Grab asks for a phone number before it lets you in. No code, no charge — a number that never receives one costs you nothing. You choose the market, we hand you a real number, and whatever Grab texts to it appears in your SMS For U account within seconds of Grab releasing it. The same catalogue covers 1,400 services and buys numbers on four continents.
How you get your code
- Start in SMS For U by looking up Grab.
- The app lists the countries open for Grab at this moment; choose one of those.
- Say yes, and a working number is on your screen immediately.
- Hand that number to Grab at the phone number screen on first start, then trigger the code.
- Watch it land in SMS For U by itself, and paste it back where Grab asked.
Why a phone number is asked for
Grab needs a number that can really be reached, because the driver is meant to call it — and the account stays tied to it afterwards. Grab 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. Grab 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
Grab sends a short numeric code by SMS. The message from Grab arrives in your account unaided — no refreshing, no forwarding, and no second device involved in reading the Grab code. The window Grab allows is short, so do not leave the code sitting in your account. One number normally carries one Grab account.
What can go wrong
Grab accepts numbers from many countries but not from all of them. Which countries work for Grab changes over time, because Grab 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 Grab take it. We do not claim Grab will take any given number, and we print no percentage, since a number like that would be stale within hours of being written.
Countries we serve
The 50 markets below are the ones we buy Grab numbers in. They are examples of where we work and nothing more: a market on this list can still be empty for Grab by lunchtime, because ranges get used up and refilled all day. So take the list as our reach, and take the country screen in the app as the answer to "can I have a Grab number from here right now" — only the app knows that.
- 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 Grab verification code without my own SIM card?
Open SMS For U, search for Grab and pick a country. You get a real phone number, you enter it at Grab (the phone number screen on first start), and the code Grab sends appears in your SMS For U account by itself. No SIM card is involved, and the Grab number is not yours to keep.
How fast does the Grab code arrive?
The Grab code appears in your account within seconds of Grab sending it. How long Grab itself takes is up to Grab and to the country the number comes from, which is why nothing here is worded as a promise.
What happens if no Grab code arrives?
You do not pay for a Grab 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 Grab attempt costs nothing: no code, no charge.
Which countries can I use for Grab?
Grab numbers come from the 50 markets listed on this page. Which of them can be picked for Grab 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 Grab again later?
Sometimes. Grab can ask for the same number again on a new device, and a used Grab number is not reserved for you indefinitely. If you need lasting access to a Grab account, use a number of your own.