The SMS with the verification code isn’t arriving.
You want to log in, but you can’t move forward.
“I resent it so many times, so why?” Right. You do.
The causes narrow down to a few. Let’s check them in order.
Conclusion: suspect in the order “signal, settings, SIM, the other side”
- Signal: is your phone out of range?
- Settings: are reject-message or spam-message settings getting in the way?
- SIM type: is it a SIM that can receive SMS?
- Service side: are you hitting something like a resend limit?
1. Check your signal
The most common cause is a simple signal problem.
- Check whether the signal bars are showing
- Turn on airplane mode for 10 seconds, then turn it off
- Restart the phone
The detailed steps are in our article on what to do when the signal is poor.
Underground or deep inside a building, SMS may arrive late or not at all. Try changing your location.
2. Check your settings
Check whether any setting that blocks SMS reception is turned on.
- Spam-message blocking settings (settings that block SMS from unknown numbers)
- Call-blocking and reception-blocking settings
- Free storage on the device (if storage is full, it may not be able to receive)
The location and name of the settings differ by model. Look at the settings of your SMS or messaging app.
3. Check your SIM type
Some SIMs can’t receive SMS.
- Data-only SIMs: SMS may be unavailable, or a separate procedure may be needed
- Tourist eSIMs: they often have no phone number and can’t receive SMS
- Overseas SIMs: they may not work for verification by Japanese services
For verification by Japanese services, there are many situations where you need an SMS-capable SIM with a Japanese phone number. I wrote about it in more detail in another article (a guide to Japanese phone numbers and SMS verification).
4. Cautions for iPhone and Rakuten Link
If you use Rakuten Mobile on an iPhone, check this too.
The Rakuten Mobile official page says the following.
- The iOS version of Rakuten Link cannot send or receive SMS to or from anything other than Rakuten Link
- In that case, send and receive with the standard iOS Messages app
In other words, a verification-code SMS arrives not in Rakuten Link but in the iPhone’s standard Messages app. You won’t find it even if you open Rakuten Link and look.
Cases where Rakuten Link calls are not free are covered in another article of ours (on Rakuten Link free call exclusions).
5. Tips for resending
- Wait a few seconds to a few tens of seconds (it can take time to arrive)
- Don’t tap repeatedly. Resending in quick succession can get you temporarily restricted on the service side (this is my own general advice)
- If it still doesn’t work, wait a while and start over
- Some services let you choose another verification method (voice call verification, email verification, etc.)
If it still doesn’t arrive
If it still doesn’t arrive after trying all this, proceed as follows.
- Ask the company you have a contract with whether your line is in a state where it can receive SMS
- Consult the official support of the service (LINE, your bank, etc.)
- If you’ve lost your phone, see the steps in our article on what to do first when you lose your phone
- Before and after changing phones, check with our phone upgrade checklist
Summary
- When SMS doesn’t arrive, suspect signal, settings, SIM type, then the service side, in that order
- Data-only SIMs and tourist eSIMs often can’t receive SMS
- On a Rakuten Mobile iPhone, SMS arrives in the iOS standard Messages app (as written on the official page)
- Don’t resend repeatedly. Wait a little
A verification code is the gateway to logging in and identity checks. If you make sure in advance that you can receive SMS, you won’t panic when it matters.
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This article contains machine translation. For official terms, please refer to the multilingual pages on the official Rakuten Mobile website.
If you have concerns about Rakuten Mobile's coverage area or signal conditions, you can inquire through the official signal improvement survey request form .
