Match.com Not Sending a Verification Code? What to Check

Check the number first. Match requires SMS Verification for every subscription, and it cannot send the code to a landline or a VOIP number, so the code has to go to a real mobile number. If you are on a mobile and the code still has not come, Match suggests three fixes: move somewhere with better reception, clear your cookies, or uninstall and reinstall the app.

SMS Verification is not optional on Match. Every subscription needs it, so if you are paying, you will be asked to confirm a phone number by text. Match sends you a short code, and you type it in to finish.

That is all it is: a quick check that ties your account to a working mobile number. When it stalls, the cause is almost always the number, the signal, or the browser or app you are using. The sections below take those in order.

Two kinds of number will never receive the code: landlines and VOIP numbers.

VOIP means the number lives on the internet instead of on a mobile network. Second-number apps work that way, and so do many office phone lines. A number like that can look perfectly normal when you type it in, which is why this one catches men out.

If the number on your account is one of those, waiting will not help. Switch it to the number on your own phone plan, then ask for a new code.

A text needs a signal to arrive. In a basement gym, an underground train, a parking garage or a stretch of road with one bar, the code can be held up for a while or not come through at all.

Match's first suggestion is simply to move somewhere with better reception. Step outside or stand by a window, give it a minute, and then request the code again.

If you are verifying on the website, clear your browser's cookies. Match lists this as one of its fixes. Then sign back in and ask for a fresh code rather than waiting on the old one.

Clearing cookies signs you out of most sites in that browser, not just Match. Have your Match password to hand before you start, so you are not locked out of the account you are trying to verify.

In the app, the equivalent fix is to uninstall Match and install it again. Sign in once it is back, then request a new code.

Work through these one at a time, and request a fresh code after each:

1. Make sure the number on your account is a mobile number, not a landline or a VOIP line.
2. Move somewhere with a strong signal.
3. On the website, clear your cookies and sign back in.
4. In the app, uninstall and reinstall Match, then sign in.

If none of that works, take it to Match's help center and tell them exactly what you tried and in what order. That gets you a real answer far faster than "the code never came."

Once you are verified, a small phone badge appears on your profile. It is a minor thing, and it will not get you a date on its own.

It does answer a question some women ask themselves before they reply, which is whether the account belongs to a real person. Fake and scam accounts are a familiar worry on every dating app. A badge saying your number checks out gives her one less reason to hesitate.

Verification is the last step between you and what you are paying for, so use the first evening well. Reply to anyone who has written to you. Then write to a few women whose pages actually interest you, and make each first message about something she wrote or showed, not a greeting.

a dating coach's warning about messaging on the apps is that most men fail in one of two ways. Either they send one message and let the conversation die, or they become her pen pal and never make a plan. Avoid both. When a conversation is going well, suggest a day and a place within a handful of messages, and let the plan do the rest of the talking.