Temporary phone numbers for SMS verification
Posted by LoneCyberwolf@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 93 comments
I have a bunch of IOT devices (car chargers) at one of the sites I manage that in order to use them I have to register for an account with a unique email address and unique phone number for each charger. I have no problem creating multiple email addresses but I’m having trouble with phone number requirement as I don’t have 10 unique phone numbers that I can use.
Any recommendations for a service that would let me sign up for virtual phone numbers or SIP numbers that I can use for device registration? I don’t think it matters even if they are temporary.
I’ve been checking out Twilio but I’d have to do 10DLC registration and that’s not something that I can do at my org.
MiserableTear8705@reddit
Keep in mind that many of these virtual SMS number platforms are blocklisted by many SMS verifiers precisely *because* they're virtual verification.
Fortune888Dir@reddit
thanks for the tip
LopezFreeSea@reddit
Exactly my point. That’s why it’s usually better to use a cheap specialized service like hero-sms with physical numbers in the pool, not only virtual ones
WhatDuyuWant19@reddit
Exactly my point. That’s why it’s usually better to use a cheap specialized service like hero-sms with physical numbers in the pool, not only virtual ones
cdoublejj@reddit
i must have gotten lucky but, i skiped the free ones and went straight to a paid one.
Unfair_Effective_853@reddit
what paid one do you use?
cdoublejj@reddit
anonymsms DAUGHT com
Law_Dividing_Citizen@reddit
I would try Google Voice if it’s temporary
Mcxyihb@reddit
How
nikutyann@reddit
I’d break this into 3 buckets before recommending any tool:
1) internal testing,
2) one-time verification,
3) long-term security messages.
People keep using the same solution for all three and then wonder why it fails.
TextNow/Tello/verification platforms aren’t really competing products — they solve different problems.
Most of the wasted time here comes from picking a ‘cheap’ option for a workflow it was never built for.
Express-Bookkeeper62@reddit
smszo ..com the best solution for non voip Temporary phone numbers for SMS verification solution. You can try it.
AggressiveCut3614@reddit
try smscodehub, smsverificator.com or getsmsonline.com, it’s perfect for getting temp numbers for stuff like this. super easy to use and you can get numbers from all over.
Produce-Proper@reddit
Lots are blacklisted and won’t work properly, I would be careful which you use. I’ve been with veritel for 2 years and so far pretty good - they use real numbers
ShelterSlight5088@reddit
10 unique phone numbers per charger is genuinely unhinged product design from whoever built that system. Solidarity
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
Yeah it’s absolutely idiotic.
CarDevKiy@reddit
You don’t need Twilio for this use case, especially if you just need numbers for account/device registration. SMS activation services are usually a better fit since they don’t require 10DLC or carrier registration. I’m currently building SMS2OTP, which uses real physical SIM cards (not VoIP or SIP numbers), so the numbers behave like real carrier numbers.Currently Mexico numbers are available, and more countries are being added. You can get multiple numbers instantly, and there’s free trial balance included so you can test it without deposit. sms2otp.com
Let me know if you have questions about your specific use case.
rbtfd24@reddit
Signed up to test, no initial deposit. Sent msg
watenfragen@reddit
does it work for instagram accounts creation?
CarDevKiy@reddit
It works for creating Instagram accounts. I invite you to register, verify your email, and receive $3 to start testing. You can also use the promo code REDDIT to get extra credit. Even without making an initial deposit.
AffectionateGold_982@reddit
Not working Initial deposit
CarDevKiy@reddit
Tell me your email address and I'll add the gift balance to your account.
nisko786@reddit
Twilio is a huge headache for this because of the 10DLC requirements. I use BEE-SMS for one-off IoT registrations since it is automated and you don't have to deal with any of the administrative overhead
Cold_Break7516@reddit
757-338-5753
Party_Village3775@reddit
Fresh-Thing9739@reddit
lifesaver
StatusRide2196@reddit
Hey, Just visit https://shadowsms.pro and grab your own virtual number. The easiest way I found.
Capable_Friend_7729@reddit
trust otp app est top pour ça, je l'utilise quand j'ai besoin d'avoir des otp pas chers
Ill_Translator7980@reddit
+421 907 678 903
PacificPermit@reddit
Come try out blooio. You can get numbers as cheap as $39 with no A2P stuff!
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
That’s expensive.
PacificPermit@reddit
True. iMessages come with a price 😅
BlooioSucks@reddit
🤡
BlooioSucks@reddit
It is, and it’s not a respectable company that I’d want to do business with. Best to avoid Blooio altogether.
OpacusVenatori@reddit
Maybe TextNow; you might have to temporarily subscribe each number for a 1-week period for initial verification and / or accepting security messages.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I have to edit my post, but I ended up in using text free. I believe I had used the same service many years ago when I needed a US phone number while I was outside of the country.
They only allow you to receive verification text if you pay for the premium version which is $10 a month. They allow you to change your phone number every 24 hours or so if needed. Today I was able to create two accounts using one phone number before the app that I’m meeting phone numbers for told me that my number was being used too many times. I then changed my number inside a text free and was able to create another account and I will make a fourth tomorrow before having to change my phone number again for the next two.
This whole process has been quite fun 🤣😵
AttorneySpiritual488@reddit
Dang, text free not available for download in my region
Ija-Pay-3592@reddit
Hi! Can someone in the U.S. please help me receive one SMS verification code for the Neon app? I only need the 6-digit code, nothing else. You won’t share your account — just tell me the code you receive. Thank you so much!
Ija-Pay-3592@reddit
Hi! Can someone in the U.S. please help me receive one SMS verification code for the Neon app? I only need the 6-digit code, nothing else. You won’t share your account — just tell me the code you receive. Thank you so much!
EmbarrassedFan8450@reddit
Any one k a website in the 0.02-0.06$ range, I tried 5sim and smspva but they just don't work no matter what I do
QuiescentjHat@reddit
You can get a virtual number on HeroSMS, I get it there and it works great
Amazing_Shirt_3891@reddit
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of “consumer feature accidentally deployed into semi-enterprise reality” mess I’ve run into before.
A lot of virtual/VoIP numbers get silently blocked for OTP, so even if they technically receive SMS, the charger backend might reject them anyway — I’ve had to fall back to real carrier SIMs just to stop fighting it.
Has anyone here actually gotten multiple ChargePoint residential units running long-term without juggling physical SIM cards?
Amazing_Shirt_3891@reddit
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of “consumer feature accidentally deployed into semi-enterprise reality” mess I’ve run into before.
A lot of virtual/VoIP numbers get silently blocked for OTP, so even if they technically receive SMS, the charger backend might reject them anyway — I’ve had to fall back to real carrier SIMs just to stop fighting it.
Has anyone here actually gotten multiple ChargePoint residential units running long-term without juggling physical SIM cards?
sudonem@reddit
Have a look at SMSPool
Intelligent_Cod_7764@reddit
i tried this for Autodesk. Autodesk took the numbers but i would never receive a code on smspool. It was worth a shot for 3 bucks lol
zaddy_oaks@reddit
Thank you for this. You can check if the service you need is available before you add money. My service cost $0.20, although there is a minimum deposit of $3.00
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I took a look at them, but it looks like you can only accept text messages from services that they support and ChargePoint is not on the list
ledow@reddit
Twilio don't allow SMS MFA codes anyway.
Guess how I found that out?
It just blocks them and doesn't let them be processed by your flows, and then gives you an alert in the admin panel.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I could have sworn that I saw that they claimed they did in their documentation.
ledow@reddit
FYI:
Error 30038: OTP Message Body Filtered
is the error you'll get in the twilio logs and your flows will not be activated for that message.
https://www.twilio.com/docs/api/errors/30038
"In order to prevent account creation and abuse with Twilio hosted numbers, Twilio does not generally allow the reception of OTP messages."
ledow@reddit
They allow you to use the service to CREATE an MFA service for your own users, but they do not allow you to received 3rd-party SMS MFA texts and process them.
Adventurous_Error866@reddit
Registration requires sim numbers. You are using Twilio. Their platform is not for phone verificaiton. I use twilio too but for different purposes. If you talk to their support they will clearly say their numbers are virtual and wont work for verification. If you want numbers only for SMS verification then you can try felixmerchant.com for sim numbers, which is what they specifically provide.
Adventurous_Error866@reddit
Proof of what I am saying -
DevineCarl896@reddit
Hello, if you are looking for any sms verification, I would suggest trying PVADeals.
msp_can@reddit
I was briefly looking at "Yakchat" and they seemed to have a middle level account optino that would receive SMS messages like this (didn't test - was just on their comparison grid)
Safe-Temporary-4888@reddit
1001SMS if u looking for non-voip number, its only can receive messages they have single and long term rental options.
arominus@reddit
I think voxtelsys would work, you could setup a free 3cx instance (10 user max) and use Voxtel to rock it.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
It looks like voxtel is $20 a month. I might as well go down to T-Mobile and buy a bunch of sims at that point.
arominus@reddit
I don’t think you’ll get a totally free solution, $20 a month is still cheap.
WineFuhMeh_@reddit
SMS magic or twilo
SVD_NL@reddit
Prepaid SIMs? Can't think of any other good method tbh. We have VoIP in our product stack so we buy the numbers wholesale.
Sounds horrible to deal with in general, definitely not a business-ready solution. I guess it was marginally cheaper than the professional option so management went with those?
charliesk9unit@reddit
Slynumber for $5/month.
Liquidretro@reddit
I'm surprised the manufacturer of the charger wouldn't have a way for businesses to register multiple at once. Worth reaching out to them before you try and reinvent the wheel here.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I’ve been on the phone with them multiple times. They have zero solutions for me.
They said only their commercial chargers would be for instances like apartment buildings or businesses with fleets. They also said that even those commercial chargers would require a separate account for each device.
patmorgan235@reddit
Find a different charger. EV chargers are really simple devices, there are tons of affordable reputable options out there. You need a manageable, supportable solution and this is not.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
If I could, I would, but that would be a big ask as we’re talking about a large amount of money to remove purchase new chargers, and then install the new ones.
patmorgan235@reddit
At least find a new one so it's better for any new installs
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
The problem is, we aren’t using them at a business, but rather private residence. So this makes the situation even worse you can’t expect one family to have 10 phone numbers and even if they were being sold to a business for Fleet vehicles, you can expect the business to have 10 phone numbers. Not all business issues company phones to their employees and not all businesses are going to want to use phone numbers that are issued to employees to register chargers. Depending on policies, phone lines may get deactivated if an employee stops working at the business.
I went in, took a peek at the FAQs for this charger model and account activation info and while I do see that it says you have to create an account to be able to use the charger at anything over 16amps and the only one charger per account is allowed it does not say anything about the phone number restriction.
While it is annoying, creating multiple accounts isn’t that bad but the phone number requirement is quite obnoxious.
It looks like I am going to end up and having to get warranty service on several of the chargers as they aren’t connecting to the accounts I created for them. I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity to make a stink about all of the chargers.
Vektor0@reddit
Agreed, creating fake numbers to get around this requirement isn't just not ideal, it has a high likelihood of leading to unsolvable issues down the road.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
That is something I have in the back of my head.
mixduptransistor@reddit
Google Voice?
Do you have Microsoft Teams and phone plans? You can get certain plans setup where you can receive text messages through Teams. You could just rotate through DIDs, releasing and then claiming new ones as needed
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
Google voice requieres you to have an actual phone number for each Google voice number registration.
I can’t use the teams method as our domain is managed by our parent company and I’d rather not go down that rabbit hole.
mixduptransistor@reddit
well, that sucks. if you've got a sufficient number of these devices you need to register, and you're an important enough customer of the vendor (and they're all the same vendor) you might reach out to them and ask if they have some way to accommodate you
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I called them and explained the situation but they were just kind of shocked that I had more than one EV charger. I have 10 at one site.
mixduptransistor@reddit
Then I'd reconsider using this vendor. Totally get that may not be your decision and you already have these in place, but that is definitely feedback into the procurement process: this vendor sucks for supporting our scale, let's find someone who sells and supports these in volume
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
I honestly wish that I could. Unfortunately the chargers were sold to us before I started working here and I don’t think getting them to remove them and sell us other chargers is an option at this point.
david_edmeades@reddit
I would at least contact the sales teams at competing companies and see if you can set up a deal in which they discount the new ones in exchange for taking the existing ones.
jmbpiano@reddit
I have three (personal) Google voice numbers. I used the same real phone number when registering all of them.
Once you register the phone number on one, it's removed from any previous Google Voice account that it was used for, so you can only have your physical phone associated with one Voice account at a time.
BUT- the Voice number can still receive SMS messages. They will be forwarded to your email account and you can view them on the Google Voice website or in the Android app, even without a valid phone number tied to the account.
The only annoying part of the setup is the Android app nags you all the time to link a phone to the accounts that no longer have one.
ReverendLoki@reddit
I think that's only for the consumer level version. I want to say that the basic level business ones are free from that requirement, or at least don't require a unique phone number. They would still cost, but I think it's something like single digits a month.
Do you need to keep that number after you have registered the device?
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
That I do not know. I’d like to create a bunch of numbers then just let them expire. It’s ridiculous to have to maintain 10 phone numbers just to keep 10 ev chargers running.
WeleaseBwianThrow@reddit
Your post doesnt mention locale, but can't you just get 10 PAYG Sim Cards and use those? You might be over-engineering this.
sembee2@reddit
Are they the actual manufacturers? I doubt if they are. They are probably white labelled. Find the actual vendor, flash their generic firmware and then use OCPP management, or something like Monta.
We are so much better at this in Europe.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
ChargePoint is the manufacturer. I hadn’t even consider going down a rabbit hole flashing different firmware on the chargers and I didn’t even think that that was a possibility.
If it were my own charger, I will go ahead and do that but since it is for work, that wouldn’t be an option as that would incur possible risk of damaging the charger and vehicle that is plugged into and I would not be able to get such an undertaking approve. It would be easier to get all 10 chargers uninstalled, then purchase and install new ones then to get the approval to flash a charger and replacing all the chargers is most likely out of the question as it is.
SGG@reddit
Reading comments and replies and I have to agree with other commenters. You need to shop around for different car chargers/a different company. The company you are working with at the moment is not setup to work at scale for you at all.
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately I’m stuck with what was sold to us. I just provide IT support for anything tech related at the sites I manage.
I actually don’t know who made the actual decision to purchase and install these exact chargers. It could’ve been another department in my org, the GC or even just the electrical contractor. Is the problem with people who aren’t going to have to interact and deal with an item on a daily basis, making the decision to purchase that item without input from IT.
But then again, I don’t even know if anybody knew prior to purchasing the chargers that you are only allowed one per email address and phone number.
The support from the manufacture is very poor, and they were kind of shocked that we had more than one charger as most people who purchased residential chargers, only are ever purchasing one or two at most. But I explained to them that there are instances where people have larger homes with more than two vehicles, multiple homes or even a business that might have a fleet of electric vehicles that’s the need for multiple chargers. While creating additional email addresses is a pain. My complaint is needing phone numbers for each of the chargers which is quite ridiculous.
my_new_dating_act@reddit
Mysudo. It would cost you a little -149 per year for 9 numbers but it would be in one place
SoftwareNew3209@reddit
dialanyone, doesnt need any 10DLC registration
Vektor0@reddit
This sounds like an XY problem with an easier solution somewhere. Do the car chargers not have some sort of business account option that allows you to connect multiple chargers to one account?
This sounds like Office 2013 product keys all over again 😬
Might-be-at-work@reddit
Would this work? https://www.bestbuy.com/product/mint-mobile-prepaid-sim-card-starter-kit-gold/J3RZWKZGFK/sku/6310601
circalight@reddit
Would say...
For the phone numbers -> Textla
For links/SMS content -> Rebrandly
bunnythistle@reddit
Have you checked to verify that the chargers don't have a plan available where you can manage multiple ones per account?
And do they really need to be registered too? Most car chargers will work without an internet connection, you just won't get reporting/stats/online functionality from them
LoneCyberwolf@reddit (OP)
They only push 14 amps until you register them…then you can push 40amps. It’s actually quite insane.
Ziegelphilie@reddit
Maybe grab a dozen prepaid sims? They can be pretty cheap
ApricotPenguin@reddit
Before you go at scale, make sure that VoIP numbers are supported. It can be an issue if your number provider doesn't support short codes, or if the service actively blocks virtual / VoIP numbers.