Not receiving the verification code is genuinely the most annoying little hurdle on the road to registering AI products: you’ve clearly filled everything in correctly—the email is right, the phone number is right—yet it just never shows up. I’ve run into these pitfalls myself when setting up ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, so I’ve put together the most useful troubleshooting checklist for you.
First, determine whether it’s an email issue or a phone issue
ChatGPT and Claude commonly get stuck on email verification, while Gemini more often runs into phone number or region checks. Don’t blindly keep retrying—check the prompt first: if it says “Check your email,” it’s most likely email; if it mentions SMS or phone, then it’s text message.
Method 1: Check the spam folder and the promotions tab
Don’t laugh—lots of people really miss this step. In Gmail, check Promotions; in QQ Mail, check Spam and Subscription emails. Corporate email systems are even more likely to treat verification emails as “suspicious links.”
Method 2: Switching to a different email domain is easier
Based on my own tests, the success rate is roughly: Gmail ＞ Outlook ＞ others. Some niche email domains get downranked directly by risk-control systems, and resending it a hundred times won’t help.
Method 3: Don’t spam the resend button—avoid triggering risk controls
The more anxious you are, the less it comes. If you click resend 3 to 5 times in a row, the system may flag you as a bot. Wait 5 to 10 minutes before trying again, and in the meantime clear your browser cache or use an incognito window.
