Australian bank SMS sending number being blocked

So you haven't received any SMS from your bank in close to 7 years and you're just now bringing it up? I would think it would have become a problem way back in 2017.  

Contact your bank.  

But I kind of suspect that this is a time traveling post

They have other methods of 2FA but for certain actions they require SMS 2FA.

I did contact the bank, who confirmed the number they are sending from.

There are alternative methods for working around the blocked SMSes but it would be useful for it to be unblocked.

You not receiving the texts does not prove the number is being blocked. The problem could easily be on the sender side.

Possible, but it would take an AT&T person to check that it is not blocked on AT&T's back end. 

We'll be happy to assist you with receiving your codes from your bank, @costella .We know how important that is.

Verification codes are often sent by short code numbers, and we have a few ways to make sure you're getting these messages.

The following reasons can explain why you are not receiving verification codes, and we will also be providing steps to resolve each of them below.

• A customer has inadvertently opted out of receiving the codes (most common) - To resolve this issue, simply send the word "Help" to the code you are wanting to receive from.  You should receive a message back advising how to opt back in.
  • If you do not receive any response back, you may have blocked this number within your device.  You'll want to go to your blocked numbers list and remove it (on iPhone Go to Settings > Messages > Blocked.)
• Short Code Provider Issue (less common) - At times, the company sending the short codes can experience delays/outages when sending codes to customers.  I have experience this myself with a credit card company.  If you aren't getting codes after doing step 1 above, we recommend contacting the company sending the code to ensure there are no issues on their end.
• AT&T Short Code Network Issue (Rare) - If you are still having issues receiving these codes, and have tried all other steps, you can escalate your issue to us via customer care (or asking a question in the forums).  There may be a back end issue causing you to not receive these codes, but it is very uncommon.  We can file a ticket at this point to determine if it's an issue on our end.

We also recommend you reset your network settings to refresh your connection to the network. This solves the majority of the issues around not getting verification codes by following the steps provided below.

• Settings>General>Reset>Reset network settings

Please let us know if this helps, we will be happy to further assist you.

Rasheedat, AT&T Community Forums Specialist

Thanks Rasheedat. I have tried all of those things.

Could you please file a ticket for me for this issue, or tell me how I can file a ticket.

Thanks!

Hello @costella , thank you for reaching back out to us. We'll be more than happy to assist on getting this resolved for you.

Let’s meet in a Direct Message to get started. Please check your Direct Message Inbox (it’s the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums).

We look forward to speaking with you!

Rasheedat, AT&T Community Specialist

After hours on the phone with both AT&T and the bank, there was no solution. The bank's engineers insist that their system is sending the SMSes, and AT&T's engineers insist that the SMSes are not hitting AT&T's network. It does not seem possible to get the two sides to escalate the ticket any higher to get a fix.

My wife and I have conceded defeat and are resorting to an alternative method that does not rely on SMS codes.

Hello @gokuzeus78, we understand how important it is to be able to receive security codes.

Let's meet in a Direct Message, so we can further review this. Please check your Direct Message Inbox (it's the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums).

We look forward to speaking with you.

Kristin, AT&T Community Specialist

Update: SMSes are now coming through—about half of the time. It turns out they are coming through not from the number the bank specified, but from another number that is used by another Australian bank as well. We found previous SMSes from the bank on that number not nearly as old as what I first indicated, which we didn't notice previously because we had that number listed as the other bank. That explains some of the mystery of the long gap.