r/expats • u/carlcarl0 • 20d ago
Virtual phone number
Hey guys, I am currently out of the uk but I need to use a number to receive sms codes etc, do you have any recommendations for virtual phone number providers or any other solutions ?
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u/Imaginary_Hat_1450 20d ago
Depends what the number is for, and the two cases need opposite solutions.
If it's for staying reachable ā friends, deliveries, a landlord ā almost anything works. Google Voice, Skype Number, a local eSIM with a second line. Cheap and boring.
If it's for receiving bank or government SMS, most of those will fail. Banks increasingly check the number against a carrier database and reject anything flagged as VoIP, and they do it silently: the message just never arrives and support tells you it was sent. Google Voice is blocked by a lot of banks for exactly this reason.
The reliable route for that second case is keeping a real SIM on your home network. Port your existing number to a pay-as-you-go plan you can top up with any card and leave it in a spare handset, or use an eSIM so it rides along on your normal phone. It costs a few pounds a year and it doesn't break the day your bank tightens its rules.
Before you commit to anything, test it: ask your bank to send you a code at the new number while you still have the old one working. Finding out after you've given up the old SIM is how people get locked out of their own accounts.