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Keeping a Virtual Number for Months, or Letting It End

Updated

This tutorial is for anyone who already knows they want a virtual phone number and now needs to decide how long to keep it. We walk through renting a private number from SMS Activate App, the service we recommend, holding it for months through automatic renewal, or switching renewal off so it ends with its 28-day period. When you finish, you will know which of the two you want and how to set it up.

What you need

Steps

  1. Open SMS Activate App and add balance

    Go to sms-activate.app in your browser, or open the Telegram bot if that suits you better. Both give you the same service, so choose whichever is more comfortable to keep an eye on. Before you rent anything, open the balance section and top up with a bank card or cryptocurrency, because the rental fee is charged from your balance.

    Tip: Fund enough to cover more than one rental period if you already know you want to keep the number.

  2. Choose a country and rent a number

    Choose a country from the ones currently available in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel, Puerto Rico, Sweden, and United States, then rent a private number. The number is used only by you during the rental, so the messages sent to it are yours alone. Prices start at $8 for a 28-day period, and the fee is taken from your balance at the moment you rent.

    Tip: Match the country to the platform you intend to use, since some platforms take note of the number's country.

  3. Check the number fits your platform

    Before you rely on the number, confirm that the platform you have in mind works with virtual numbers of this kind. The rental fee is non-refundable, so a few minutes of checking is cheaper than paying for a number you cannot use. We cannot promise that any platform will accept any number.

    Tip: If the platform is important to you, test with a shorter plan first.

  4. Set up how you receive SMS and calls

    A rented number receives SMS and calls throughout the whole rental period. Open the number's settings to see what is arriving and when. If you would rather not log in to check, you can forward incoming SMS to a Telegram chat or to a webhook.

    Tip: Forwarding helps you avoid missing codes while the number is active.

  5. Understand the 28-day rental and automatic renewal

    Each rental runs for a 28-day period, and renewal is automatic: while your balance covers the fee, the number is kept for another 28 days and the fee is charged again. As long as that continues, the number stays the same and keeps receiving SMS and calls. Nothing else changes at renewal except the date the current period ends.

  6. Keep the number across several months

    To hold the number for months, leave renewal switched on and keep the balance topped up through the balance section. Check the balance now and then, since renewal is only automatic while the balance covers the fee. Mark the end of the current 28-day period somewhere you will actually see it.

    Tip: A calendar reminder tied to the end of the period costs nothing and saves you guesswork.

  7. Switch renewal off when you are finished

    Open the number's settings and switch renewal off if you do not want the number kept for another period. The number then ends with the 28-day period it is already in, and no further fee is charged. Anything sent to it after that will not arrive, so do this only once you are done with it.

  8. Decide before the period ends

    If you are unsure, make the call a few days before the current period ends. Keeping the number simply means leaving renewal on and covering the fee; letting it go means switching renewal off in the number's settings. When you need a number again later, you can rent another one and follow the same steps.

    Tip: Deciding early is easier than trying to restart a rental that has already ended.

A rented number lasts 28 days at a time: leave renewal on with a funded balance to keep it for months, or switch renewal off to let it end with its current period. Check that the number suits your platform before you rent it, since the fee is non-refundable.

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If something goes wrong

The number stopped working earlier than I expected.

Check the balance section first. Renewal is only automatic while the balance covers the fee, so a number ends with its 28-day period if the renewal charge could not be taken. Top up and rent another number if you need one now.

I meant to keep the number, but it ended.

This happens when renewal is switched off or when the balance ran out. Renewal is controlled in the number's settings. If the rental has already ended, there is no way to resume it, so rent a new number and leave renewal switched on from the start.

Messages are not arriving where I expect.

Open the number's settings and check that forwarding to a Telegram chat or a webhook is configured the way you want. The number receives SMS and calls during the rental, but a webhook that is not reachable will not receive anything. Write to us at contact@virtualphonenumber.org if you need a hand.

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