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

WeChat registers every account against a phone number and sends it an SMS code. For many new accounts that is not the last step. WeChat often shows a security check that asks an existing WeChat user to scan a QR code and vouch for the new account. A rented number covers the SMS step. The friend check needs a real person you know, and no number supplies one.

People outside China register WeChat to talk to suppliers, family, or colleagues who use nothing else. A Hong Kong number is a common choice for business contacts in the region, and any country works for the account itself.

The friend-assisted security check

After the SMS code, WeChat may ask you to have a friend scan a QR code on their phone. The helper needs an account that has been active for a while and is in good standing, and WeChat limits how often one account can help others. The helper confirms they know you, and WeChat records who vouched. If nobody you know uses WeChat yet, wait until the person you are joining for can help, and register then.

Ask someone who knows you, such as the colleague or supplier you are joining WeChat to talk to. Paid strangers who scan codes for new accounts break WeChat's terms, and accounts vouched for that way are frozen more often.

Which terms your account falls under

Tencent runs two services from one app. Accounts registered with a mainland China number use Weixin under Chinese terms. Accounts registered with any other number use WeChat under Tencent's international terms. A rented number from outside mainland China gives you a WeChat account under those international terms.

WeChat Pay and similar money features ask for identity and bank details separately. A phone number does not satisfy them, and a rented one should not be used for them.

Keeping the account after the number returns

WeChat signs you in by phone number and password, and asks for an SMS code when you move to a new device. Under Me, Settings, Account Security, set a password and link an email address. If WeChat asks for a code on a new phone later, it may offer verification through friends instead.

New accounts that add many strangers or post links on day one are more likely to be restricted. Use it the way the people you joined for do. For messaging apps that need no vouching, see WhatsApp and Telegram. Accounts that are restricted can usually be unblocked through the same friend-assisted check.