Signing up to RedNote or WeChat without a Chinese number
Both apps take numbers from outside China, but texts to some countries arrive late or not at all, and WeChat adds a check of its own.
RedNote (Xiaohongshu)
- Choose your country on the sign-up screen, so the right dialling code goes in front of your number.
- You may have to slide a puzzle piece into place before the code is sent.
- If the text doesn’t come, wait a few minutes before asking again, or try later in the day.
- On an iPhone you can sign up with your Apple ID instead, though RedNote may still ask for a number.
WeChat asks for a mobile number, and often asks an existing WeChat user to confirm a new account by scanning a QR code. The number is one step and the friend check is another, so a number on its own may not be enough: line up a friend who already uses WeChat before you start.
When your own number won’t get the code
A one-time number like ours receives the code for 20 minutes. It costs $1, and if no code arrives in that time the money goes back to your balance. Get a number for RedNote (Xiaohongshu) or WeChat.
After you’re in
WeChat asks you to verify again when you sign in on a new phone, and a one-time number won’t receive that code, so stay signed in and link an email in WeChat’s account security settings. On RedNote, link your Apple ID or WeChat, so signing in doesn’t depend on the number.
Their rules
Don’t use a new account to get round a ban: that breaks the apps’ rules and ours (see our Acceptable use policy).