Troubleshooting (FAQ)
The app says my phone number is wrong?
When signing up for apps with a giffgaff number, the country code must be UK or +44. Drop the national prefix 0 and enter the 10-digit number 7xxxxxxxxx directly.
Will overseas services or apps flag the number when I sign up?
This SIM has a genuine local UK number. It can be used to open a shop on Amazon UK, to link bank cards, and to sign up for TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, ChatGPT and more. So far it is the cheapest and almost perfect SIM for receiving codes.
Why don't I receive Telegram's verification code?
Be sure to sign up in the Telegram mobile app; the web version and desktop client do not currently support registering a new number and receiving the code.
If the mobile app does not work either, the likely reason is that you are using a Chinese-market Android phone without Google services. The Android version of Telegram needs the full Google Mobile Services (GMS) package built into the system to receive the code. Switch to an iPhone, or to an Android phone with GMS (search online for how to install it).
Why don't I receive Line's verification code?
Line has recently strengthened its anti-fraud controls a great deal, and use through a shared IP such as a proxy service or VPN is very likely to be detected. Nothing appears to go wrong, but the code never arrives.
What to do:
First, sign up through a UK node with a "residential line (native residential IP)";
second, if you have no such line, turn on roaming data on the giffgaff SIM and do the whole sign-up over it (turn off network access for other apps in the background for the time being, to avoid using expensive roaming data).
Why don't I receive TikTok's verification code?
First, make sure your SIM and the TikTok app are in the same phone. Second, make sure the giffgaff SIM is the only SIM in the phone (a Chinese SIM must not be in it at the same time). Finally, change the node of your VPN or proxy service and try the United States, Japan, Singapore or the UK (Hong Kong and Taiwan routes are more easily tainted and flagged).
Which platforms work
Mainstream apps you can sign up for (kept up to date)
Amazon UK account
Overseas Apple ID
ChatGPT (reminder: the proxy must be in global mode)
Facebook
Gmail
Instagram
LINE (sign up with a UK residential IP; if you have none, use the giffgaff SIM's roaming data)
PayPal UK account
Twitter (X)
Telegram (sign up or change the linked number in the mobile app; do not switch proxy IPs back and forth before or after signing up)
TikTok
WeChat (very demanding about the network and phone environment. A Chinese WeChat account can be re-linked to a giffgaff number, but some Chinese financial and payment functions will then be restricted)
WhatsApp
WISE UK account
Apps whose codes do not arrive at present
Oldubil (a Turkish virtual bank; its verification is extremely erratic, and codes arrive now and then but very unreliably)
Potato (a messaging app popular in crypto circles, now banned from Google Play)
