ebay wants to verify its me but the phone number they want to txt is my old number...HELP

[summer-time-specials]

hi,

i have had my selling account for over 15 years and i have 100% positive feedback but today ebay wanted to verify it was me by sending a code via text to my mobile phone.  problem is, its my old phone number which i registered the account with and i just forgot to update my account with my new number.

i have items which i need to post and i have many items selling but its impossible to get into my account.  i managed to live chat to them with my other account and after giving them all my details,problem and explanation to them, they finally said, sorry, cant help you, just open a new account!!  then closed the chat.  i am disgusted with them as it took 2 hours of chat for them to give me nothing.

also, my linked email address, i have never used and cant remember it......im stuck and now getting worried , PLEASE HELP.

[cam_world]

I still cannot login, useless website.

[gdogzee91]

Did this ever get solved. I am having the exact same problem.

I can't even verify if a buyer has actually payed me, except for the email which says Order status: payed which could be fake. There's nothing in my bank account but that could be because I havn't sold anything for a while and ebay are holding it. The buyer has a 3 day old account with no feedback. So I either risk getting bad feedback or giving some thief a playstation 5 for free.

I have tried the chat help multiple times. Each one giving some standard response and ending the chat as fast as possible.

I tried calling: 0800 358 6552 which also offers a lot of standard solutions, says it will pass me onto somebody then rings off.

So is that it for this ebay account, do I have to start another one?

Thanks,

Simon.

[jaja642313]

i canot access my account because of this stupid update...

i will goto facebook marketplace if you dont let me back in. i wont make new accounts

[gdogzee91]

how long have you been unable to get in?

[elitegiftsltd]

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@jaja642313 wrote:

i canot access my account because of this stupid update...

i will goto facebook marketplace if you dont let me back in. i wont make new accounts

---

Ebay won't care. And they certainly won't change policy to suit anyone.

[tipo_122]

Don't know if you managed to solve your problem. The 'workaround' I had to do was login from a mobile app and from there it gives you the option to get a code (useless to an old number) or via email (when using a laptop it only gave me the option to get a text)

Chose via email and then updated the phone number on the mobile version. You then have to reconfirm (all an unnecessary PitA if you ask me) by doing the same thing basically all over again. You then get an email confirmation of a 'personal information change'.

I then went to the laptop and went to log in and this time the number had changed so I could receive a code and finally get in.

For an International company like eBay it's pathetic they make simple things like logining in so difficult and need to get themselves sorted out

Hopefully this workaround will help - you might need to be persistent !

[jaydoggyfrogg]

i have just had the very same problem  , my phone number on my account was a old landline

so this 2 step to verify account locked me out

tried everything 

then decided to set up another ebay account   , which took 5 minutes

then from this new account go to live chat  and explain your situation , this took around 5 minutes

then 24 hours later  my old number was replaced with my new number

this is the only way i could contact ebay and i hope this helps others

[soundman666]

I have a similar problem, but not quite as serious as eBay has my current mobile number. I live in a place with a very unreliable mobile phone signal and this extra verification step, which I never asked for, is not practical. I log in from my desktop computer and don't have a smartphone, just a dumbphone that does text and voice calls only.

When I do manage to log in and go to my account settings, there's no way to turn off the extra verification step and no choice visible apart from text to mobile. There's no option shown for email.

I've had my account for 16 years and have 100% feedback but it seems like eBay's web developers want to make life as difficult as possible for those who don't use a smartphone to access the site. The decision to add this without any warning was stupid.

[soundman666]

I got round this by going to my account settings and manually setting up 2-part verification by text (even though it appeared to be already done by eBay).  The option to use email as an alternative to text then appears.

If someone from eBay is reading this, you really need to explain this procedure more clearly on the web site.

[soundman666]

Another thing: eBay really needs to offer the email alternative by default. That would have saved the OP and others in this thread from being automatically locked out of their accounts if they couldn't use mobile phone verification.

[musycles]

Hi, could you expand upon "explain your situation"? The live chat is moronic. I'm in the exact same situation you were and have also set up a new accont but now I want to use the other.

Thanks

[jaydoggyfrogg]

go to ebay customer service

Chat with our automated assistant

then if your logged in to your new account    the option will come up  to  Contact an eBay representative

make sure you have all details and numbers of account you want number changing

[xxivcarat]

This is really annoying and it's not just ebay. There must be another method of verification wihtout using a mobile. what if you lose your mobile; you cant get into any account!

[sukeshn]

I found a way around this. Login using your mobile app. That will give email as an option for verification.

Then go to sign in and security -> 2-step verification. Enable the option to use the app for 2-step verification.
Then the next time you sign into the website from your desktop instead of prompting for your phone number your mobile will ask if you approve/disallow the login. Allow it and you're in.
You're welcome!

[douglaspuglas]

If you read the thread that work around has already been mentioned in post 26 but at least it worked for you.

[creepy_col]

Similar issues for me. Firstly not all users have a mobile phone  so that they can receive text messages.

Their "help" page says you can turn off 2FA but this is blatantly untrue.

Hiding behind "multifactor legislation" show that they do not understand it properly since other methods exist that can be used.  It is all supposed to be to multiple independent devices/channels 

In fact the use of the SMS text to a device blatantly demonstrates this. If your phone is compromised ("stolen") and you use it for access, if it is remembering your primary login username and password then sending a text code to the same device  completely negates the 2FA.

Banks enforce similar processes and fail to recognise this issue (I have had several debates with my bank because they would not originally use the security token I already had, they eventually changed their mind but it was a close run thing as to whether I changed bank)

This is all down to IT departments not having the expertise to understand the legislation properly , and implementing lazy insecure solutions to tick the box.

[creepy_col]

contract IT given poor design specs without expertise in the subject probably

[creepy_col]

But you should not have to figure workarounds , It is Ebay who are just useless

[creepy_col]

Exactly poor design and lazy programming

[creepy_col]

Why not give the option of talking to a knowledgable rep in the first place.