have stolen and hacked into your phone. I guess no method is 100%, but e-mail seems about the same as a message to me.

 

[cavok]

That's interesting. In this instance, the e-mail is being sent to the address on file with the bank (or whoever) after you have successfully logged in to that point. If someone is hacking into your account, they also need access to your e-mail. Seems to me that method is about as secure as a message to your phone, since someone could have stolen and hacked into your phone. I guess no method is 100%, but e-mail seems about the same as a message to me.

It's possible but emails are more vulnerable to hacking than your phone. That was the agent's point anyway. Also, I receive the code on my phone as a notification so no need to hack into the phone if it's stolen to see the code.

 

[webmacon]

Yes works great. Another option would be the security usb stick, you can buy it anywhere and set it up with your bank, this way you can log in from anywhere and also make any transactions.

Magic Jack has a US number with texts that work from the US......................And you can pick out just about any State in the US for your number.................

 

[JimW]

This was (for me) easy to resolve. Yes, up to about 5 years ago this used to be a problem (receiving an MFA code via SMS/text message when in the DR) but almost all US carriers have WiFi Calling these days and many modern phones (iPhones, Pixels, Samsung's etc.) support it as well since they have dual-sim cards (physical or virtual).

So when I travel to the DR I pick up a Claro sim card and data-only plan. I enable that for data-only. For my existing carrier's SIM (Verizon, AT&T, TMobile, Mint, USMobile, H2O Wireless etc.) you leave it enabled for voice and text and make sure to enable "WiFi Calling" in the phone's settings.

My US number then can send & receive calls over the internet in the DR (whether it's wifi in a hotel, hotspot etc. or the Claro internet data plan.) All my SMS/Text MFA codes come to my US number on my phone. The only calls I cannot make are to US toll-free numbers (800, 877) but regular US direct dialed numbers work fine (going over the internet to y our carrier) as well as receiving Text/SMS messages and MFA codes.

The other ways of course of receiving an MFA code are (a) using an authenticator all such as Microsoft's or Google etc. or (b) your email but both of those need the site to support it.