@JO3 Thank you, that fixed it !
@WeiMing thank you for the help here too
to summarize:
this has never worked for me since unit was new …
tried update of main unit firmware to 8.3 and while that looks good it did not fix my lack of SMS
I updated cell module firmware from 01.07.19.00 to 03.09.11.00 and then did a system/reboot.
(I tried without reboot and did not work)
Now able to receive text messages via Advanced / SMS toolkit, including 2FA codes from Visible for account login 
did cell module firmware update via:
a. made sure I had stable cell connection:
b. >assuming you have the default address, login to your device at 192.168.50.1. Once logged in, change “index.cgi?mode=config&option=main” to “support.cgi”. and hit enter. Click “Cellular module firmware update” and see if an update exist. I’m running 03.09.11.00.
c. restarted unit via system/reboot
d. tested successfully !