Problem with phone number

Question

Problem with phone number

Đồng Văn Thái 20

Hello Microsoft Rewards Support Team,

I am writing to request assistance with my Microsoft Rewards account ([Moderator's note: PII removed]@outlook.com.vn).

I am currently participating in Microsoft Rewards and accumulating points. However, I am facing a major issue:

In my account management settings, my account only has a @icloud.com email address linked, and there is completely no option or place for me to add or link a phone number to the account.

When I try to redeem my rewards, the system requires SMS verification. Because I cannot link a phone number beforehand, I am completely unable to receive a verification code and am blocked from completing the redemption process.

Could you please check my account status, or help me manually add a phone number / bypass this SMS restriction so that I can successfully redeem my rewards?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Best regards

[Moderator's note: PII removed]

[Moved from Microsoft Security | Microsoft Authenticator]

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Answer 1

Haytham-C 5,130 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Đồng Văn Thái

Thank you for reaching out, as of now, is currently removing the option to add/update phone number to your MSA account due to stop sending SMS codes as stated here and Microsoft would advise users to add an alternate login option such as a 6-digit code to your backup email or setting up a passkey for improve security. The picture below is on my testing environment and as you can see, the option to add/update phone number is no longer visible anymore

User's image

However, in order to redeem your rewards, there is workaround that you can try:

Use verification method with Bing app:

Download the Bing app to your mobile device > login to your Microsoft account then choose your Rewards then click Next:
On the next windows when it said verify your account, choose Verify with Bing app and a 6-digit code will show up, then it will redirect you to the redeem window, input the code and you shall receive your rewards:

Media (1)

The picture above is in my Android test environment, and it could be applied to IOS device too, so I hope that workaround can help you redeem your rewards.

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Haytham-C 5,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-17T21:30:23.2766667+00:00

Hello Đồng Văn Thái

Have you had the chance to check my answer yet?

Please do let me know.
Đồng Văn Thái 20 Reputation points

2026-08-18T03:06:50.7633333+00:00

Cảm ơn nhiều đc r.

Thanks
Francesco Farace 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T14:14:32.5033333+00:00
Hello Haytham-C,

I have the exact same issue as described in this thread. My account is [Moderator's note: PII removed]@outlook.it] (Italy).

I tried the Bing app workaround but it does not work in my case. Here is what happens:

I open the Bing app, go to Rewards and click "Next"

The app does not show me the option to choose "Verify with Bing app" — it either verifies automatically or skips directly to the next screen

I click "Next" and immediately get the error: "We were unable to complete your order. An error occurred while processing your order. Please try again later."

I also tried removing my Samsung passkey from the account, but the result is exactly the same — no verification method choice appears, just the error

I have already:

Opened multiple support tickets with no real resolution

Contacted Xbox live chat support (they confirmed Microsoft removed the phone number option)

Verified my location is correctly detected as Italy on Bing

Confirmed my billing profile is complete and up to date

Is there anything that can be done on the backend to allow my account to redeem rewards without SMS verification? Or can this be escalated to the Rewards engineering team?

Thank you very much for your help.

[Moderator's note: PII removed]
Haytham-C 5,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-21T15:46:36.6933333+00:00
Hello Francesco Farace

I'm so sorry to hear that my workaround did not work in your case. In addition, you mentioned that you have opened support ticket, by that do you mean a Microsoft Rewards Support ticket?

Can you also try:

Open Bing Rewards using incognito/private session (Turn off VPN if enable)

Try using different browser (Chrome, Firefox,..)

Try using another mobile device to redeem

Since this is a user-to-user forum and us Moderator do not have any access nor tools to check with the backend of Microsoft Rewards. If the issue persists, I can only advise you to raise another support with Bing Rewards Support team for further insights.

Thank you for your understanding.
Francesco Farace 0 Reputation points

2026-08-21T22:11:56.9733333+00:00

Hello Haytham-C,

thank you for your reply.

To answer your question: yes, I have opened multiple tickets specifically with the Microsoft Rewards support team (not Xbox). The ticket number is 7107390333. Each time they replied saying the issue was resolved, but the problem always persisted unchanged.

I have also already tried all the alternatives you suggested:

✅ Incognito/private browser session — same error

✅ No VPN active

✅ Multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) — same error

✅ Multiple devices including mobile — same error

Could you please escalate this thread internally to the Microsoft Rewards engineering team, or provide a direct contact channel for Bing Rewards support beyond the standard ticket form? The ticket form has not led to any real resolution despite multiple attempts over several weeks.

Thank you very much.
Haytham-C 5,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-22T15:04:08.68+00:00

Hi again Francesco Farace

So sorry to hear about the issue still persists. Unfortunately, we cannot escalate this thread any further and in order to contact the Bing Rewards support team, please go to rewards.microsoft.com/support and open a support request for further insights.

Thank you for your understanding.