Many products ask you to prove that an email or a phone is yours before using it to sign in. You prove it with a code sent to that address or number. This guide explains where the code is asked, what to do when it does not arrive, and how to change the email or phone being verified. If the product does not ask for verification, none of these screens appear and nothing here applies to you.
Where you are asked
- When you create your account. The Email address or Phone (Include country code) field you sign up with must be verified before Sign up creates the account.
- When you sign in with an email that was never confirmed. The sign-in screen changes to Please confirm your email before letting you in. It happens once.
- When you change your email or phone in your profile. The new address or number is verified before it replaces the old one.
How you create your account and sign in is explained in Sign in, register and recover your password, and the profile in Edit your profile.
The badge next to the field
When you type in the email or phone field of the sign-up form or of your profile, a badge appears under it:
- Verified: the address or number is confirmed. Nothing to do.
- Not Verified, with a Verify now link: it still needs its code.
Changing a verified address or number, even by one character, turns it back to Not Verified. Putting back the confirmed one turns it Verified again.
Verify an email
- Type the address and click Verify now. The link appears only once the address is complete; until then the field says Invalid Email Format.
- A window titled Verify your new email opens, saying A code was sent to your new email address. The email arrives with the subject Email validation and the product's name, and carries a code of letters and numbers.
- Type the code in Validation Code and click Confirm Email.
The window closes and the field shows Verified.
Verify a phone
- Type the number with its country code and click Verify now.
- A window titled Verify your new phone opens. It may first ask you to Choose how you want to receive the verification code: click Send SMS for a text message, or Receive a call for a phone call. Otherwise the code is sent by SMS straight away, and the window says A code was sent to your new phone number.
- Type the 4-digit code in Validation Code and click Confirm Code.
The window closes and the field shows Verified.
Confirm your email when signing in
If your email was never confirmed, signing in shows Please confirm your email and a code is sent to your address. Type it in Validation Code and click Confirm Email. Your email is confirmed and you are signed in. From then on, signing in no longer asks for it.
When the code does not arrive
Under the code field, Didn't receive the code? counts down 30 seconds. When it reaches zero, the buttons to ask for another code appear:
- For an email: Resend code. Check your spam folder first. The new email carries the same code as the first one, sent another way, so either one works.
- For a phone: Resend SMS sends a new code by text message, and Receive a call asks for it by phone call when the product can call you; otherwise it arrives by SMS like the first. Each new phone code replaces the previous one: type the newest.
Resend code and Resend SMS show Code sent successfully. After asking, the countdown starts again.
If the code cannot be sent, you see Unable to send code:
- For an email, with We could not send the verification code. Please try with another email address: the product has already tried every way it has to send to that address. Check that the address is right, or use another one.
- For a phone, with We could not send the verification code to your phone. Please try again.: check the number and its country code, and try again.
Change the email or phone you are verifying
- In the verification window: close it with the cross at the top, fix the address or number in the field and click Verify now again. A code sent to the old one no longer counts.
- On the sign-up form: change the field and verify the new value. Only the value that shows Verified when you click Sign up is accepted.
- In your profile: type the new email or phone in General information and verify it. As soon as you confirm the code, the new value is saved and you see Identity verified and profile updated correctly; your old email or phone stops working for signing in. Until then, the old one stays in place. The rest of the card still waits for Save.
- On the sign-in screen you cannot change the email being confirmed. If the address is wrong and you cannot read it, ask the support team to correct it.
When verification is refused
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The verification code is incorrect. | The code does not match the one sent. | Copy it again, without spaces. For a phone, use the newest code. |
| Please enter a verification code. | You confirmed with the field empty. | Type the code. |
| Invalid Email Format | The address is not complete. | Type it in full, such as [email protected]. |
| Please enter a complete phone number. | The phone field is empty. | Type the number with its country code. |
| Invalid Phone | The number cannot be read as a phone number. | Check the digits and add the country code. |
| A message that the email or phone has already been taken | Another account already uses it. | Use another one, or sign in to the account that has it. |
| Confirm this email address with the verification code before continuing. (or the same for the phone number) | You tried to sign up or save with an address or number that is not verified. | Click Verify now and confirm the code, then try again. |