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Codex Issues / #32657

Codex/Desktop App Verification Uses an Unknown Phone Number I Never Added - Unable to log-in

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jul 12, 2026 by zaidbsousa
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Version 26.707.51957

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

I created my OpenAI account in 2022 and later opened an API account. At some point, a phone number that does not belong to me was associated with my account. I did not add this number, cannot access it, and there is no option to change or remove it.

I can still access my ChatGPT account through the web, but when I try to sign in to the Codex app on macOS, I am required to verify the account by SMS or WhatsApp using that unknown phone number. No alternative verification method is offered, so I cannot complete the login.

<img width="385" height="453" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/024c3529-d1d8-4ab6-82c8-c7dd66983d6d" />

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Open the Codex app on macOS.
  2. Select the option to sign in with my existing OpenAI/ChatGPT account.
  3. Complete the initial sign-in using the correct account email and authentication method.
  4. Continue through the verification process.
  5. The app displays a phone number that I do not recognize and do not own.
  6. The only available verification options are receiving a code by SMS or WhatsApp.
  7. Attempting to continue is impossible because I cannot access that phone number, and no alternative verification method is provided.

The issue occurs every time I try to sign in to the Codex app. I can still access the same OpenAI account through the ChatGPT website.

What is the expected behavior?

Expected behavior: I should be able to verify using my email, authenticator, passkey, or another method linked to my account.
Actual behavior: The Codex app only offers SMS or WhatsApp verification to a phone number I do not own or recognize.

Additional information

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 1 month ago

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

  • #31751

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zaidbsousa · 1 month ago

This does not appear to be an isolated case. I found several reports describing the same or a closely related Codex authentication issue:

https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/30892 — A ChatGPT Plus account created in 2022 is shown an unknown foreign phone number during Codex login, while ChatGPT web and the API continue to work normally. This is nearly identical to my case.
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/25797 — The correct account name and email are displayed, but Codex requests verification using a phone number that does not belong to the account owner.
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/25749 — Codex requires verification using an inaccessible legacy phone number and provides no way to replace it or use an alternative recovery method.
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/25800 — Codex device authorization continues using an outdated phone number even though the user can access ChatGPT web and the API Platform.
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/25670 — The user successfully completes passkey and authenticator verification, but Codex still falls back to an old, inaccessible phone number.

My case is especially similar to #30892 and #25797 because the phone number displayed by Codex was never mine and was never knowingly added by me.