Help Center

I'm having trouble using Twitter via SMS

Having trouble with your Twitter SMS account? Does Twitter not recognize you when you try to add your phone via text message? Don’t panic. You are likely running into a problem that can easily be fixed using these simple troubleshooting tips:

  • Make sure you are using a supported carrier. Check out this article for an up-to-date list of carriers and their short codes.
  • Start over. Text the word STOP to your Twitter code. This will cancel the phone activation process and you can start over. Text the word START to once again start adding your mobile phone to your account.
  • Check your username and password on the web. Go to Twitter.com on a computer 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 link. (Since you're accessing Twitter via the web, try web-based phone activation.)
  • Avoid signatures and use of "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.
  • Watch for characters and capitalization. Do not include quotes, the @ symbol, or any other unnecessary punctuation in your text messages. Also, make sure your phone does not automatically capitalize the first letter of your password as passwords are case sensitive!
Note: If your phone number is attached to more than one account, only the account most recently linked to this phone number can perform SMS commands and receive SMS notifications for account activity like Direct Messages, new followers, Retweets, etc. Any other accounts you have associated with your phone number will not be able to edit Text notifications settings. Each account that has your phone number associated with it will still receive SMS text messages for password reset requests or security features like login verification.

If you’re experiencing a delay receiving SMS updates:

If you’re experiencing a delay receiving Twitter SMS text message updates to your phone, this is most often due to heavy traffic on your carrier's network. This issue usually resolves itself after a while.

If you’re receiving updates from an unknown account:

Reply to the SMS text message with the word STOP. This will remove your phone number from the account in question. See this article for more Twitter SMS commands.

If you’re having trouble adding your device to your account:

We recommend adding your device to your account via the web. Follow the steps in this article to learn how.

Troubleshooting tips not working?

Check out our troubleshooting articles regarding setting up an account via SMS.