When you’re trying to sign up for Telegram on any device, you may have to enter your phone number. After entering your phone number, you still have to verify that you own the number before you can use it to create a new Telegram account.
The verification process of Telegram involves receiving a code from Telegram to the phone number in question. You’ll have to enter the code into the Telegram app on your device to prove that you indeed own the number.
However, the problem that forms the base of this article starts to come in when you’re unable to receive the verification code from Telegram. It’s no news that you’ll be unable to create a Telegram account if you’re facing this issue. In this article, I’ll show you how to fix any issues with Telegram not sending code to your phone.
When Does Telegram Send Verification Code?
Before jumping into the reasons Telegram may not be sending verification codes, it’s crucial to know when Telegram sends it in the first place. Contrary to what you may think, the verification code for Telegram is not applicable when you’re registering for an account.
Of course, Telegram sends a verification code when you create a new account. At this point, the verification code is to verify your identity and authenticate your ownership of the phone number. Requiring a verification at this point is simply to prevent you from using someone else’s number to create an account.
If you have multiple devices, logging in on your other devices will require you to enter the verification code again. Here, Telegram isn’t trying to check if you own the phone number; instead, it’s just a verification process to prove that you own the Telegram account you’re trying to access.
When registering, you can only receive the verification code to your phone number. If the number is on the same phone you’re using to create a Telegram account, you may not have to enter it manually; you can simply give the app access to read your SMS and they’ll autofill the verification code.
When logging in to another account from another device, however, you can authenticate your account using either the SMS option or by entering the code sent to your Telegram account. In short, Telegram will send the same code to both destinations, so you can enter it from wherever you see fit.
How to Fix Telegram Not Sending Code
Now that you already know when you may receive a code from Telegram, it’s time to find out how to fix it when Telegram isn’t sending your verification code. The fix to the issue in your particular case will depend on the cause in the first place.
Here are some ways to fix the Telegram not sending code error.
- Confirm your phone number
Imagine disturbing a random person across another state having a good night’s rest because you kept resending your Telegram verification code to their phone number. That’s exactly what would happen if you made a mistake while entering the phone number you intend to use for your Telegram account.
If you didn’t receive the SMS the first time, you may want to consider confirming if the phone number you entered is indeed correct. Make the necessary corrections to the number before requesting another code to receive the SMS to your phone number, and possibly stop disturbing someone trying to rest.
- Move to an area with a better signal
Telegram sends the verification code via SMS, and SMS uses your cellular signal to transfer messages. It only makes sense that you’ll be unable to receive the message if you’re in an area with an atrocious cellular signal receptivity.
Before requesting another code, consider moving to an area with better cellular reception. Until you do that, you’ll only keep requesting new codes each time, only to receive all of them at once when you finally get to a location with a better cellular signal.
- Use Telegram on another device
If you have Telegram on another device, there’s no reason you’d want to receive the code using the SMS option. If you read the preceding section, you’ll notice that Telegram sends the verification code as a Telegram message to you if you already have a Telegram account.
If you have an internet connection, you don’t have to wait for the SMS to arrive. Simply log in to Telegram on your second device, find the latest message from Telegram, and enter the code within that message; that’s all.
- Request a phone call
When Telegram sends the code to your phone number, the app will begin a 60 seconds countdown. The countdown doesn’t signify any deadlines; instead, it’s the length of time you have to wait through before you can request another code.
When the countdown finishes, however, you’ll have two options: one lets you request a call, and the other, a text message. Since the text message doesn’t seem willing to arrive, you can choose to get the code over a phone call instead. The call is always automated and typically only lasts a few seconds.
- Don’t request too many times
There are two disadvantages of requesting the verification code too many times; for one, you’ll receive different codes each time, making it difficult to find out which of them will work for the verification. Secondly, Telegram will eventually block you from requesting new ones after a set number of attempts.
When you request the code for the first time, wait for a couple of minutes before trying another option. That way, you’ll be able to tell between old and new codes from the timestamps, making it less likely to enter incorrect codes that may have Telegram block future attempts.
Conclusion
If Telegram isn’t sending your verification code, something is wrong. In that case, you may want to follow my list of fixes above to see what you can do to force Telegram to send you the necessary code you need to verify your account.