Badoo Phone Verification Code Not Working: What to Do

Request a fresh code, use it straight away, and type it in by hand rather than pasting it, because Badoo's codes are only valid for a short time. If you chose a verification call, you do not need to answer it: the code is the final six digits of the calling number. If nothing reaches you at all, a VPN, SMS blocking, Do Not Disturb, or a VoIP number can stop the code or the call from getting through.

Often the trouble is simply an old code. The code Badoo sends only works for a short window, so one that sat on your lock screen while you made coffee may already be dead.

Ask for a new code. Keep the screen on and the app open while you wait, so you can enter it the moment it arrives. Then type the digits in yourself, one by one, rather than copying and pasting. Badoo's own advice is to type the code, and it takes ten seconds.

If you asked for several codes in a row, use the most recent one. The earlier ones may already have run out.

Badoo can also verify your number with a phone call instead of a text. This is where a lot of men lose time, because they answer the call and wait for a voice to read out a code.

You do not need to pick up. The code is the number itself. Look at the incoming call, note the final six digits of the number it came from, and type those into the app.

If the call rang while your phone was in your pocket, check your recent calls list. The number will be there, and the last six digits are all you need. Enter them quickly, the same way you would a texted code.

If no text and no call arrives, something on your phone may be in the way. Badoo names four things that can do it.

• A VPN. Switch it off while you verify, then turn it back on afterwards if you use one.
• SMS blocking. Check whether your phone or carrier is filtering texts from unknown senders, and look in any blocked or filtered messages folder.
• Do Not Disturb. Turn it off for a few minutes so the text or call can come through.
• A VoIP number. A number from an internet calling service may not receive the code or the call. Use a regular mobile number instead.

Change one thing at a time and ask for a fresh code after each change. That way, when it works, you know what was blocking it, and you know what to switch off if it happens again.

Run through these in one go rather than guessing.

1. Turn off your VPN and Do Not Disturb.
2. Check your blocked or filtered messages.
3. Request a new code, and have the app ready.
4. Type the code in by hand the moment it arrives.
5. If texts still do not come, choose the call and type in the final six digits of the number that rings you.

If you are using a VoIP number, none of these steps will get around that, so switch to a regular mobile number before you start.

After a fight with a verification screen, the temptation is to make up for lost time with a long session of swiping. That is rarely the best use of the app. In a long session it is easy to stop being picky, and a match you liked out of boredom is one you will not follow up on.

a dating coach keeps his app time short and planned, usually two sessions a day of around fifteen minutes each. He spends them in order: first on the women closest to a date, then on the conversations already going, then on first messages to new matches, and only then on finding more.

A match is only worth something once it turns into a conversation, and a conversation only once it turns into a plan.

My openers go out fast, often less than a minute after he opens a woman's page. He notices one thing she shared, turns it into a short, slightly playful line, and sends it. He keeps a simple format for those first lines, because spending ten minutes on every opener means reaching far fewer women.

From there he aims to reach her number within four to seven messages. The opener gets her talking, a few lines of back and forth build some fun, and then he suggests moving off the app. That is where your first free hour after verifying should go, not into another hundred swipes.