Etsy asks again every 30 days, so the number has to keep working

What Etsy publishes about number type

One rule, printed twice, in the steps for verifying a mobile number and again in the steps for changing it: “(Landline numbers are not accepted.)” (Etsy). VoIP and virtual numbers are not named anywhere. So the published rule is narrow — landlines are out, and everything else is unaddressed.

Etsy also gates the feature by country: “Depending on your country, receiving a verification code to your phone may not be available”, and it adds that “If your country is not listed below, you will likely need to set up 2 factor authentication using an authenticator app” (Etsy). The United States is on the list.

Every new device, and then every 30 days

• Etsy, on two-factor authentication

  “you're required to enter your password and a verification code when: you sign in using a different browser or on a new device; and every 30 days”

  https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015569567-How-to-Make-Your-Account-More-Secure

This is the fact that decides everything else on the page. A number that works the day you open the shop and lapses three months later will be asked for again on a schedule Etsy sets. Etsy also notes that “2 factor authentication is required when you open a new shop on Etsy. It's optional, but strongly recommended, for existing sellers” (Etsy).

Your 2FA number and your verified number are the same number

Etsy keeps a “verified mobile number” for security alerts as well as a two-factor method, and it ties them together: “Your verified mobile number must match the number used for two-factor authentication (2FA)”, and “If you've enabled 2FA via SMS or phone, updating your verified mobile number will also update your 2FA number automatically” (Etsy).

That is convenient when it works and unpleasant when it does not: one number carries both jobs, so losing it loses both at once.

Adding or changing the number

Turning on two-factor authentication, in Etsy's words (Etsy):

1. 01On Etsy.com, select your profile icon and choose Account settings.
2. 02Go to Security.
3. 03Under 2 factor authentication, choose Turn on 2FA.
4. 04Choose which option you want to use: SMS, Phone, or Authenticator App.
5. 05Confirm, then save the backup codes it shows you.

Changing the number is a turn-off-and-on: Etsy tells you to “turn it off. Enter the code sent to your current phone number to turn it off”, then turn it back on and “Enter your preferred phone number” (Etsy). You need the old number working to do it, so move before you lose it. To change only the verified mobile number, Account settings → Security → under Your mobile number choose Edit, confirm the number you previously verified, then enter the new one — with the landline warning repeated at that step.

If the number is gone

Backup codes are the intended answer: “These one-time use codes can help you log in to your account if you can't access the phone or email you used to set up 2FA”, and “Backup codes are shown only once, so download or copy them immediately and keep them in a safe place” (Etsy). Etsy adds the sentence every seller should read twice: “Etsy Support will never ask for your backup codes”.

Without them: “If you're unable to access the code sent to your current phone number or the backup codes… contact Etsy Support” (Etsy). At sign-in there is also a fallback — “Choose to receive the code by email instead” (Etsy).

The one permission nobody else prints

• Etsy, on using one number for more than one account

  “You can use the same phone number or authenticator app for verifying multiple accounts that you own.”

  https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015569567-How-to-Make-Your-Account-More-Secure

Note the last two words. Etsy permits one number across accounts you own — a seller with a shop and a buying account, not a way to manufacture shops. Etsy's own line on responsibility sits on the same page: “As outlined in Etsy's Terms of Use, you're responsible for any activity on your account.”

Where a Cleat line fits

A shop that outlives a phone. A seller who has moved abroad and lost the US mobile the shop was opened with. A business whose codes should not sit on one person's handset when the 30-day prompt lands while they are on holiday. A Cleat line is a real US mobile number, not VoIP, which matters here only because Etsy's published refusal is about landlines and a landline is what a lot of business numbers are. It is held by one identity-verified person, readable by a team, $24.99 a month, receive-only. What makes a number non-VoIP explains how services tell the difference, and shared 2FA for teams covers the case where more than one person runs the shop.

When Cleat is the wrong answer here

• You want a second shop to get around a restriction. Etsy permits one number across accounts you own. One verified person holds each Cleat line, and using it that way breaks Etsy's terms and ours.
• An authenticator app suits you. Etsy offers one and calls it “more secure, as it is less susceptible to cyber attacks, interception, or hackings”. Codes from an app need no signal at all.
• You need to reply to a buyer by text. A Cleat line receives only. It cannot send, cannot dial, and cannot reach 911.
• You have already lost the old number. Then the fix is backup codes or Etsy Support, not a new line.

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