Are you not receiving the Instagram security code from Instagram on your phone?
Why doesn’t Instagram send the code to your email instead?
There are a couple of reasons for that. Maybe your account is new, or you recently changed your password.
If there’s unusual activity on your account or you sign in with a different IP address, Instagram will have you pass a security check.
But you can’t access your Instagram account if you don’t receive the SMS verification code on your phone.
There are several solutions for this – switch your phone on and off, unblock your contacts, wait and try again, or double-check your contact methods.
How to fix the Instagram “Security Code Not Sending” error
- Recheck your phone number in the Instagram settings
- Switch your phone on and off
- Use another phone and mobile number
- Unblock your contacts
Read below to learn more about fixing this problem on your Instagram app!
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When Does Instagram Ask for a Security Code?
Instagram may ask for a security code in the following situations:
- You recently changed your password from another device that Instagram’s app doesn’t recognize as yours
- Your account is new. In this case, Instagram will ask you to verify your email and phone
- If there’s any unusual activity on your account (bots, marketing), Instagram will perform a security check and ask for a security code
- You’re signing in using a different IP address than usual. This happens if you’re signing in from a browser, not the app.
- Multiple logins in a short timeframe. If you log in, log out, and login back again, Instagram may ask for a security code to verify it’s you
- You’ve temporarily abandoned your account (half a year to a year)
- You’ve deactivated and reactivated your account
- You’re using bots to automate Instagram functions (like, follow, unfollow, etc.)
Now, if you don’t receive the security code on your phone…
Solutions for Instagram Not Sending Security Code to Your Phone
Try these solutions to fix the Instagram “Not Sending Security Code” error.
1. Recheck your phone number in the Instagram settings
Maybe you’re not receiving the security code because you mistyped your phone number when creating your Instagram account.
To double-check this, go to your Instagram profile, then tap the Hamburger icon.
Then, go to “Settings.”
Next, tap on “Account.”
Finally, tap on “Personal Information.”
Once you’re there, you’ll see your data, including your phone number. If there’s a mistype, tap on it and correct it.
2. Switch your phone on and off
Sometimes, your phone is to blame and needs a hard reboot.
Just reboot it from the side buttons and see if this does anything.
If it’s the same, move on to the next solution!
3. Use another phone and mobile number
Try logging in from a friend’s phone!
Maybe there’s something temporarily wrong with your phone and IP address.
Log into your Instagram account from your friend’s phone and complete the security check there.
If it works, come back to your phone and log into your Instagram account.
It shouldn’t ask for another security code.
4. Wait for some time
Instagram’s servers may be busy at the moment, and their workload delays your verification code.
Waiting for a couple of minutes or hours may solve the problem.
However, this is the last resort and if you’re not content with waiting, try the following solutions!
5. Unblock your contacts
Maybe you don’t remember, but you could have blocked Instagram from sending messages on your phone.
Once you unblock the contacts, you should receive the security code.
If you’re on an Android, here’s how to unblock your contacts:
Step One – Go to your Settings by using your search bar or clicking on the Settings Icon
Step Two – Type in “Call Settings” in your Settings search bar and select the option with the “Apps” pathway.
Step Three – Select “Blocklist” or “Blocked Contacts,” depending on your device’s options.
Step Four – Go to “Blocked numbers” or contacts / the option that leads you to a list of blocked numbers.
Then, it would help to unblock all your blocked contacts by one-tapping each and selecting “Unblock.”
If you’re using an iPhone, the steps are relatively the same. I’ll sum it up to speed things up.
Go to Settings, then go to “Phone Settings” – “Blocked Contacts” – “Blocked Contacts.”
After you unblock all blocked contacts on your phone, go to Instagram and perform the security check again.
Now you should receive the security code on your phone.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why you may not receive the Instagram security code.
The most common cause, however, is that you’ve blocked the Instagram phone numbers on your phone.
It means the social media platform won’t be able to send you messages or call you.
Unblock your blocked contacts and resend the security SMS code to fix this!
In some cases, this can also affect your Facebook account as well.
For heightened security, you are advised to enable two-factor authentication too. It can be used with Google authenticator.
FAQ
Why is Instagram not sending the security code to your email?
There are several reasons why this may be happening. Usually, if you’re opening Instagram through the app, the security checks will go through your phone number.
If you open it in a browser, preferably on a PC, the security checks will go through your email.
However, you may not receive a security SMS code on your email.
That’s because you may have mistyped your email during the security check.
Verify your email address and see if it’s the correct one!
Another reason the security SMS code isn’t arriving on your email is server overload.
Instagram’s servers are performing too many operations and responding to too many user queries.
Your query will be added to the waiting list, and it may take a few minutes or even hours to receive the security code.
Maybe Instagram doesn’t support your email provider. If you’re using disposable emails, Instagram won’t accept them, for instance.
If your IP address is banned, Instagram won’t send you security codes on your email address connected to a banned IP address.
Lastly, using a proxy or a VPN, Instagram won’t send notifications and security codes to your email.
Could the Instagram security code be in the spam section?
Your email provider may flag certain emails as spam because of errors.
This may have happened to the Instagram notification, so check your spam list occasionally.
It could be in your spam section if you haven’t received the security code yet.
If you’ve flagged Instagram correspondence as Spam in the past, your email provider will do the rest by itself.
The following correspondence from Instagram will be automatically placed in the Spam folder.
To solve this, click/tap on the “Not Spam” so that future Instagram emails are not flagged as spam automatically.
Why do you have to add a phone number to get back into Instagram?
Theoretically, Instagram requires you to add a phone number so they can keep you safe.
You and the other users.
Adding a phone number gives Instagram another method to confirm your identity.
Even if you create an account through your email address or Facebook account, Instagram will still ask for your phone number later.
If you don’t provide it, they may even block your account.
Eventually, you will have to provide your phone number for the two-factor authentication method and the identity verification security checks.
These are just extra safety measures that Instagram takes to ensure the proper functionality of the app.
