What service would you recommend for receiving SMS confirmation codes etc. that is not blocked by most services (which probably only leaves the paid ones)?
If:
- Anonymous SIM cards are an option where you live
- You do not want to beacon your approximate location to cell towers continuously, BUT having a base station is acceptable
(1) Router:
You can get an LTE/5G router, just make sure that it has the option for SMS forwarding. For recieving SMS you do not need to have an “active” plan, you only have to prevent the SIM card from being cancelled. This usually happens after several months of not topping up, so you can top-up with a $5 code every 5 months or so. You can leave this plugged in in your home and have your SMS forwarder with a local number. In my case, I got rid of my ISP and make use of my 5G router for anonymous internet at home, but since I swap the SIM card for .
(2) Raspberry Pi
If you want more flexibility, you can get some form of LTE module for a raspberry pi. I use the SIM7600G-H. You can find this module as a HAT with a USB adapter. You put in a SIM card and you have LTE on your raspberry pi. You can then interface with the module by making use of ‘AT’ commands, and you can, for example, make a script that checks for the reception of SMS and then forwards them to your e-mail (or, in my case, XMPP).
(3) Extra SMS phone
Depending on why you do not want an SMS phone, an extra phone might work for you. It can be used similar to a router for forwarding while the phone stays at a fixed location, or you may even find it reasonable to bring it with you. It really depends on the specifics of what you are trying to achieve.
If you do not want to beacon your approximate location to cell towers continuously, but having a base station is acceptable:
I have used Cheogram for SMS forwarding and VoIP over XMPP. It does work some times, but it also does not work some times. Mixed results.
If having a fixed-location base station is not acceptable to you, you can also reconsider why that is. Cell tower triangulation is not in isolation super accurate (they rely on the signal strength of connections to nearby towers). I suspect that if you really want to you can make the base station’s triangulated location even less reliable by playing with directional and/or moving antennas, but doing this incorrectly could make you stand out. Personally, I do not mind having an anonymous base station with an approximately location known to the network, as what I want to avoid is my person being continuously tracked.
i use jmp.chat and love it but be aware that they have a list of banned words, and any outgoing sms (meaning that you send out, incoming messages aren’t blocked) containing the banned words will be blocked.
I have been using Hushed for this for years. I don’t think it’s the best service, but it’s not blocked by most things and it’s cheaper than JMP; I pay $35 USD for a year of talk and text (something like 6000 texts and 2700 minutes of calls per year).
Also, there are a lifetime plans available.
https://promo.hushed.com/lp/lifetime-3 https://www.stacksocial.com/sales/hushed-private-phone-1-line-plan-1000-mins-6000-sms
I ended up switching to NumberBarn from Google Voice. They’re a bandwidth.com reseller. I usually don’t have a problem with receiving codes from services, but there are the rare places that don’t allow VOIP numbers.
I’ve used smspool.net a few times without issue.
Have you been successful creating Google accounts using this?
Yes. The first number didn’t work so I refunded it but it worked on the 2nd try.
I use a text/limited voice only plan from https://tello.com/
I’ve been using Vitelity (paid) but Twilio is a bit cheaper and has a better API. However, the more obnoxious confirmation code senders can detect all of these as being in data centers. IME it’s only a few senders that are snotty about that. You could always get a burner phone.
Hmm, I don’t know what happens if you get a mobile burner phone, set up call forwarding to your VOIP number, then throw the burner phone away (i.e. shut it off so you don’t have to keep it powered and broadcasting its location). The cheapest mobile plan that I know of ($30/year redpocket) unfortunately went up to $45 a few months ago, but it gets you a usable backup sim.
Added: 1) r/nocontract on reddit showed a $36/year infimobile plan with a 20% off coupon (so a little under $30/y) on amazon. Similar deal to redpocket I think. 2) Another idea: get cheap mobile plan, port number into a voip provider, cancel mobile plan. I wonder if the number then reports as data center terminated.
There are now starting to be a few “free” mobile providers where you are required to keep a spyware app running. I don’t think I’d bother with those. textnow.com is the one I remember but there were others. textnow does NOT support call forwarding on free plans.
Probably not the lowest cost possible but connect by t-mobile (prepaid) is a reliable option for $15 a month in the US
