Phone number formatting bug for +251 adds extra leading zero and prevents verification code delivery

Open 💬 17 comments Opened Apr 30, 2026 by henokhackz
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

What issue are you seeing?

When attempting to log in to Codex, I am redirected to the "Add Phone Number" page. After entering my phone number with the country code +251 (Ethiopia), the system incorrectly modifies the number during the verification step.

Specifically, I enter my number in the format:

+251 9XXXXXXXX

But on the verification screen, it is displayed as:

+25109XXXXXXXX

This results in an invalid phone number format, and I do not receive the verification code.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Log in to Codex.
Get redirected to the "Add Phone Number" page.
Select or confirm country code +251.
Enter a valid Ethiopian mobile number starting with 9XXXXXXXX (without leading 0).
Submit the phone number.
Observe the number shown on the verification page.

What is the expected behavior?

The phone number should remain in the correct international format:

+251 9XXXXXXXX

It should not prepend an extra 0. The system should send the verification code to the correctly formatted number.

Additional information

This appears to be a formatting issue where a leading 0 is incorrectly added after the country code.
Ethiopian phone numbers should not include the leading 0 when using the international format (+251).
Because of this issue, users are unable to receive verification codes and cannot proceed with login.

View original on GitHub ↗

17 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #20320

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ahsanshahzaddev · 2 months ago

Exactly Same Issue!

thinhduyng · 2 months ago

I think it's a UI formatting bug, and it doesn't have anything to do with not receiving verification code problem. If you check the response body after verification code request, the phone number is still in the correct format (which would be +2519XXXXXXXX in your case). But nvm, I couldn't receive the verification code either...

sam49501 · 2 months ago

yeah same issue with Pakistan phone number
+92 xxxxxxxxxx
its adding 0
+92 0xxxxxxxxxx
please fix for Pakistani numbers too

sqoor · 2 months ago

experiencing the same issue

ahsanshahzaddev · 2 months ago
yeah same issue with Pakistan phone number +92 xxxxxxxxxx its adding 0 +92 0xxxxxxxxxx please fix for Pakistani numbers too

Yups the Same Issue and even if it is a UI Issue I am not reciving any Text Message At All I have tried different phone numbers Each and everything But No Luck at all

AhmadTheTech · 2 months ago

Same issue here

Basim56 · 2 months ago

I am absolutely having the same issue with my pakistan number, i add +923----- and it formats it to +9203----, please let me know if u guys find any workaround. This is getting annoying now.

mghulamqadir · 2 months ago
I am absolutely having the same issue with my pakistan number, i add +923----- and it formats it to +9203----, please let me know if u guys find any workaround. This is getting annoying now.

<img width="558" height="601" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7ed35161-7e93-4ead-83bc-8eb9e33300df" />

Please let me know if anyone has found a workaround—this is getting really frustrating.

After this, I’m no longer able to add a new number at all.

AhmadTheTech · 2 months ago

they have fixed this bug you can try again it will work now

henokhackz · 2 months ago

Formatting issue looks fixed now, but SMS verification is still failing.

UI error:
"Unable to send a verification code to this phone number. Please try again later or use a different number."

API response:
code: "fraud_guard"

Response message:
"We've detected suspicious behavior from phone numbers similar to yours. Please try again later or contact us through our help center."
This is happening even though I’m using the phone number for the first time

AhmadTheTech · 2 months ago

@henokhackz It worked for me and I received the SMS successfully.
I’d suggest logging out of ChatGPT, logging back in, and then signing into Codex again that might fix it.

mghulamqadir · 2 months ago
@henokhackz It worked for me and I received the SMS successfully. I’d suggest logging out of ChatGPT, logging back in, and then signing into Codex again that might fix it.

<img width="541" height="584" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0861111d-4427-44fe-b001-39ea8e3bfa23" />

for me still getting the same issue.
@codex @codex-maintainers

mghulamqadir · 2 months ago

I've just tried it now.
Codex Auth is working for me as usual.
I entered my phone number and got the verification code.

abderaoufzx · 1 month ago

Hi, Please Fix for algerian numbers i can't access codex, the phone number is legit and i don't know why i got this problem, i tried logging out and signing in again but still getting the same issue @codex @codex-maintainers

<img width="1924" height="986" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a2e6d137-cfd6-43b4-8000-df74c391b3c5" />

henokhackz · 1 month ago

SMS option still doesn’t work, but they added a WhatsApp option, and I’m able to log in using it and receive the verification code.

abderaoufzx · 1 month ago

@henokhackz Hi, they also add whatsapp option now and iam able to login, thank you