Overwatch 2 SMS Protect: How to add a phone number to your account

Here’s how to enable Blizzard’s new security measure so that you can play Overwatch 2.

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Overwatch 2 requires all players — including those that play on console — to activate SMS Protect with a valid phone number on their Battle.net account before they can play. Blizzard says that this security measure will make it harder for cheaters and bad faith actors to create new accounts in an effort to circumvent bans, and will also help you verify account ownership if your account ever becomes compromised.

Thankfully, enabling SMS Protect is incredibly simple, and it won’t take more than a few minutes of your time, either. Here’s what you need to do to activate it and play Overwatch 2.

How to activate SMS Protect on your Blizzard account

Activating SMS Protect on your account to playOverwatch 2is quick and easy. Here’s a full breakdown of what you need to do:

And with that, you’re officially good to go! Note that you can change the phone number you’re using with SMS Protect at any time, so don’t worry about running into problems playing Overwatch 2 if you need to swap your phone number over to a new one.

Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It’s arguably one of thebest Xbox shootersavailable, and since it’s free-to-play, it doesn’t cost anything to check it out. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack that provides access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.

Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack

The $40 Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack offers fans a variety of benefits that will allow them to get guaranteed access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass track, unlock some unique rewards, provides some in-game currency to use, and more.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).