Viber SMS VERIFICATION Receive the Viber code on a rented number.

Viber registers an account to a phone number, and the number becomes the account. In Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and the Philippines it is often the messenger that relatives, landlords and local businesses use first. A second Viber for work, or a local account for contacts in one of those countries, needs a second number, and a rented one covers the activation.

Viber is owned by Rakuten. Its desktop app works only alongside an account activated on a phone, so the mobile activation is the step that matters. A Ukrainian or Philippine number suits contacts there, since people search for each other by number.

SMS, or a call you do not answer

Viber can activate a number in more than one way. In some cases it sends a code by SMS. In others it places a short call to the number, and the digits of the calling number are the code, which the app reads automatically on the same phone. A rented number receives SMS, so choose the SMS option or request the code again by SMS when Viber offers it.

When the code lands, type it in and the account is live. Viber then treats the phone as the primary device. Desktop and tablet apps link to it by scanning a QR code. For a work account, set a work name and photo straight away so contacts can tell it apart from your personal Viber.

Keeping the account after the number goes

Viber does not ask for the code again during normal use. It asks when you reinstall, change phones, or activate on a new device as primary. Turn on backup in settings, to Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iPhone, so your chat history survives a move. Without the backup, a reactivation starts with an empty chat list.

A rented number may have held an old Viber account. Activating replaces it, and nothing from the earlier account's chats reaches you. Contacts who saved that number may still see your profile appear, so set your own name and photo straight away.

Business messages and the rules

Businesses that message customers at scale on Viber use Viber's business messaging products through approved partners, not personal accounts. A personal account on a rented number is for individual conversations, the same way you might keep a second Telegram account.

Viber blocks accounts reported for spam and bulk unsolicited messages. Keep one account per purpose and read our acceptable use policy before using the number to contact people who did not ask to hear from you.