Can't Log In to Telegram: A Full Checklist

Find the step where it stops

Logging in to Telegram has four steps: the phone number, the code, the password if you set one, and then the app connecting. Each step fails in its own way, so start by naming the last screen you reached:

Step 1: the phone number

• The country on the login screen is the country of your number, not where you are.
• Type the number without the leading 0 you use at home, and without repeating the country code.
• It must be a mobile number. Telegram's FAQ says landlines are not supported, and many online or virtual numbers are refused. See virtual and foreign numbers.
• A new number that opens someone else's account, or asks for a password you never set, is a recycled number. See recycled numbers.

Step 2: the code

The code screen always says where the code went. Read it before doing anything else:

1. Another device first. If Telegram is logged in anywhere else, the code is in the verified chat from Telegram there.
2. Then the place the screen names: SMS, a phone call, or your login email. Phone call codes and login email explain those two.
3. Only the newest code works. An older code is rejected with "Invalid code" or "Code expired, please start over." If you asked several times, use the last one that arrived.
4. Ask once, then wait. Repeated requests lock you out for a while.

Abroad or on a dual-SIM phone, the SIM for that number has to be on a network. See codes while roaming.

Step 3: the Two-Step Verification password

If you turned on Two-Step Verification, Telegram asks for that password after the code. It is a password you chose, not a code sent to you.

• Do not guess repeatedly. Too many wrong passwords cause the same timed lock as too many codes.
• Tap Forgot password? If you set a recovery email, a code goes there. If you did not, the options are to remember it, wait out the reset period, or reset the account. The recovery email and password hint explains each.
• Lost everything? Number, devices and password all gone is a separate case; see recovery when you have lost all three.

Step 4: after the code is accepted

If the login goes through but the app sits on "Connecting...", the problem is the connection, not the account. Check that other apps can reach the internet, switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data, and turn off any VPN or old proxy settings you no longer use. Telegram stuck on Connecting covers the rest.

Things that never help

• Reinstalling the app does not change what the server says about your number.
• A different Telegram app from a website or app store clone is a risk, not a fix. Use the official apps; see installing Telegram on Windows.

If you are logged in but something looks wrong, such as sessions you do not recognise, see checking active sessions. Next step: account recovery when you have lost the number, the device and the password.