Registering Signal on a number you rent

How Signal uses your number

From Signal Support and Signal’s Terms of Service, read on November 13, 2026.

Registration Lock, and why a number that changes hands is a real risk

A standard Signal account is registered to a phone number, and registering needs a code sent to that number. Signal’s Terms say that when a number is registered on a new device, the old device stops receiving messages and calls.

Registration Lock is the guard against that. With it on, nobody can register your number on a new phone without your Signal PIN. But the lock lapses once your account has been inactive for 7 days. After that, a code to the number is enough again.

For a rented number, that is the risk to weigh plainly. When a rental from us ends, the number stops receiving texts and can be given to someone else. If you haven’t used Signal for 7 days by then, say because the phone was lost or the app removed, the next holder of the number could register it. Signal has no recovery for that: its help centre says that until you have access to your phone number, nothing can be done.

Signal’s Terms also say you must have the rights to the number you sign up with. A number from us is yours alone while the rental runs, and stops being yours when it ends. So the rental has to outlast your use of Signal on it, or you move the account to your own number first.

Which numbers Signal accepts

Signal Support doesn’t name number types it refuses. Its one requirement is that the number can receive an insecure SMS or a phone call, and each phone needs its own number: one number can’t be shared across phones.

Ours is a non-VoIP US number that receives texts. Signal decides whether to send it a code; if nothing arrives, cancel within 24 hours.

Registering Signal with a number from us

1. Rent a number for a year

   Turn on auto-renew when you buy it, so the rental can’t end while Signal depends on it.

2. Give Signal the number and wait for the SMS

   Signal wants the full international number with no leading zero: +1 and the ten digits. When the countdown ends Signal offers “Call me”. Don’t take it: a number from us can’t receive calls, so the spoken code never reaches you.

3. Enter the code, then set a PIN

   Copy the code from the number’s page into Signal. Then create a Signal PIN and turn on Registration Lock in Signal’s settings.

How long to keep the number

Keep it for as long as you use Signal on it. Day to day Signal runs over the internet and asks for no code. The number matters on the days you reinstall or change phones, and on the day the rental ends. 1 year costs $34.99, and you can extend at any time.

Your PIN can sometimes replace the SMS when you re-register: Signal combines the PIN with a token stored for the account. That token is cancelled the moment anyone completes SMS verification for the number, so it is not a way to let the number go.

To move the account to your own number, use Signal Settings, then Account, then Change Phone Number. Signal allows this only from an active account and only if the new number can receive SMS, it can’t be undone, and your username stays the same. Do it before our number ends.

If Signal’s code doesn’t arrive

From Signal’s registration troubleshooting page, the steps that apply to a rented number:

• Re-enter the number in full international format with no leading zeroes.
• Turn off any VPN on the phone, or make sure it allows *.signal.org on TCP port 443.
• After too many attempts, wait (Signal says an hour, a day or so) before trying again.

Its other steps, such as asking a T-Mobile-based carrier to lift a short-code block or turning off Silence Unknown Callers, are for your own phone line. If no text reaches the number’s page, cancel it from 5 minutes to 24 hours after purchase; when our supplier accepts, the money comes back. More causes are in why verification codes don’t arrive.

Questions people ask

Can I use Signal without a phone number?

In the Android beta, yes: Signal Login creates an account with no phone number for a one-time $2.99 purchase, and Signal says there is no phone number fallback. Otherwise every Signal account needs a number.

Can I lose my Signal account by using a temporary number?

Yes. If the number goes to someone else after your Registration Lock has lapsed, which happens after 7 days of inactivity, they can register Signal with it. Rent for a year and keep using Signal, or move the account to your own number first.

What happens to my Signal account if I lose my number?

Signal says nothing can be done until you have access to the number again. If you don’t have the original phone either, the account is deleted after 120 days of inactivity.

Can I receive Signal’s verification call on a VerifyWith number?

No. Our numbers receive texts only and can’t take calls, so wait for the SMS rather than tapping Call me.

Does Signal accept Google Voice and other virtual numbers?

Signal’s help centre doesn’t list number types it accepts or refuses. It only says the number must be able to receive an SMS or a phone call.