Twitter Doesn't Recognize Me When Adding My Phone via SMS Short Code

Twitter doesn't recognize me when I add my phone via SMS messages. What's up with that?

When adding your phone to your existing Twitter profile via SMS, there are several things that can go wrong. Particularly frustrating is when Twitter doesn't recognize your username or password, especially when you're sure you've got them correct! "But I just logged in online without a problem," you might be saying to yourself. Read on for troubleshooting tips, or go straight to the web and verify your phone from your web profile.

(If you sent START to your short code and never got a response, please click here to refer to our separate troubleshooting article about that topic.)

If your username or password aren't entered correctly, you'll probably see nice little error messages like these from Twitter:

Troubleshooting checklist:

Tip 1: Start Over

Send the word STOP to your Twitter code. This will cancel the phone activation process and you can start over. Send the word START to begin again adding your phone.

Tip 2: Check Your Username and Password Online

Go to www.twitter.com and sign in to your Twitter profile. This will double-check that your username and password are correct. If you find your password isn't what you thought it was, request a new password here and we'll email you a reset. (Since you're here on the web, try web-based phone activation!)

Tip 3: Avoid Signatures and "Re:"

Many phones will append a signature or "Re:" to text messages. If your phone is doing this, Twitter will not be able to recognize the username and password you've sent. Try again, and make sure your messages contain ONLY the characters in your username or password.

Tip 4: Watch for Characters and Capitalization

Do not include quotes, the @ symbol, or any other uneccessary punctuation in your text messages. Also, make sure your phone does not automatically capitalize the first letter of your password – passwords are case sensitive!