Trying to buy a mobile phone online... when you don't have access to a mobile phone

rach_k

Do you not know anybody with a spare old phone that could drop it through your door on their next walk?  I'm pretty sure that somebody from a local Facebook group would offer it here and I'm in 'unfriendly' Greater London!

neilmcl

J_B said:

neilmcl said:

EssexExile said:

Do we all do these things differently? I don't think I've ever needed a mobile phone to buy anything.

True, but quite often when you use a click and collect service you tend to get texts/emails sent to your phone ...........

Emails can be received on other devices you know.

Err, yeah, which is why I went on to say this:

neilmcl said:

EssexExile said:

Do we all do these things differently? I don't think I've ever needed a mobile phone to buy anything.

Doesn't stop you from printing the info out if you don't have a phone handy though.

Hasbeen

EchoLocation said:

Not sure if this is strictly a Techie topic, but I'm at a loss where else to put it.

Okay, my mobile phone has broken and needs to be sent away for repair. Meantime I would like to buy a relatively cheap one to tide me over until then. Trouble is, buying anything online you are usually required to receive a text message passcode sent to your mobile phone. I had this problem last year when buying my now broken phone, trying to sign in and buy from Amazon was impossible as I was unable to get in because I had no way to get the passcode from the text message. I'm now faced with a similar problem trying to buy from Argos. It all goes though until the transaction, an then I'm told to go into the banking app on my phone and approve the transaction. It's so frustrating trying to buy a phone when you don't have a phone.

Can anybody offer any suggestions? I have access to my emails, so a passcode sent there would be fine, but that not offered as an option.

Walk into Asda pick a cheap phone pay at till!

RumRat

I think the problem has been well and truly solved.....Not rocket science.

forgotmyname

Makes me wonder if I should upgrade my Amazon security.  My password is a simple 5 character word.. No 2 factor or anything.

How many remember when passwords could be 4 characters and 5 was being extra safe.  

Amazon is just 1 click purchase, thought everyone would have that enabled?

pmartin86

forgotmyname said:

Makes me wonder if I should upgrade my Amazon security.  My password is a simple 5 character word.. No 2 factor or anything.

How many remember when passwords could be 4 characters and 5 was being extra safe.  

Amazon is just 1 click purchase, thought everyone would have that enabled?

How Secure Is My Password? | Password Strength Checker (security.org)

Have a little read, 5 characters, dictionary word is about as secure as an open door! 

PRAISETHESUN

I'd pop into your local supermarket and grab a cheap phone if you can't manage to buy one online. 

The issue really boils down to the fact that OP lost access to their your 2FA device, which is always a risk when you take it with you everywhere you go! When you really think about it, it is often a single point of failure for many people's online lives so it is very much worth having plans to combat this before you lose your phone (I know, not that helpful at the moment!)

I'd reccomend looking into setting OTP verification via an authenticator app instead of SMS where possible. Not only is it more secure, you can set the authenticator app up on multiple devices for safety. There are apps that can store your 2FA codes in the cloud (eg. Authy) meaning you have access to them if you lose your primary device, or during the authenticator setup process you can just scan the same QR code on multiple devices to store the same seed, which will generate the same codes. Alternatively you could set up email verification where allowed, and have a hard copy of your back up code in case you lose your 2FA device to access your emails.

You can minimise the inconvenience of losing your phone, but not completely eliminate it. I can't think of a solid backup for cases where you can only use SMS verification (ie. the site doesn't support anything else), short of ordering a replacement SIM and using a second phone as you have done. I definitely wouldn't recommend turning 2FA off just because you might lose access to your phone.

moneymoner

RumRat said:

Pay with a credit card or get someone else to purchase it for you.

A little embarrassing if its a blow-up doll or sex toy

moneymoner

EchoLocation said:

It just seems such a stupid oversight to not consider that you might not have access to a phone all the time. Particularly if you are trying to buy a phone!

Yeah, I agree, read some of the FAQ's from most major banks about OTP. I quote one from M&S credit card services.

Customer: "How will the OTP be delivered if I have a poor mobile signal when I'm shopping online?"

M&S Reply: "Call us on xxxxxx and our Customer Services team will be happy to help"

Hilarious

debitcardmayhem

moneymoner said:

RumRat said:

Pay with a credit card or get someone else to purchase it for you.

A little embarrassing if its a blow-up doll or sex toy

moneymoner said:

EchoLocation said:

It just seems such a stupid oversight to not consider that you might not have access to a phone all the time. Particularly if you are trying to buy a phone!

Yeah, I agree, read some of the FAQ's from most major banks about OTP. I quote one from M&S credit card services.

Customer: "How will the OTP be delivered if I have a poor mobile signal when I'm shopping online?"

M&S Reply: "Call us on xxxxxx and our Customer Services team will be happy to help"

Hilarious

Necromancers of the 21st century .....