Telegram Sign-Up Blocked With a Virtual or Foreign Number

What goes wrong

Telegram's FAQ says an account can only be connected to a mobile number. Numbers that are not a real mobile line on a carrier tend to fail at sign-up in one of three ways:

None of these can be fixed from inside Telegram. The fix is to use a number that works, and the rest of this page is about choosing one you will not regret later.

Why a borrowed number is a bad idea

A Telegram account belongs to whoever can receive codes for its number. That makes the number more than a sign-up step: it is the key to the account for as long as you use it.

• Paid virtual numbers are only yours while you keep paying. When the subscription lapses the number goes back to the provider and can be given to someone else.
• A friend's or relative's number ties your account to their phone. Every new login code goes to them.
• Recovering later is the hard part: with a number you no longer control, losing your devices usually means losing the account. See recovery without the number, the device and the password.

Using a number from another country

A real mobile SIM from another country works like any other number. What trips people up is the setup around it:

• Pick that number's country on the login screen, not the country you are in. 'Invalid phone number' shows the format.
• The SIM must be able to receive SMS where you are. Abroad, that usually means roaming is on for that SIM. Getting codes while roaming or on a dual-SIM phone covers this.
• Some countries charge a fee before the sign-up SMS is sent. That depends on the number, not on where you are. See when sign-up asks you to pay.

The supported way to sign up without a SIM

The one SIM-free route that Telegram supports is the anonymous numbers sold on Fragment, a separate marketplace, which use the +888 country code. Fragment's help page describes them like this:

• They let you sign up for Telegram without a SIM card.
• Login codes are shown on Fragment, after you connect the crypto wallet that holds the number, not sent by SMS.
• They can only be used for Telegram. You cannot call, text or sign up to other services with them.
• They are bought from other users on Fragment, paid for in Gram, the cryptocurrency of the TON network.

They are not cheap, and they move the risk from your carrier to your wallet: lose access to the wallet and you lose the way to get codes. For most people an ordinary mobile number is still the simplest choice.

Once you are in

Whatever number you used, give yourself a second way back in before you need it:

1. Turn on Two-Step Verification with a recovery email.
2. Add a login email so codes can reach your inbox. See adding a login email.
3. Keep Telegram logged in on a second device, where codes arrive as messages. See codes in the app on another device.

Next step: stopping the 'joined Telegram' notice going to your contacts.