- What Facebook texts are, in plain words
- Pick which Facebook alerts arrive by SMS
- When your country or mobile network isn't in the list
- Fixing Facebook texts that stop or never start
- What SMS alerts cost, and the two-factor catch
- Are Facebook texts worth it for a business? My verdict
- Frequently asked questions
Facebook texts are SMS alerts that you set up from your mobile phone, not a computer, and then switch on one notification at a time under Settings, Notifications, by toggling SMS. As of Nov 2026, Facebook's Help says they only work where it has a partnership with your country and mobile network, and your provider's normal text rates still apply.
It sounds like an old-fashioned feature until the day your phone has no data, a customer's comment needs an answer and a plain text is the only thing getting through. It's also the feature that quietly ties your Facebook account to one phone number, which matters far more for a business than for a personal account. Here's what Facebook's own Help Centre says about setting texts up, choosing what arrives, and fixing them when they go quiet.
What Facebook texts are, in plain words
Facebook texts send you Facebook activity as ordinary text messages (SMS) instead of app notifications or emails. Facebook's Help describes setting them up on your mobile phone so you can receive notifications and one-time passwords by text.
The first catch is where you set them up. Facebook's article on setting up texts says the feature isn't available on computers. It's available on phones and tablets, and the article sends you to separate instructions for the Android app, the iPhone app, the iPad app, the mobile browser and Facebook Lite. So if you've been hunting through the desktop menus for an activation button, that's why you can't find one.
Once texts are switched on, though, choosing which alerts come by SMS is something you can do from a computer, as the next section shows.
Pick which Facebook alerts arrive by SMS
Facebook doesn't make it all or nothing. You choose text alerts notification by notification. As of Nov 2026, the computer steps in Facebook's Help are:
- Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
- Select Settings and privacy, then click Settings.
- Click Notifications in the left menu.
- Under What notifications you receive, click to expand the notification you care about.
- Click Toggle next to SMS.
- Repeat for any other alert you want by text, and leave the rest as they are.
Then there's a second page most people never open. Click Mobile on the left-hand side and Facebook lets you restrict texts to certain hours, or set a limit on how many texts you get from Facebook. From that page you also choose whether texts come when someone comments on your status updates and posts, when you get a friend request, and for all other notifications.
For a business owner, that Mobile page is the useful bit. Comments on your posts are where customers ask questions in public, so that's the alert worth considering for SMS. Friend requests rarely need an answer within five minutes.
When your country or mobile network isn't in the list
Activation starts with a drop-down menu of countries and mobile networks. Facebook's Help says that list shows the countries and networks it has a mobile partnership with, and if yours isn't there, you won't be able to activate Facebook texts. The Help article offers no workaround, and I'm not going to invent one.
What you can still do is add a mobile number to your account from your mobile settings, even when texts can't be activated. If you need to swap that number later, here's how to change the phone number on your Facebook account.
The list only appears inside the activation step itself, so the quickest way to know whether your network is covered is to start activation on your phone and look for it.
Fixing Facebook texts that stop or never start
| Problem | What Facebook says to check | Help article |
|---|---|---|
| Your country or network isn't in the drop-down | You can't activate texts, but you can still add a mobile number from your mobile settings | My country or mobile network isn't listed |
| Texts are set up, but nothing arrives | Check you've picked notifications to get by SMS under Notifications; remove your number and reactivate texts; then report a problem | I set up Facebook texts but I'm not getting any text messages |
| You get texts but can't post by text | Confirm texts are on, check the number you're texting, remove any signature your phone adds, check your plan still covers outgoing texts, contact your network if you see errors | I'm sending text messages to post things on Facebook but it's not working |
| Two-factor codes by SMS have stopped | You may have turned off text messages from Facebook, so turn them back on | Use text messages (SMS) for two-factor authentication on Facebook |
Two of those deserve a closer look.
The signature trap. Facebook's Help says that if your phone adds a signature to the end of your texts, it can interfere with Facebook mobile correspondence. Plenty of business phones are set up with a sign-off line, a website address or a sent-from footer. If texts reach you but your posts by text don't land, that's the first thing I'd check, before you ring your network.
The quiet failure. If texts are set up but silent, Facebook's first suggestion is dull but right: check that you've chosen any notifications to receive by SMS at all. Setting up texts and choosing what comes by text are two separate jobs. If that's fine, remove your number, switch texts back on, and then use the report a problem route.
If the trouble is getting into your account in the first place rather than getting alerts, that's a different problem, covered in what to do when you can't log into Facebook.
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What SMS alerts cost, and the two-factor catch
Facebook's Help is clear that it doesn't charge you for using SMS for two-factor authentication, but your mobile provider's standard rates for sending and receiving messages still apply. The same logic holds for alerts: Facebook isn't the one billing you, your plan is. If your plan limits texts, or you travel a lot, check what your provider charges before you send every comment notification to SMS. The limit setting on the Mobile page exists for exactly this.
The bigger catch is security. Lots of people use the same phone number for two-factor codes. Facebook says those codes are always six digits long, and if you stop getting them you may have turned off text messages from Facebook. It also says that if you turn off your phone number for SMS codes and there's no authentication app or security key on the account, two-factor authentication is switched off as well.
In other words, tidying up your text settings can quietly lower your account's protection. Facebook suggests adding a second method, such as a security key, trusted contacts or recovery codes, in case your phone is lost, stolen or hacked. That's its own job: here's how to turn on two-factor authentication on Facebook.
Are Facebook texts worth it for a business? My verdict
Here's my honest take. For most business owners the app's push notifications do the job, and SMS is a backup channel, not the main one.
I'd start with texts for one thing only: comments on your posts, with quiet hours set on the Mobile page so your phone isn't buzzing at midnight. I'd skip friend request texts and the all other notifications option unless you're often somewhere with weak data. And I'd skip touching the SMS number on an account that runs your business until a second two-factor method is in place, because turning that number off can switch two-factor off with it.
If several people help run your Facebook presence, don't let the whole thing hang on one person's mobile number. And if it's Messenger pinging you too often rather than Facebook texts, that's a separate setting: switch off Messenger notifications instead.
When a business's Facebook access hangs on one person's phone number, those texts are a single point of failure worth planning around, along with every process built on top of them. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
If you want the full set, start at the Facebook Help: 80 Guides to Pages, Groups, Ads, Stories and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set up Facebook texts on a computer?
No. Facebook's Help says the setup feature isn't available on computers, only on mobile devices such as the Android app, the iPhone app and the mobile browser. Once texts are on, you can choose which alerts come by SMS from Settings, Notifications on a computer.
How do I stop Facebook texting me at night?
Go to Settings, then click Mobile on the left. Facebook says that page lets you restrict texts to certain hours and set a limit on how many texts you get.
Why can't I activate Facebook texts?
If your country or mobile network isn't in the drop-down menu during activation, Facebook says you can't activate texts, because the list only shows networks it has a mobile partnership with. You can still add a mobile number to your account.
Does Facebook charge for texts?
Facebook says it doesn't charge for SMS two-factor codes, but your mobile provider's standard rates for sending and receiving messages still apply.
Why does posting by text fail when I can receive texts?
Facebook suggests checking you're texting the correct number, removing any signature your phone adds to texts, checking outgoing texts are still in your plan, and contacting your mobile network if you get error messages.
