I run a managed service provider in Canada and have been working with Google since 2005. We recently migrated a new customer to Google Workspace, which typically goes smoothly. However, this time every account requires a unique SMS number for the first login, which is new. We plan to implement two-factor authentication on all accounts eventually, but the immediate issue is that the system demands a unique phone number for each account, and there's no option to bypass this in the admin console. For this customer, we have several delegate accounts that need activation one by one with unique SMS numbers. To complicate things, some unions require us to use YubiKey or Google Authenticator to avoid using personal phone numbers. This is frustrating because Google won't allow reuse of any phone numbers, and their support has been unhelpful, suggesting I contact friends and family for phone numbers. The customer is understandably frustrated and I'm at a loss for how to resolve this. Has anyone else faced this issue and found a solution?
4 Answers
If you’re having issues with the built-in identity provider, why not consider using a third-party identity provider like Okta or Ping? It could simplify things for you, though I get that it might not be easy to set up while stuck at the SMS gateway.
Yeah, it might be a bit too much for a smaller operation, but it’s worth considering if the SMS issue keeps being a problem!
You should really use a customer-owned phone number for verification purposes. It would be best to coordinate with them which number to use. Also, per Google’s terms, to set up an account for a business, you should have the legal authority to do so, which may require some official paperwork.
It sounds like Google is following in the footsteps of Apple, which recently implemented similar SMS verifications for iCloud accounts. These changes seem to make life harder for all of us users. It's frustrating when bad actors ruin it for everyone!
It’s crazy how Google has managed to make things so complicated. You would think a tech giant would have a better framework for account setups. Honestly, I sometimes feel that managing Google Workspace is harder than dealing with Microsoft!
That makes sense, but getting past the SMS requirement to even set that up is a real headache. It feels like I’m stuck at square one!