There is a phone-number wall in front of BiP, and this is the way through it. No code, no charge: a number that brings none is never billed. Rent one for the moment you need it: choose where it should come from, type it into BiP, and read the BiP code straight out of your SMS For U account. Behind that sit 1,400 services and numbers bought in markets on four continents.
How you get your code
- Search BiP inside SMS For U.
- Choose the market you want the BiP number to come from, out of whatever the app currently offers.
- One confirmation later the number belongs to you.
- Put it into BiP at the phone number screen on first start and request your code.
- BiP texts it over, SMS For U catches it for you, and you copy it across.
Why a phone number is asked for
BiP is built around a phone number: it is the account name, the key your contacts reach you by and the thing you sign in with. BiP asks for it on the very first screen, the moment you open the app. The number goes in at: the phone number screen on first start. BiP can ask for the same number again later — on a new device, after a password change or during a routine check. Bear that in mind before you tie an account to a number you will not have access to in a month.
What the code looks like
BiP sends a short numeric code by SMS. The message from BiP arrives in your account unaided — no refreshing, no forwarding, and no second device involved in reading the BiP code. The window BiP allows is short, so do not leave the code sitting in your account. One number normally carries one BiP account.
What can go wrong
BiP accepts numbers from many countries but not from all of them. Which countries work for BiP changes over time, because BiP adjusts its checks and because the available ranges of numbers change. That is the honest state of it — we can hand you a number, we cannot make BiP take it. Nothing on this page is a promise that BiP will accept a number, and no success figure is printed here, because any figure would be out of date by the time you read it.
Countries we serve
We work in the 50 markets set out below, and a BiP number can come from any of them at one time or another. That is a map of our reach, not a stock report: what is free for BiP moves hour by hour as ranges are spent and replenished. Before you count on a particular market for BiP, look at the country screen in the app, which is the one place this question has a current answer.
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Poland
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Norway
- Denmark
- Finland
- Ireland
- Czechia
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Greece
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Cyprus
- Malta
- Iceland
- USA
- Canada
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Colombia
- India
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Vietnam
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Australia
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
Common questions
How do I get a BiP verification code without my own SIM card?
Open SMS For U, search for BiP and pick a country. You get a real phone number, you enter it at BiP (the phone number screen on first start), and the code BiP sends appears in your SMS For U account by itself. No SIM card is involved, and the BiP number is not yours to keep.
How fast does the BiP code arrive?
The BiP code appears in your account within seconds of BiP sending it. How long BiP itself takes is up to BiP and to the country the number comes from, which is why nothing here is worded as a promise.
What happens if no BiP code arrives?
You do not pay for a BiP number that brought no code. Cancel the order in the app and the payment is refunded as soon as the cancellation is confirmed. That is the whole rule, and it is why a failed BiP attempt costs nothing: no code, no charge.
Which countries can I use for BiP?
BiP numbers come from the 50 markets listed on this page. Which of them can be picked for BiP at this moment is on the country screen in the app: that list moves through the day, and a page in a search index cannot keep up with it.
Can I use the same number for BiP again later?
Sometimes. BiP can ask for the same number again on a new device, and a used BiP number is not reserved for you indefinitely. If you need lasting access to a BiP account, use a number of your own.