# Cellphone not receiving texts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-not-receiving-texts/824465 "2018-11-13T17:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-not-receiving-texts/824465/1 "2018-11-13T17:06:28Z")
Signing up for a Bitcoin exchange requires authentification which is usually done by sending a text to the phone number you provide and then using the content of that text as verification. I used to be able to get them on my Nokia C1 but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. My phone contract hasn’t changed as far as I’m aware. What could be causing that problem? Are there alternatives to providing a phone number when signing up for Bitcoin exchanges? ---
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-not-receiving-texts/824465/2 "2018-11-14T23:44:01Z")
SMS is pretty reliable but not perfect. Messages may never be received, delayed by hours, garbled, etc. Information sent in SMS is not secure, but it may be reasonable to use in 2FA. Call your service provider to ask them. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-not-receiving-texts/824465/3 "2018-11-15T14:42:24Z")
I would GIVE a bitcoin for that lack of functionality - not a fan of texting, me.