How to fix phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled in Supabase

What this error means

The "phone_provider_disabled" error is a Supabase Auth error that indicates phone-based authentication is currently disabled for your project. When Supabase receives a request for phone sign-in, sign-up, or OTP verification, it checks whether the phone authentication provider is enabled in the project configuration. This error typically appears in development environments where phone authentication hasn't been set up yet, or in production when phone signups were intentionally disabled for security or maintenance reasons. Without enabling the phone provider, any attempts to use phone numbers for authentication will fail with this specific error code. The error serves as a configuration check to ensure that phone authentication is explicitly enabled before allowing phone-based operations, preventing accidental exposure of authentication endpoints that aren't ready for use.

Typical symptoms

• Phone authentication attempts fail with "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled" error
• Users cannot sign up or log in using phone numbers
• OTP (One-Time Password) verification via SMS fails
• Error appears when calling Supabase Auth methods like signInWithOtp() with phone parameter
• Phone-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) setup fails
• Error code "phone_provider_disabled" appears in Supabase Auth logs

Common causes

1. Phone authentication provider not enabled in Supabase project settings
2. Phone signups explicitly disabled in Authentication → Providers configuration
3. Project recently created and phone authentication not yet configured
4. Phone authentication was disabled for maintenance or security reasons
5. Missing SMS provider configuration (Twilio, MessageBird, etc.)
6. Environment-specific configuration where phone auth is disabled in certain environments

How to fix "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled"

# After enabling in dashboard, test with:
curl -X POST 'https://YOUR_PROJECT.supabase.co/auth/v1/otp'   -H 'apikey: YOUR_ANON_KEY'   -H 'Content-Type: application/json'   -d '{"phone": "+1234567890"}'

// Check current auth configuration
const { data: settings, error } = await supabase.auth.getSettings();

if (!error && settings) {
  console.log('Phone auth enabled:', settings.disable_signup === false);
  console.log('External providers:', settings.external);

  // Phone should be in external providers if enabled
  const phoneEnabled = settings.external?.phone === true;
  console.log('Phone provider enabled:', phoneEnabled);
}

// Test phone authentication after configuration
const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({
  phone: '+14155552671', // Test with your own number
  options: {
    channel: 'sms'
  }
});

if (error) {
  console.error('Error:', error.message);
  console.error('Code:', error.code); // Should not be "phone_provider_disabled"
} else {
  console.log('OTP sent successfully!');
}

3. **Conditional configuration in code**:

-- Check if any policies block phone auth
SELECT * FROM pg_policies
WHERE tablename = 'auth.users'
   OR tablename LIKE 'auth.%';

-- Disable problematic policies temporarily for testing
ALTER TABLE auth.users DISABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
-- Test phone auth
-- Re-enable: ALTER TABLE auth.users ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;

// Create a clean test client
import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';

const testSupabase = createClient(
  'https://your-project.supabase.co',
  'your-anon-key',
  {
    auth: {
      autoRefreshToken: true,
      persistSession: true,
      detectSessionInUrl: true
    }
  }
);

// Test with minimal options
const { error } = await testSupabase.auth.signInWithOtp({
  phone: '+14155552671'
});

// Client-side error handling
async function handlePhoneAuth(phoneNumber) {
  try {
    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({
      phone: phoneNumber,
      options: { channel: 'sms' }
    });

    if (error) {
      if (error.code === 'phone_provider_disabled') {
        // Show user-friendly message
        showErrorMessage(
          'Phone authentication is currently unavailable. ' +
          'Please use email or social login instead.'
        );

        // Offer alternatives
        showAlternativeOptions(['email', 'google', 'github']);
        return;
      }
      throw error;
    }

    // Success - show OTP input
    showOtpInput();
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Auth error:', err);
    showGenericError();
  }
}

// Alternative authentication flow
function showAlternativeOptions(providers) {
  const availableProviders = {
    email: () => supabase.auth.signInWithOtp({ email }),
    google: () => supabase.auth.signInWithOAuth({ provider: 'google' }),
    github: () => supabase.auth.signInWithOAuth({ provider: 'github' })
  };

  // Show buttons for available providers
  providers.forEach(provider => {
    if (availableProviders[provider]) {
      createAuthButton(provider, availableProviders[provider]);
    }
  });
}

Advanced notes

Frequently asked questions

What does "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled" mean?

The "phone_provider_disabled" error is a Supabase Auth error that indicates phone-based authentication is currently disabled for your project. When Supabase receives a request for phone sign-in, sign-up, or OTP verification, it checks whether the phone authentication provider is enabled in the project configuration. This error typically appears in development environments where phone authentication hasn't been set up yet, or in production when phone signups were intentionally disabled for security or maintenance reasons.

How do I fix "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled"?

The "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled" error occurs when Supabase Auth attempts phone-based authentication but phone signups are not enabled in the project settings. This prevents users from signing up or logging in with phone numbers until phone authentication is properly configured and enabled.

What causes "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled"?

Phone authentication provider not enabled in Supabase project settings Phone signups explicitly disabled in Authentication → Providers configuration Project recently created and phone authentication not yet configured

Is the "phone_provider_disabled: Phone signups are disabled" error serious?

It is a medium-severity error — more of a blocker than a risk. The steps above resolve it.

Related errors

• provider_disabled: OAuth provider is disabled for signup

  How to fix "provider_disabled: OAuth provider is disabled for signup" in Supabase

  HIGH

• phone_not_confirmed: Phone number has not been confirmed

  How to fix "phone_not_confirmed" in Supabase

  MEDIUM

• provider_email_needs_verification: Email verification required by OAuth provider

  How to fix 'provider_email_needs_verification: Email verification required by OAuth provider' in Supabase

  HIGH

• phone_exists: Phone number already exists

  How to fix "phone_exists" in Supabase

  MEDIUM

• email_not_confirmed: Email has not been confirmed

  How to fix 'email_not_confirmed: Email has not been confirmed' in Supabase

  MEDIUM

• over_email_send_rate_limit: Email send rate limit exceeded

  Email send rate limit exceeded in Supabase

  MEDIUM

Official resources & further reading

• 📚Supabase Official Documentation
• 📖
  supabase.com - phone login(Official Docs)
• 📖
  supabase.com - phone provider(Official Docs)
• 📖
  supabase.com - error codes(Official Docs)
• 🐙
  github.com - discussions(GitHub)
• 💬
  stackoverflow.com - supabase+phone+authentication(Stack Overflow)