This article explains the failover process for Short Message Service (SMS) and Voice factors. It details when the system switches between the primary and secondary carriers after a delivery attempt fails.
- SMS / Voice
The system retries sending a Short Message Service (SMS) or Voice notification using a secondary provider under two conditions:
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A network-level error is reported when the primary provider attempts to send the notification. The system automatically retries with the secondary provider.
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A user selects the option to resend the notification during the same sign-in flow after the initial attempt fails. The system uses the primary provider for the first attempt and the secondary provider for the user-initiated retry.
Okta's SMS uses two different providers. If an SMS attempt fails, the second attempt is automatically routed through the secondary provider. If there is a provider-wide failure, an automatic failover occurs, and the secondary becomes primary.
If a user makes multiple SMS attempts and still does not receive a code, or a valid code does not work, please reach out to Okta Support. We can check for network reliability from the SMS provider side, request route changes, or at least confirm successful delivery.
