No way to get SMS verification

General Discussion
1

Hi

I am Korean and I made my US account around 13-14 years ago when i was studying in the US.

I came back to Korea after finishing my uni.

I checked with the customer center, but it was confirmed that the account’s nationality setting could not be changed to Korea.

So I bought all the skins and watchpoint pack using USD in Korea.
It was very inconvenient to pay with dollars in Korea, but it was okay because at least there were no issues with gameplay.

However, now I can’t even connect to Overwatch 2 due to sms verification.
I asked some questions about this to customers center, and they said they can’t do anything with this and I just need to make a new Korean account.

It means that I cannot use my watchpoint pack after purchasing, and I need to throw away all the limited skins I have paid so far (even my effort to collect all the items too).

Therefore, I asked if there could be another solution or a refund, but I still haven’t received a response from Blizzard.

I understand that the sms verification system was introduced for various reasons, but international students like me have no way to get sms verification.

Even in the US, I heard that people who use the prepaid sim card cannot receive sms verification. Don’t you think it is right for Blizzard to come up with a new solution for these cases like me and you?

31 Likes
2

Apparently you can use a google voice number for sms verifications. There will probably be other loopholes in the future for you to circumnavigate barriers.

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3

I heard from Korean users that Blizzard blocked all prepaid SIM cards and virtual numbers. Does Google Voice number work?

4

Idk, give it a try. If it doesn’t work then you’ll have to wait for someone to discover a loophole.

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5

im stuck in a similar loop, cant change my country because blizzard support requires documents that doesnt exist

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6

I’ve heard an app called Talkatone might get you an OW2-compatible number for just a 2-4$, but that might be a monthly fee if the SMS is something that needs constant re-verification.

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7

When I initially started using 2FA on my Blizzard account, I was not able to get Google Voice numbers to work.

I have T-Mobile service, but I only give out my Google Voice number because it has better spam protection (and call screening). Unfortunately, I had to use the T-Mo one for my 2FA.

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8

I know where to get non voip USA number for phone verification. Worked on my alts.

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9

Thanks for the replies mates.

So far, there seems to be no way to get sms verification in the other countries. :frowning:

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10

as an old gamer, reading all these messages is really upsetting. we used to buy physical copies and OWN the game we bought. Private companies had no power on us after the sale.
I understand that online gaming and dlc makes the situation a bit more complicated but asking real people to use another device you don’t provide and you don’t operate aka mobile phones, to authenticate them in order to play something they already bought (ow1 players and watchpoint pack owners) is ridiculous, to say the least.

you and many other players around the world got literally robbed.

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11

I feel robbed to…with my alt, that I bought a limited skins on. And I don´t care what people think about alts - there was no rule against buying it and I don´t use it in comp. I literaly got it for my terrible dps play, so I don´t get constantly bullied on my support high level account, when I wanna play dps.

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12

If the support is not incompetent, they should be able to change countries.

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13

already tried. it’s impossible to change countries via support. they request documents that dont make sense

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14

Even though I have all the documents (e.g. passport, ID or whatever) they need, changing country/region to South Korea seems to be impossible because of the policy. But, I don’t know what the policies are.

Blizzard Korea is worse. They always say they cannot do anything and I need to ask to Blizzard US or just make a new Korean account.

If it is okay, can you tell me what it is?

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15

I probably couldn’t say it here, but it costs about $1.20 for one message which is all you need to link to bnet

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16

Tried this the other day, does not work.

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18

What is the point of customer support if you can’t change countries?
And it is ridiculous to require SMS verification when you can’t change countries.

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19

Ask Customer support if they can do an account merger, i did mine some time ago cause i ahd 2 separate accounts for hearthstone and overwatch, so now both game are under the same, the other accounts just gets deleted

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20

I only paid for the ad-free portion for $2 like a year ago and my talkatone number allowed me to register for SMS.

btw, requiring SMS verification is literal discrimination.

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21

I can’t do it, because my number worked and I wouldn’t be a good advocate. I honestly suggest a lot of you guys having issues with your numbers get together, submit tips to various news outlets about Blizzard’s mess. Then, for those in the US or those who purchased their games in the US, go submit a BBB complaint (actual complaint that requires action, not just a review or comment) against Blizzard. I’m sure the FTC would be interested in this too, so file. Enough complaints get action. You have rights. No “EULA” or “TOS” can take those rights away. There are consumer protection laws in place for a reason. You don’t have to pay a penny to exercise those rights.

6 Likes