Help Center

I'm having trouble with login verification

I lost my phone

  • If you are enrolled in login verification and you generated a backup code, enter the backup code to access your account and update your Mobile settings.
  • If you are no longer logged in to your account and do not have access to an active backup code, please contact Support for assistance.
Note: If you're still logged in to your account, you can remove your phone from your Mobile settings on twitter.com. Click Delete my phone and login verification will be automatically disabled for your account.

I bought a new phone

  • We suggest backing up your old phone before you replace it. This will allow you to restore your app session on your new device, enabling you to continue to use login verification. (Note: If you're a Twitter for iOS user, we recommend you do an encrypted backup to preserve your app key. Typically, iCloud backups alone do not preserve the key and without an encrypted backup, you may be required to log back into your app using a temporary password generated on twitter.com)
  • You can also unenroll from login verification on your old phone, or from twitter.com if you have an existing open web session. If you do not have an open web session and you do not have your old phone, you can still log back in to twitter.com using your backup code.
  • For more information about keeping your account secure, check out this help article.

I didn't receive the SMS verification code

  • SMS text messages may experience delays in delivery. Please wait at least two minutes before trying to sign in again.
  • If you're logged in, verify that your phone is enabled correctly in your mobile settings. Try these troubleshooting tips for Twitter for SMS.
  • If you recently changed your phone number or mobile carrier, you will need to update your settings. You may do so through the web, iOS, or Android apps if you are still logged in. If not, you may use a backup code to log in and change your settings. More information about backup codes is below.

I can't log in on my phone

  • Adjusting your mobile settings may help with this issue. Log in to twitter.com from a desktop or laptop computer.
  • Alternatively, try signing out of your account from the device you used to enroll in login verification. This will disable it, and you can then sign back in with your username and password. Visit these articles for sign-out instructions: Twitter for iOS or Twitter for Android.

I didn't receive the push notification

    • Check that you have enabled mobile notifications. You will not receive a login push notification if you do not have mobile notifications turned on for your device.
    • You can always check your recent login requests from within your app to see a list of all requests available to approve or deny. Pull down on the list to refresh the page to see most recent requests.


If using Twitter for iOS:

  • From the Me tab, tap on the gear iconand select Settings. 
  • Tap Account, then tap Security.
  • Tap Login Requests to see a list of all requests.
  • If you’re still stuck, you can also request a login code to be sent to your phone via text message. Click the link request a code sent to your phone via SMS when you log in to your account on twitter.com.

If using Twitter for Android:

  • Tap the overflow iconand select Settings.
  • Tap Account, and select Security.
  • Tap the option for Login Requests.
  • If you’re still stuck, you can also request a login code to be sent to your phone via text message. Click the link request a code sent to your phone via SMS when you log in to your account on Twitter.com.

I get an error when I try to use my backup codes

  • If you try to login using an inactive backup code, or try to use a backup code out of order, you will see an error message. You will need to generate a new backup code to log in.
  • Your backup codes will only work when logging in to twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com, Twitter for iOS or Android, or another Twitter client. If you're trying to access a third party application associated with your Twitter account, you'll need to use a temporary password instead of your backup code.

Using backup codes

A backup code is automatically generated for you when you enable login verification through your iOS or Android Twitter app. You can also generate a backup code on twitter.com. Write down, print or take a screenshot of this backup code. In the event that you lose your mobile device or change your phone number, you can use this backup code to log in to your account. Backup codes are not the same as temporary passwords.

To generate a new backup code via web:

  1. Go to your Security and privacy settings on twitter.com and select the option to Get backup code.
  2. Your backup code will be shown in the dialogue.
Note: You can use the Print this code option to get a printed copy of your backup code.

To generate a new backup code through your Twitter app:

  1. Go to your Settings (on an iOS device, go to your profile and tap the gear icon; on an Android device, tap the overflow icon)
  2. Tap Account, then tap Security.
  3. Tap Backup code.

To use your backup code, log in to Twitter with your usual username and password combination. When you see that a login verification request has been sent, click the link to enter your backup code. Enter the backup code you've generated to log into the site.

Note: You can generate up to five active backup codes at any given time. Be sure to use the codes in the order in which you generated them; using a code out of order will invalidate all previously generated codes.

I’m still having trouble with login verification

If you have access to the device you used to enroll in login verification, you can disable it by signing out of your Twitter account from that device. You can then sign back in with your username and password. For sign-out instructions on an iOS device, see this article. For sign-out instructions on an Android device, see this article.