There is a phone-number wall in front of Yandex, 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 Yandex, and read the Yandex 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
- Start in SMS For U by looking up Yandex.
- The app lists the countries open for Yandex at this moment; choose one of those.
- Say yes, and a working number is on your screen immediately.
- Hand that number to Yandex at the sign-up form, then trigger the code.
- Watch it land in SMS For U by itself, and paste it back where Yandex asked.
Why a phone number is asked for
Yandex uses the phone number as a second factor and as the recovery path for the whole account, mail included. Yandex asks for it on the sign-up form, before the account exists at all. The number goes in at: the sign-up form. Yandex 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
Yandex sends a short numeric code by SMS, and on some accounts as a voice call instead. Whatever Yandex texts to the number is delivered into your SMS For U account automatically, a few seconds behind Yandex, with nothing to forward. Codes from Yandex go stale fast; use it as soon as it lands rather than later. One number can usually serve more than one Yandex account, although Yandex may limit that.
What can go wrong
Yandex accepts numbers from many countries but not from all of them. Which countries work for Yandex changes over time, because Yandex 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 Yandex take it. Read none of this as Yandex committing to anything. We keep success numbers off the page on purpose: they age faster than the page does.
Countries we serve
The 50 markets below are the ones we buy Yandex numbers in. They are examples of where we work and nothing more: a market on this list can still be empty for Yandex 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 Yandex 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 Yandex verification code without my own SIM card?
Open SMS For U, search for Yandex and pick a country. You get a real phone number, you enter it at Yandex (the sign-up form), and the code Yandex sends appears in your SMS For U account by itself. No SIM card is involved, and the Yandex number is not yours to keep.
How fast does the Yandex code arrive?
The Yandex code appears in your account within seconds of Yandex sending it. How long Yandex itself takes is up to Yandex and to the country the number comes from, which is why nothing here is worded as a promise.
What happens if no Yandex code arrives?
You do not pay for a Yandex 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 Yandex attempt costs nothing: no code, no charge.
Which countries can I use for Yandex?
Yandex numbers come from the 50 markets listed on this page. Which of them can be picked for Yandex 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 Yandex again later?
Sometimes. Yandex can ask for the same number again on a new device, and a used Yandex number is not reserved for you indefinitely. If you need lasting access to a Yandex account, use a number of your own.