I went online to collect and organize some information, ranging from free to expensive options, not guaranteeing that all of them can be used, but mainly providing more choices for everyone.
Recommended apps for obtaining free US numbers:
- Textnow
[Website Introduction]: Textnow is the largest free phone app in the United States, established in 2009. Their app has been downloaded over 200 million times worldwide, helping many people make free calls and chat. Just log in with your Facebook, Google, or Apple account, register for this app, and you will have a free US phone number without having to pay.
With this number, you can freely make calls and send messages, but it is limited to numbers in the United States and Canada. So if you want to register for Telegram or other apps, it won't be a problem and you can remove the restrictions on private chats.
[Textnow Download]
iOS users can search for TextNow in the App Store
Android users can search for TextNow in Google Play
For iOS, you need to use a US ID and a VPN (such as Shadowrocket) to download and register because it requires a global proxy and needs to be in the US region, as only the US region can be used.
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https://www.textnow.com/
[Textnow Pros and Cons]
First, it is free, but there are advertisements on both the app and the website. The ads are quite large and easy to accidentally click on, which can be annoying. If you can't stand it, you can pay 3 cents to remove the ads for half an hour.
Second, you can also earn points by watching ads, and these points can be used to make calls to countries other than the United States and Canada.
Third, if the number is not used for a week, it will be taken back, and you will have to choose a new number. So if you don't want to keep changing numbers, you can subscribe to the number retention service.
Fourth, because it is a virtual number, it cannot be registered on all websites, but it can be registered on Telegram, I have tried it.
Fifth, the app can make calls, but the website can only send messages.
[Textnow Registration]
There are three ways to create a TextNow account, as follows:
Facebook account
Google account
Or a US Apple account
You can choose any of them, but using a Google account is more common.
[Textnow Number Retention]
If you don't use the TextNow number for a week, it will be taken back, and you will receive an email reminder before that happens. So whenever you receive a reminder email, quickly send a message or make a call to keep the number.
But if you don't want to go online and operate TextNow every week, and are afraid of forgetting and losing the number, then use the automatic retention method.
The simplest automatic retention method is to subscribe to their advertising messages. Open TextNow and send "auto" to the number 67135, then reply with Y to subscribe, and you will receive 4 Autozone automotive parts advertising messages every week. It is also easy to unsubscribe in the future, just reply with "2".
2. Textfree
[Website Address]: https://textfree.us/
[Website Introduction]: Textfree is similar to Textnow, with similar functions and user interfaces. Textfree's parent company is Pinger, specializing in virtual phone numbers and SMS services. After registering for Textfree with a Google or Facebook account, you will be assigned a free US virtual phone number, which can be used to send and receive messages and make calls to the US and Canada in the app.
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If Textfree is not used to send messages or make calls for 30 days, it will become invalid. The number retention method is the same as Textnow.
3. Twilio
[Website Address]: https://www.twilio.com/
[Website Introduction]: Twilio is a US cloud communications company founded in 2007, headquartered in San Francisco. It mainly provides programming interface APIs for developers to make calls and send messages through code.
In fact, Twilio is mainly for programmers, allowing websites and apps to automatically send and receive SMS verification codes, etc. It offers a $15 credit upon registration, which can be used to purchase a US phone number for one year, mainly for receiving SMS messages.
The US numbers provided by Twilio are mobile numbers and can be used to verify WeChat and activate WeChat's international calling function.
In short, Twilio is also a good choice for obtaining a virtual number in the US. Programmers can use its API for projects, and ordinary people can use its free numbers to receive verification codes and send messages.
[Twilio Pros and Cons]
A free US phone number for one year, it will only expire at the end of the year and will not be reclaimed in the meantime, but the free period is only for the first year;
During the registration process, there is no need to bind a Google or Facebook account for verification;
The number is a mobile phone number, not a landline number, so it can be used to register for more applications;
Because it is mainly for programmers, the backend for sending and receiving messages is slightly more complex;
It cannot make or receive calls, only receive SMS messages.
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Recommended physical US number cards:
- KnowRoaming
The advantage of KnowRoaming is that there is no monthly fee in China, and receiving messages is free. The disadvantage is that it still provides virtual numbers and cannot be used to verify bank accounts, etc.
The minimum recharge amount is $25, and the balance expires after 9 months. If you only need to receive messages, you don't need to recharge, just activate the card and you can use it.
The number is valid for 9 months, and you only need to occasionally use the app to retain the number. It can be used to register for apps such as Telegram and TikTok.
In terms of fees, receiving messages is free, sending international messages costs 21 cents per message, making calls costs 39-48 cents per minute, and using data costs 30 cents per megabyte.
However, an eSIM card is required, and it needs to be supported by the phone. Only the Apple Watch can be used in China, not the phone. And phones purchased from abroad may not work in China.
The KnowRoaming official website only provides eSIM cards and can only be paid with foreign credit cards or PayPal. If purchased from China, it will be shipped from Hong Kong and will arrive in about half a month.
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- UltraMobile PayGo
UltraMobile is not a virtual number, but a physical SIM card that can receive bank SMS verification codes. It can be used to successfully register for services like Google Voice that require a US number.
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UltraMobile PayGo Plan is a US physical phone card that can roam in mainland China. The monthly fee is only $3 and includes:
100 minutes of talk time, available for roaming when WiFi Calling is enabled;
100 SMS messages;
100MB of 4G data, not available for roaming;
For usage beyond the plan or for calls made outside the US and without WiFi, the rates are $3.59 per minute for calls, $0.1 per received message, $0.5 per sent message, and $0.2 per MB of data.
It can be used for long-term roaming in China and uses China Mobile's network. There are international roaming packages available for $5, $10, or $20, and the balance will not expire if it is not used up in the current month, it will automatically roll over to the next month. New registered users will also receive $5 in international roaming credits.
The official website also has a Chinese webpage, and clicking on the purchase link will directly go to eBay.
3. Connect by T-Mobile
Connect by T-Mobile also supports WiFi Calling in mainland China. T-Mobile SIM cards can be used to register, verify, and bind with US banks, US e-commerce platforms, and more.
For now, these are the recommendations. If you need them, you can follow them.