What is Viber SMS verification?

Like WhatsApp, Viber works directly off a phone number. When you install the app, a six-digit verification code is sent to your number and the account is tied to it. If you would rather not use your own line, or you are opening a second Viber account, a temporary number is required.

A number can be registered to only one Viber account at a time. Opening a second account on the same number is not possible; the new registration deactivates the old one.

How to get a Viber virtual number

  1. Create your account and add credit.
  2. Pick Viber from the service list, then the country you want the number from.
  3. The number is reserved instantly. Enter it in the Viber app with the country code and no leading zero.
  4. Read the code from the panel and type it into the app.

The flow normally takes a minute or two. You do not have to wait if nothing arrives: cancel and try another country. A cancelled number is refunded to your balance, so several attempts cost nothing.

Which country should I pick?

Viber does not restrict which country the number belongs to; the account opens and works either way. In practice the country changes two things: price and current stock. Prices vary sharply between countries because carrier cost sets them, and that cost moves during the day.

The list on this page starts at the lowest price and is read from our own inventory on every page load. If a country has no number available, moving down the list is the fastest route.

Why does voice verification not work?

When no SMS arrives, Viber offers to read the code out over a voice call. Virtual numbers are configured to receive SMS only and do not answer incoming calls, so you need to stay on the SMS option on the verification screen.

The practical conclusion: if the SMS is not arriving, cancel and take a fresh number from a different country rather than trying the voice call. Waiting for a call only runs the clock down.

What happens if the Viber verification code never arrives?

If no code arrives, the transaction counts as incomplete and the amount is credited back to your balance. Unused numbers are never charged for, and you do not have to claim the refund; it settles on its own when the window closes.

Taking a fresh number is almost always faster than waiting for a second send, because Viber does not resend to the same number at short intervals.

Desktop and tablet: using the account without a phone

Viber Desktop and the tablet app connect to the account on your phone by scanning a QR code, and that step needs no SMS. Once the account is open you never need the number again to use it from a computer.

If the session on the main device is closed, the linked devices drop with it. Since you will not have the verification number, keep the main session alive.

Backups and changing the number

Viber keeps chat backups on Google Drive or iCloud. On an account opened with a virtual number, switch backups on as soon as the account is open; after the number returns to the pool that is the only way to move your chats.

Viber settings include a change-number option that migrates the account. For an account you intend to keep, moving it to your own permanent number after verification is the most durable solution.

Viber Out and business accounts

An account opened with a virtual number uses standard Viber features. Viber Out credit and Viber Business accounts require separate registration and payment steps, which are independent of number verification.

Legal and safe use

A virtual number is for opening a second account, signing up without sharing your personal line, or completing a short-lived verification. Opening accounts in someone else name, fraud and spam are against our terms of use and grounds for closing your account.

Messages sent to the number are visible only in your own session; once the transaction ends the number returns to the pool.

Viber communities and channels

Alongside ordinary groups, Viber offers Communities and Channels. A community can hold very large member counts, and joining one does not require anyone on the other side to see your number. An account opened with a virtual number joins these structures exactly the way a regular account does.

The difference that matters for privacy is this: in a group your number can be visible to the other members, while in a community it is not. If you would rather not expose a number at all, a community is the safer place to be.

Privacy settings after verification

Go through the privacy settings as soon as the account is open. By default Viber shares your online status and your last-seen information. Under Settings, then Privacy, you can switch both off and limit your profile photo to your own contacts.

Accounts opened with a temporary line have one extra detail to watch. The number may have belonged to someone else before you, and people who still keep it saved in their contacts can reach you. Turning on the setting that restricts messages from unknown senders clears that up.

Common error messages

  • "Too many attempts" — this appears when codes are requested for the same number repeatedly in a short window. The waiting period belongs to that number, so continuing with a different one is faster.
  • "This number cannot be used" — the line may have been blocked at some point in the past. Cancel and take a new one.
  • No code on screen — check that you typed the number into the app with the country code and without a leading zero.
  • The registration screen keeps coming back — this usually means an old build of the app is in use. Update it and try again.

A practical order for picking a number

The table on this page starts at the lowest price, but the cheapest country is not always the quickest one. The order that works in practice is simple: try a country from the top of the list, and if no code has arrived within two minutes, cancel and move on to the next one.

Stock moves through the day. A country that looks empty in the morning may have numbers by the afternoon, because the table is re-read on every page load.

Single-use number or rented number?

Since a Viber account runs off the phone it was registered on, this choice matters. For short-term use a single-use number is enough. On an account you intend to keep, the number is asked for again whenever the app is reinstalled or the device changes.

In that case the most durable route is to open the account and then move it to your own permanent line with the change-number option in Viber. A rented number is the other way round: the same line stays reserved for you over a set period, and the country-by-country figures are in the price list.

What makes Viber prices move?

The only thing that sets the price is carrier cost. If numbers from a country are cheap, carrying a short message there is cheap; if they are expensive, the reverse holds. That cost shifts during the day, which is why the figure you see in the morning can be different by the evening.

Viber sits in the messaging-app category, so it costs a little more than a plain mail verification. You can compare what other platforms run at on our virtual number page.