Only a couple hours ago there were several threads about people having trouble with the suddenly implemented SMS Protect system. Everything from them not having cell phones for various reasons to cell phones that should work not being accepted. I come back an hour ago to check if anything has changed and every single one of those threads are just gone.
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It’s blizzard they like to censor stuff.
personally i find it a bit of a dick move, especially seeing as overwatch 2 isn’t live i own overwatch, and i’m forced to add sms protect to play for free?
i’ve already bought the game, could have implemented it with overwatch 2.
what sms protect stuff?
I’d suggest that posts about SMS Protect itself are not relevant to the game. If players have trouble setting it up for their account, they should refer to the instructions or get in touch with Blizzard Support. These are account-specific issues that cannot be dealt with on the public forums.
Overwatch 2 requires an active phone number to be linked to your account in order to play. See:
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i believe a phone number shouldnt be needed to play a game… oh dear.
It’s in order to prevent people from creating multiple accounts. Otherwise players could potentially ruin the in-game experience by smurfing, or circumvent suspensions/bans by using alternate accounts. For a free-to-play online game, it makes sense to have this implemented.
Besides, obviously it also protects your account. In case of a forgotten password or a lost authenticator, you can use your phone to regain access to your account easily.
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Steam do it also to allow Prime CS players to play - stops with the smurfs etc 
At least places another barrier to entry.
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ahh the whole creating new accounts is actually a good move to prevent. it’s a good step into preventing smurfing a lot more.
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it wont prevent anything.
those wanting to smurf , happpy enough to buy a new copy ow the cost of a pay as you go simcard, like ÂŁ1 will not prevent it.
the point is it’s not overwatch 2, i’ve been forced to add sms protect to play a game i already own,
got to be really sad to do that though. i know nightwing would but still. its one step in the right direction.
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Yeah, you can never stop it, but its a barrier to entry.
I disagree. Obviously it is not a fool-proof solution to eradicate smurfing once and for all, but it does reduce the overall amount since smurfing will be a less comfortable thing to do.
I get your point that people could just get a cheap prepaid SIM card in order to create an alternate account. However I don’t believe that a lot of players will make that effort.
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I have to agree with you,cheap simcard dosn’t have every country first from all,second thing,won’t be evryone aviliable to do it even if is possible,so the goal is to reduce smurfs on minimum level,smurfs exsist evrywhere in every other game,the question is what they are doing to prevent them from smurfing,here we have Defensive Matrix system that I see like mine Windows Defender in same rank 
Not every country has the options for those. A new card in some countries requires at least 10 dollars monthly to keep avtive.
And if you read the posts that have been linked to above, you will find that prepaid numbers won’t work.
Also there is a limit of how many qp matches you have to have won before you’re allowed to join comp games.
Even that makes smurfing more tedious.
He wouldn’t. He got banned a long time ago and hasn’t returned.
You can also just remove the number on one account and move it to another everyone you change accounts. Takes like 30 seconds.
Ridiculous statement. I’m about to lose access to something I’ve enjoyed for 6 years despite being a model player who has spent thousands in hours and dollars, for no good reason other than my cell phone provider?!
I have a perfectly legitimate phone number and plan. Customer service is literally not able to help. We should be able to raise awareness of these issues in the “General Discussion” forums about the game. Anyone who suggests otherwise can only be a shill.
I’m not sure why you are even speaking on the subject as an MVP because your agreed notion about pre-paid sims working is not even true!
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Funnily enough my phone number works just fine with Steam and every other SMS verification service I’ve tried to use. Battle.net is the issue.
Linking a prepaid number works just fine where I am located (Germany). It’s a matter of country and provider where exceptions may apply.
What solution did they recommend? Did you not receive the code sent to your phone in order to finish setting it up? If the issue has not been resolved and there is no clear answer as to why it can’t be fixed, you may simply reopen the ticket.
Don’t embarrass yourself with such ill informed comments.
The support page literally says not to contact customer service for this problem because they cannot help you. The only solution is to use a different phone number from a different carrier. If you are unsure of this, please research it before you respond again.