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Comment by nelblu | Hacker News Reader

Some of the comments pointed out that this is hostile behaviour for people roaming as well, and I completely agree. Here is my solution for this : When I am roaming internationally, I leave my SIM card in a spare android at home plugged into a charger. Android has an app that forwards SMS to API : https://f-droid.org/packages/tech.bogomolov.incomingsmsgatew.... Every time I receive a SMS I forward it to this API. The API in turn emails me the whole message.

I have been using this setup for a few years now without any issues. Even when I am not roaming, I still have this setup on my primary phone. So when I am on my computer and need a SMS OTP I don't need to go find my phone, I receive it in email :-).

(Note : This doesn't work with MMS but I don't need them anyway)

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"When I am roaming internationally, I leave my SIM card in a spare android at home plugged into a charger. Android has an app that forwards SMS to API ..."

This is called a "2FA Mule":

https://kozubik.com/items/2famule/

I have done this for 4+ years now and it works wonderfully. Good for you!

Looks like this might stop working soon unless this process works without logging into the phone: https://mashable.com/article/android-smartphones-automatical...

If your phone supports WiFi calling and dual SIM, you can get a data-only eSIM for the country you're visiting and you'll receive texts for your primary line over the data connection of the secondary eSIM.

I did something similar where I left an old Android phone at home and logged in to what I think used to be messages.android.com (now google.com) from a laptop praying the session wouldn't get lost before I got back from my trip. :)

Lately though, SMS works over WiFi calling and usually if I need a real SMS where Google Voice won't cut it, it can wait for WiFi...

I hate SMS 2FA because of roaming: I'm from one EU country that lives in another EU country. I still have my origin country sim, but it's a prepaid that I can top-up twice per year to keep alive (but because it's prepaid, I can't use roaming with it unless I buy the most expensive option and if I go back to origin country something like once every 2 months). Now I need SMS 2FA for certain services in origin country, and those services don't allow any other numbers outside of the country (why I still keep the number to use when I travel back to origin country) or any other type of 2FA. So basically phone 2FA is useless and a blocker.

I’m sorry how is this related to roaming?

I roam all the time in Europe and have roamed a lot outside of it, I have never had any trouble receiving any SMS?

Technically you are right, the SIM card isn't roaming, but I am physically roaming outside of my home network (internationally).

Some phone plans in my home network do not support international roaming, or if they support then it is ridiculously expensive that it doesn't make any sense to take the phone roaming.

A lot of US carriers charge per SMS when roaming (as if it were 2006).

Sure but with 2FA you only recieve SMS so so what?

Just trying to answer a question:

>> Some of the comments pointed out that this is hostile behaviour for people roaming as well

> I’m sorry how is this related to roaming?

Some plans in the US charge the recipient of an SMS.

That is unheard of in Europe, so makes no sense to you - hence the confusion.

It's also often the case that prepaid plans or smaller carriers in the USA don't offer international roaming.

Wait what?

So if I buy 10.000 SMS for cheap on Messagebird I can "denial of service" your phone bill?

What, lol?

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