Hello @OpenAI_Support and Codex team
I am reporting an account-specific authentication bug in the official Windows ChatGPT/Codex application.
This is not a question about how to add a phone number. The affected accounts can use ChatGPT in a browser, but the Windows application redirects them to the /add-phone endpoint and provides no usable alternative verification method.
Environment
- Official unified ChatGPT Windows application
- Microsoft Store package ID: 9PLM9XGG6VKS
- Installed version: 26.903.9818.0
- The package and version were verified using winget
- The problem has been reproduced on two Windows computers
- Browser login works normally
- Authenticator-based MFA works normally in the browser
This is the current unified ChatGPT application containing ChatGPT, Work, and Codex functionality, not the older ChatGPT Classic package.
Controlled account comparison
I tested three different accounts:
- ChatGPT Business owner account — affected
This is the verified owner account of a paid ChatGPT Business workspace with five Standard seats. The account works normally on the ChatGPT website and accepts its existing Authenticator MFA, but Windows application OAuth forces phone enrollment.
- New ordinary non-Business account — affected
I created a separate ordinary account specifically to test whether this was limited to the Business workspace. It is not a Business member, but Windows application OAuth also redirects it to the same phone-enrollment page.
- Established personal account — works correctly
An older personal account signs into the same Windows application without any phone prompt.
The working personal account uses the same application installation, Windows computer, browser, OAuth flow, and network connection as the affected accounts.
Therefore, the application or connection is not being blocked uniformly. The outcome depends on the account being used, which strongly suggests an account-side authentication, risk, or phone-enrollment flag.
I am deliberately not publishing the account email addresses here. OpenAI staff can identify the affected Business account through the support case numbers below.
What happens
- I select sign-in in the Windows application.
- Authentication opens in the browser.
- Credentials and existing MFA are accepted.
- Instead of returning to the Windows application, the flow redirects to the /add-phone endpoint.
- The account cannot proceed, and there is no alternative option to verify through the already configured Authenticator MFA, email, or passkey.
No phone number was required when these accounts were created or when the Business workspace was purchased.
The OpenAI Help Center article “What does phone verification look like?” states that phone verification is no longer required for ChatGPT usage. However, the Windows application OAuth flow still makes it mandatory for these accounts.
Troubleshooting already completed
I have already:
- reset and repaired the Windows application;
- completely reinstalled the official Microsoft Store package;
- signed out and repeated the OAuth flow;
- checked the Windows date and time settings;
- repeated the test on two different Windows computers;
- confirmed that browser login and Authenticator MFA work;
- confirmed that an established personal account can sign into the same application successfully;
- confirmed the exact installed package and version using winget.
The behavior remains account-specific and reproducible.
Previous OpenAI Support cases
I spent four days discussing this exact problem with OpenAI Support:
- Original case: 14859534
- Linked follow-up case: 14891485
Laurence participated in that correspondence. Despite the lengthy exchange, the problem was not resolved.
Support acknowledged that a phone number should not normally be required, but did not provide an alternative verification method or perform an effective account-level correction.
At one point, I was advised to use Codex in the browser. That does not solve the problem. I purchased Business access specifically to use the Windows Codex/Work application with local files and folders. Ordinary browser ChatGPT access is not an equivalent replacement for that workflow.
A later response referred generically to an “unusual location.” However, this does not explain why an established personal account signs in successfully through the same Windows installation, computer, browser, network connection, and OAuth flow.
It is possible that a risk system treats new accounts differently. If so, that is precisely the account-side condition that needs to be investigated. Repeating generic location or VPN advice does not resolve the incorrect mandatory phone-enrollment state.
Similar reports
This does not appear to be an isolated incident. Similar reports can already be found in the OpenAI Community under the following titles:
- “Codex sign-in asks for phone verification on paid account”
- “Windows ChatGPT Desktop forces phone number required while web works normally — no mobile number, no alternative login”
- “Locked out of CLI Open Authentication with a phone number we have never had associated with our business account”
There is also an open authentication bug in the official openai/codex GitHub repository: issue 24990. It describes Codex login redirecting users to the /add-phone endpoint.
One of the Windows Community reports was said to be fixed in a later application version. However, the same behavior is still occurring for my accounts with version 26.903.9818.0.
This suggests that the previous fix was incomplete or that some accounts remain stuck in an incorrect server-side state.
Business impact
I paid EUR 130 for the ChatGPT Business workspace, but the Business owner account cannot access the Windows Codex/Work functionality for which the subscription was purchased.
More importantly, this raises a practical problem for all five Business seats. I cannot reasonably deploy the application to employees if newly created accounts may be forced into an unavailable phone-verification flow.
I have opened a separate refund request because the paid functionality is currently unusable. However, my preferred outcome is not a refund. I want the Business workspace and Windows Codex application to work.
Requested resolution
Could an OpenAI employee or engineer please:
- Review the authentication logs and account state associated with support cases 14859534 and 14891485.
- Determine whether an account-specific risk or phone-enrollment flag is causing the /add-phone redirect.
- Remove the incorrect mandatory phone-enrollment requirement from the affected Business account.
- Allow Windows application authentication using the already configured Authenticator MFA, email verification, or another non-phone method.
- Confirm how new ChatGPT Business members are expected to access the Windows Codex/Work application without supplying separate phone numbers.
This appears to require an account-level authentication review rather than another reinstall or generic network troubleshooting response.