Coinbase is restricted to cell phone users only.

[FLiEjT]

This is the email chain from support@coinbase.com to me. I formatted the document and removed some of the automated text for readability. The original question is at the bottom of this post and the newer messages are posted above it:

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AUG 11, 2017  |  09:38AM PDT
Henry replied:

Hi there,

I’m afraid without the ability to receive text messages you will be unable to verify your phone number with Coinbase.

Landlines are simply not supported.

Sorry to disappoint.

AUG 10, 2017  |  04:10PM PDT
Gen replied:

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Having investigated the issue, I am working with a specialist to address it properly. We will follow-up with you as soon as we have an update.

Thank you for your patience.

AUG 10, 2017  |  02:29PM PDT
I replied:

i can verify my landline phone with these third party services? the
trouble im having is the authy extension for google chrome is saying
the codes im entering are invalid:

the 2FA token appears in the authy extension when i add my phone
number to the "verify my phone" dialog in the security tab on
coinbases website. when i do this the coinbase dialog says the codes
the token is providing are invalid. my system clock is confirmed
synchronized to the UTC and i am entering the codes correctly before
they expire.

AUG 10, 2017  |  01:50PM PDT
Gen replied:

Hi there,

If you do not have a smartphone, there are other apps that can be used on a computer that use the same protocol and provide similar security to Google Authenticator.

Some example applications* that use the same protocol and display the same types of codes include:

    https://1password.com/
    https://winauth.com/download/

These applications can be activated and used with Coinbase instead of Google Authenticator by following the same procedures. Just use the code generated in the app you choose anywhere you are asked for an authenticator app code!

I hope that helps!

Thank you for contacting Coinbase Support!

*References to third party services are provided for your information and convenience, and should not be considered advice or endorsement by Coinbase.

AUG 10, 2017  |  12:24PM PDT
I replied:

i still do not understand. can you please send me a super simple clear
answer? i do not have a cell phone and am not going to buy one. i do
have a landline phone and a computer. is it possible for me to
buy/sell bitcoins on coinbase.com without a cell phone? thanks

AUG 09, 2017  |  04:20PM PDT
Gen replied:

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us about this, and my apologies for the trouble.

For security reasons, we’re no longer able to support 2-factor verification codes via voice call. If you’re using a landline, or your phone does not have SMS capabilities, please perform a phone number change to use a number capable of receiving SMS messages instead. To do this, please follow these instructions:

    Login normally to your Coinbase account with your username and password.
    Once you have logged in successfully with your login credentials, click on the link “Code not working?”
    Click on “I no longer own the phone number ending in +1 xxx xxx 1234” (as an example)
    You will be prompted to start an Account Recovery process for your security codes.

Please note that this process may take 48-72 hours to complete. This process will only work if you are using SMS for your security codes – not an app.

You will receive a confirmation that the process has been completed. Then you will start receiving your codes on your new phone. If you do not receive your codes on your new phone, or have any issues, please let us know.

Thank you for using Coinbase.

AUG 09, 2017  |  03:47PM PDT
I replied:

im still having this problem

AUG 09, 2017  |  07:13PM PDT
Josie replied:

This is an automated message. As we experience rapid growth, we are also experiencing a high volume of support requests and we regret not being able to answer your inquiry in a reasonable amount of time.

If your issue has been resolved:
Please disregard this message.

If your issue has not been resolved:

    Visit our Support Center for solutions to most problems
        ID verification
        2-Step verification
        How long does a buy take?
        Change country or state
        Sell or cash out
        Card verification
        Account limits
    If you require further assistance, please reply to this message with a note detailing the specifics of the issue you are experiencing.

Thank you for your patience as we grow with the digital currency community.

JUL 29, 2017  |  02:39AM PDT
Coinbase Support replied:

Thank you again for submitting your request to Coinbase. Our support agents are still hard at work getting to your case. In the meantime, this automated message may contain some useful information regarding your inquiry.

It looks like you may be writing in about accessing your account with a landline.

For security reasons, we’re no longer able to support 2-factor verification codes via voice call. You can read more about alternative options here

Found what you were looking for? Please visit this link to close your support request (you may need to use this link to log in first)

Otherwise if this information does not apply to you, we thank you for your patience, and look forward to assisting you as soon as possible.

JUL 29, 2017  |  02:26AM PDT
Original message
I wrote:

Is it possible to verify my landline phone to use on coinbase.com? I cant find a clear answer online. i have tried to use google chrome and the authy app for google chrome but it keeps telling the code is invalid.

bottom line: is coinbase.com restricted to cell phone users only?

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[jojo69]

there are...lots...of problems with coinbase, unfortunately, if you reside in the US gulag there are increasingly fewer options

[BitcoinerXX]

i used coinbase back in the day. i havent used them in years. i recently tried to log into my account to verify some old transactions and couldn't get through their security process.

i wanted to call and talk to a real person but couldn't find a contact number.

i'll never use them again.

[gentlemand]

These days that's a $15 investment. Hardly bank breaking.

Regardless of that I thought they were moving away from SMS type verification. Perhaps this is just for registration, if it isn't that's not good security practice.

[HabBear]

there are...lots...of problems with coinbase, unfortunately, if you reside in the US gulag there are increasingly fewer options

Really? What other options are disappearing the US? Coinbase IS an option, as is Circle, Blockchain.info, Kraken, Xapo, Mycellium, the list goes on. This doesn't preclude the OP from getting onto a bitcoin exchange.

i used coinbase back in the day. i havent used them in years. i recently tried to log into my account to verify some old transactions and couldn't get through their security process.

i wanted to call and talk to a real person but couldn't find a contact number.

i'll never use them again.

I just had an issue with Coinbase days before the BCC air drop. I noticed a suspicious transaction. I submitted the service request. Coinbase then froze my access to the account "until they could verify my identity". What the fuck? And guess what, within 24 hours I had my service restored. The entire process took 36 hours, which is frustrating, but I received a response within hours to every one of my emails.

Why are others having so much trouble? Why did I have it so easy?

[coolcoinz]

Some exchanges are requiring a cell phone authentication because they can't verify users otherwise. I think that was the issue with bittrex. They sent me an email that it's impossible to verify my account due to my personal details not being in public records which is obvious, since records in Europe aren't public at all. What records were they attempting to check remains a mystery, probably some US ones.
I don't care much about them having my number, I can buy a new one for €1 if they start spamming me with annoying stuff.

[jojo69]

Really? What other options are disappearing the US? Coinbase IS an option, as is Circle, Blockchain.info, Kraken, Xapo, Mycellium, the list goes on. This doesn't preclude the OP from getting onto a bitcoin exchange.

well, Bitfinex dropped the US just today

Bittrex  "may not make all of the Services available in all markets and jurisdictions, and may restrict or prohibit use of all or a portion of the Services from certain states, territories, or jurisdictions (“Restricted Locations”). At this time, Restricted Locations include, but are not limited to, several U.S. states: AK, AR, CA, CT, FL, HI, ID, IA, KS, KT, LA, MD, MI, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NV, OH, OK, PA, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WY, and PR. "

and Kraken recently dropped my state...for starters

As for Coinbase; it is the...worst...trading platform I have ever seen.  The fees are high, over $50 every time you want to move a BTC, you can't set limit orders, you can't see the order book, you get to execute market orders and hope for the best...that's it.

Just pathetic in this day and age.

[webcrypt]

Cell phones are common form of 2-Factor Authentication.

Coin base has much more wrong with it then 2-Factor Authentication. They are sharing ALL customer info with the US gov.

[pharesim]

Coinbase is being suspicius in every aspect, i dont like that wallet, i prefer using electrum or any other exchange that is not coinbase. They have so much problem with US residents, i dont know why us governemnt dont want to their citizens to use cryptocurrencies, there is so governement manipulation around this kind of money in that country.
Better to use blockchain or offline wallets.

[BitcoinSupremo]

Cell phone nowadays is a common verification process. With increasingly new rules in order to obtain a number of a cell phone I think this is a good way of verifying ones account. Every one has a mobile phone nowadays so I don't see this as a limitation. Anyone has his/her own tastes though.

[GreenBits]

These days that's a $15 investment. Hardly bank breaking.

Regardless of that I thought they were moving away from SMS type verification. Perhaps this is just for registration, if it isn't that's not good security practice.

Amen. I cant really be mad at them for this, its too easy nowadays to subvert sms/sms provisioned 2fa via social engineering. tying this to a personal sms reduces their liability; its damn hard to claim someone got access to your mobile that long, multiple times, without you knowing (if you have call of activity stamps, you have no claim).

as stated, just get a phone for this. you can even use a virtual phone number but beware; if you lose access to that specific number you will be locked out of your account in certain circumstances. a sim costs 40 bucks in the States, I assume they are much cheaper elsewhere. if the phone is more value than the assets you are trying to protect, perhaps you should reevaluate the situation

[skyline247]

These days that's a $15 investment. Hardly bank breaking.

Regardless of that I thought they were moving away from SMS type verification. Perhaps this is just for registration, if it isn't that's not good security practice.

Amen. I cant really be mad at them for this, its too easy nowadays to subvert sms/sms provisioned 2fa via social engineering. tying this to a personal sms reduces their liability; its damn hard to claim someone got access to your mobile that long, multiple times, without you knowing (if you have call of activity stamps, you have no claim).

as stated, just get a phone for this. you can even use a virtual phone number but beware; if you lose access to that specific number you will be locked out of your account in certain circumstances. a sim costs 40 bucks in the States, I assume they are much cheaper elsewhere. if the phone is more value than the assets you are trying to protect, perhaps you should reevaluate the situation

Yes... considering how many people are getting scammed these days still (just read the forums for an hour and you will see them every day), while this is annoying it is the best method to prevent their users getting hacked.

Hopefully someday Bitcoin/crypto will evolve to the point where this is not necessary. Think about online banking... essentially the same as crypto where if you hack someone's credit card info/pass you can quite easily steal their money, but we never hear nearly as many stories of people getting scammed in this way.

I think it just has to do with the maturity of crypto as it really isn't even 10 years old yet and most of the companies don't have resources that banks do to keep their clients secure.

[Yakamoto]

I don't know why they're making a move to restrict their services to cellphone-users only, but it seems strange that they're making that transition now after they were doing fine without it before. Either way it seems like they're either trying to semi-restrict their users to only middle/upper-class individuals or they dealing with some legal or technical issues that are loosening account security, or something else. I'm just speculating.

Coinbase is really going downhill these days. It's a shame too, they used to be pretty good for an online wallet and exchange.

[cryptocortex]

These days even Bittrex is asking for a lot of personal information
You still can use the service without giving it to them, but withdrawal limits are very low. And there is a risk that your account will be blocked if you have more than $ 1000 on it.

[dothebeats]

These days even Bittrex is asking for a lot of personal information
You still can use the service without giving it to them, but withdrawal limits are very low. And there is a risk that your account will be blocked if you have more than $ 1000 on it.

Main reason is for KYC and AML regulations. They need to comply if they don't want to face legal charges to the government. It sucks that these exchanges need extensive personal verification in order to provide quality service when it is originally intended to be an anonymous environment for everyone. Well I guess that's one thing that we cannot escape from since we live under these countries' jurisdictions.

[tvbcof]

I went a few years without using Coinbase.  When I tried to use them again I found that they would not let me on without a 2-factor auth of some sort.  Even though I had some BTC with them they never tried to inform me that they were going to lock my account as far as I could tell.

When I looked at the 2-factor auth options (since I research this stuff and won't use insecure platforms such as Windows and Android) I decided that I could use a fork of Google Auth before they closed the source code.  Turns out that by that time Coinbase was basically forcing me to use a company called 'Authy' but their documentation was out of date.

Since it is not necessarily unsafe to use a 2-factor authenticator on a platform which suffers from potential device security issues (e.g., my Android phone) I went ahead and dicked around with Authy.  Authy's documentation said that if one tried to use a land-line one could be 'permanently locked out' for initialization or something like that.  Nobody at Coinbase or Authy could explain what that meant.

There is no cell phone access where I live so I don't bother to have a cell phone (except some old ones from work which work on wi-fi.)  Nobody in tech-land can seem to get it through their heads that not everyone is in cell phone range.  Even if I did have a cell phone, I would have to drive to town to get an SMS or whatever and would be away from my secure workstation where I need to use the codes.

Eventually I tried to perform the Authy initialization with my land-line anyway and it worked fine.  I imagine that people are trying to use various voice-routing or whatever and the system is getting balled up so Authy just dumped land-line use all together (fucking their down-stream customers such as Coinbase in the process without telling them since they seemed unaware and/or argumentative about Authy's policy shifts.)

Anyway, when I finally got logged in to Coinbase I found out that they would not allow me to transact without sending them an identity theft kit that they could 'lose' as desired.  In earlier times Coinbase seemed to meet their KYC by off-loading the task to a bank (since I hooked my account up to them and the bank knows me in person.)  Alas, no longer.  At least not in my case.  Or they just see value in having scanned drivers licences and what-not on hand.  Whatever the case I was able to get what BTC I had with them out.

---

As an aside, I have had trouble with checks mysteriously being rejected on a business account at the same bank where I had an account hooked up to Coinbase.  My Wells Fargo account hooked up to them was canceled some time ago.  The check clearing guy said 'it's a Fed thing, and I couldn't tell you the problem even if I knew it fully' or something close to that.  What is particularly galling about this who cluster-fuck is that I've been diligent in paying my taxes and doing everything in fiat-land totally by the book.  I think I read the Feds saying that only 802 Coinbase users bothered to file taxes.  I've always suspected that a lot of people are going to be fucked like Hogan's goat when the shit hits the fan.  Of course I might be as well, but having taken the pain of paying my taxes I probably will have some options and won't necessarily have to participate in trying to destroy Bitcoin (Ver? Evoorhees?) or play a role in some fake-ass school or night-club shooting or whatever in order to get my ass off the hook.

It can be honestly reported that I've never had anything but positive results when using Bitcoin.  More and more, every time I turn around there is some enormous grief and/or threat there-of when trying to use USD.  USD seems like a fast failing system to me.

[warningsigns]

there are...lots...of problems with coinbase, unfortunately, if you reside in the US gulag there are increasingly fewer options

Really? What other options are disappearing the US? Coinbase IS an option, as is Circle, Blockchain.info, Kraken, Xapo, Mycellium, the list goes on. This doesn't preclude the OP from getting onto a bitcoin exchange.

i used coinbase back in the day. i havent used them in years. i recently tried to log into my account to verify some old transactions and couldn't get through their security process.

i wanted to call and talk to a real person but couldn't find a contact number.

i'll never use them again.

I just had an issue with Coinbase days before the BCC air drop. I noticed a suspicious transaction. I submitted the service request. Coinbase then froze my access to the account "until they could verify my identity". What the fuck? And guess what, within 24 hours I had my service restored. The entire process took 36 hours, which is frustrating, but I received a response within hours to every one of my emails.

Why are others having so much trouble? Why did I have it so easy?

Your perception of 36 hours being easy is a misplaced perception.

Easy is when you can access your wallet securely and safely without waiting 36 hours in a market of volatile rates.
Easy is when you don't get locked out and feeling unsure or worried about seeing your funds again.
Easy is when a customer is not inconvenienced in any way.

I do not understand why some people can't grasp the safety and simplicity in using a wallet which you and you alone fully control. You and you alone. No freezing. No locking of funds. You and you alone own, hold and keep your private keys. No splitting of keys and delegating control of funds to another individual or entity. Delegation of control is incompatible with full ownership.

[jojo69]

snip

post of the week, IMO

I particularly like "identity theft kit", I am stealing that term now

best of luck, friend...hodl

[carlfebz2]

They do really need this kind of verifications and this is why this exchange wallet sucks and you cant really use up telephone numbers and they do strictly need cellphone users since code are being sent by on a message. KYC would really be the main problem here if you do engage with them lots of requirements and verification but you can still make use of it without verification but on limited amounts of transactions.

[manchester93]

They do really need this kind of verifications and this is why this exchange wallet sucks and you cant really use up telephone numbers and they do strictly need cellphone users since code are being sent by on a message.

Well, if you have a house phone, I'm guessing you can afford a burner phone, right? What does it cost, $25? Just load some minutes on it initially and don't use it otherwise. Problem solved...