US eSIM number for bank 2FA OTP

[Potamoi]

Just got an eSIM from Tello. This is a US cell phone account with an area code in the city I gave as an address. This may be the best option I have seen so far since many of the banks and financial institutions are now testing to see if you are using VoIP to recieve the short code SMS texts.

https://tello.com/

This is an actual eSIM without the need for an app on my phone. Obviously, the phone needs to be able to handle eSIMs. They have a test you can do to see if you phone IMEI works with Tello before buying although you can opt for a physical SIM card too for a small fee.

https://tello.com/bring_your_own_phone

I opted for the 0 data, free texts and 100 min of calling for USD 5 per month. One can turn on data while traveling for additional fee which will work perfectly for me when I travel to the US about once or twice a year.

https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans

I have tested this with MoonPay (crypto purchasing 3rd party vendor) which is quite persnickety about addresses, 2FA phone numbers and documents with your full name spelled out for their KYC. For example, my Skype US number was found to be VoIP immediatelly on their site as was my Google Voice number.

I will report back if I find issues or more bank acceptance as time goes on but my first impressions are positive. I really like the idea of being able to use this same number while traveling in the US too.

PM me if you want a referal link code that gives both of us some Tello credit if anyone else wants to try this vendor.

https://tello.com/account/register?_referral=P3GNP6N7

[tamada]

Good info. I never heard of tello before and didn't come up in research late last year when I was looking for an economical US SIM for the same reasons. Looks like another T-Mobile network user.

I just renewed my Mintmobile eSIM. I got a 6-month subscription, including 5Gb data (it was their cheapest package) all for free as a sign-up gift last January, but I have just paid $120 renewal for the next 6 months.

Mint changed their rules a few months ago (just before T-Mobile bought them for $1.35 billion from Ryan Reynolds) where one now needs to subscribe to a roaming "top-up" to get full 2-way SMS. However, without the top-up, inbound SMS (from the US) still works and is included in the basic plan.

It's a very competitive market. Mint was independent, a subsidiary of another low-cost, prepaid carrier Ultramobile, and used T-Mobile networks since 2015. Looks like their prices are creeping up since the Mint purchase brought up to 3 million subscribers to the T-Mobile fold.

I will keep tabs on any add-ons or stuff no longer being included before the next renewal.

Do you know if tello allows you to port an existing eSim number if tello is a better deal?

[Potamoi]

Do you know if tello allows you to port an existing eSim number if tello is a better deal?

https://tello.com/account/port_in

[Pikolim]

Just got an eSIM from Tello. This is a US cell phone account with an area code in the city I gave as an address. This may be the best option I have seen so far since many of the banks and financial institutions are now testing to see if you are using VoIP to recieve the short code SMS texts.

https://tello.com/

This is an actual eSIM without the need for an app on my phone. Obviously, the phone needs to be able to handle eSIMs. They have a test you can do to see if you phone IMEI works with Tello before buying although you can opt for a physical SIM card too for a small fee.

https://tello.com/bring_your_own_phone

I opted for the 0 data, free texts and 100 min of calling for USD 5 per month. One can turn on data while traveling for additional fee which will work perfectly for me when I travel to the US about once or twice a year.

https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans

I have tested this with MoonPay (crypto purchasing 3rd party vendor) which is quite persnickety about addresses, 2FA phone numbers and documents with your full name spelled out for their KYC. For example, my Skype US number was found to be VoIP immediatelly on their site as was my Google Voice number.

I will report back if I find issues or more bank acceptance as time goes on but my first impressions are positive. I really like the idea of being able to use this same number while traveling in the US too.

PM me if you want a referal link code that gives both of us some Tello credit if anyone else wants to try this vendor.

https://tello.com/account/register?_referral=P3GNP6N7

Nice find, Potamoi! Tello's eSIM seems like a solid solution for US bank 2FA. Good to know it worked with MoonPay too. Will be interested to hear how it goes with other banks.

[Pikolim]

I've heard of Tello, but I don't personally use it. There are many options now for those who need a number for 2FA authentication and affordable cellular data, but they don't really work and are not secure.
I always use https://anonymsms.com/ to get a temporary number, which works great for 2FA verifications and receiving confirmation SMS. Their numbers are based on real SIMs and are always replaced with new ones.

[Potamoi]

One consequence of adding a new (or previously used) phone number to ones phone are the amount of spam calls, texts and voicemails I received at first. The robocall bots were in full swing before the US elections pleading for money for the Harris campaign in particular.

One way to combat this is to register the number on the Do Not Call registry. https://www.donotcall.gov/. I forgot all about this service until reading this thread today. Done now.

For the phone itself, I made a point to have it not ring on the eSIM number and to manually block every unsolicited number that came to me which was about 6 a day for the first couple of months generally on a US time zone (e.g. middle of the night here).

I can still recommend the Tello eSIM. I have not found a bank or crypto exchange that didn't like it yet. I have it auto pay the $5.81 monthly with my PayPal credit card and can add that I did change phones. Migrating the same number over to a new phone was easy/peasy.

[tamada]

One consequence of adding a new (or previously used) phone number to ones phone are the amount of spam calls, texts and voicemails I received at first. The robocall bots were in full swing before the US elections pleading for money for the Harris campaign in particular.

One way to combat this is to register the number on the Do Not Call registry. https://www.donotcall.gov/. I forgot all about this service until reading this thread today. Done now.

For the phone itself, I made a point to have it not ring on the eSIM number and to manually block every unsolicited number that came to me which was about 6 a day for the first couple of months generally on a US time zone (e.g. middle of the night here).

I can still recommend the Tello eSIM. I have not found a bank or crypto exchange that didn't like it yet. I have it auto pay the $5.81 monthly with my PayPal credit card and can add that I did change phones. Migrating the same number over to a new phone was easy/peasy.

I believe that the recycling of numbers is why a newly (re)issued phone number gets hit with spam and junk. When I changed my US Skype number a few years back, it took about a month of blocking calls (that were arriving silently overnight) the following morning before it all went quiet.

The do not call registry does have an impact but in my experience, it won't stop everything overnight.

Good reminder for me to migrate my eSIM from Mint to Tello soon, thanks! I need to be careful though, since my phone only supports one active eSIM at a time so number porting may be a bit tricky.

Slighly off-topic, ever since he declared but especially in the election run-up, my gmail spam hole was overflowing with various Trumps trying to sell me shoes, hats, mugs and my soul. Never got a single shot from Harris. Not a one. I feel like I may have been scammed. Who should I complain to?

[Potamoi]

Slighly off-topic, ever since he declared but especially in the election run-up, my gmail spam hole was overflowing with various Trumps trying to sell me shoes, hats, mugs and my soul. Never got a single shot from Harris. Not a one. I feel like I may have been scammed. Who should I complain to?

55 That is kind of strange RE the emails. I didn't get any spam in my multiple email INBOXes for Trump or Harris camps, Guess my anti-spam rules and backend structures are working. My gmail spam folder has plenty of junk about a date with Ukraine girls and Amazon selling black Friday crap but no political spam at all. My Microsoft Live, Hotmail and Outlook accounts as well as an old Yahoo account don't either. Even my publicly available business domain addresses spam folders didn't get any political spam. I reckon that MAGA hat you bought on eBay in 2016 may have contributed to your spam problem there big fella .

BTW: My US skype number gets plenty of wrong number calls, daily spam the odd text from RFK Jr team but I did donate to his campaign ages ago once so that one was expected.

[rick287]

I've heard of Tello, but I don't personally use it. There are many options now for those who need a number for 2FA authentication and affordable cellular data, but they don't really work and are not secure.
I always use https://anonymsms.com/ to get a temporary number, which works great for 2FA verifications and receiving confirmation SMS. Their numbers are based on real SIMs and are always replaced with new ones.

I know Tello is a popular choice, but I haven't used it. When I needed a US number for 2FA during my last trip, I went with this USA eSIM. It was super easy to set up, worked well for receiving OTPs, and I had no issues with data. I opted for the 10GB plan, and it was a more reliable option than temporary numbers.

[Udon Map]

I use a Google Voice number for this purpose. Works worldwide, no problems so far.

[tamada]

I use a Google Voice number for this purpose. Works worldwide, no problems so far.

I understand that part of getting a Google Voice number set up is to already have a US phone number. They don't accept VOIP numbers for account setup either.

[Udon Map]

I use a Google Voice number for this purpose. Works worldwide, no problems so far.

I understand that part of getting a Google Voice number set up is to already have a US phone number. They don't accept VOIP numbers for account setup either.

Now that you mention it, I remember now, -- you're right. I maintain both Thai and U.S. SIMs, so that's easy for me.