Tether Mobile: a new look and real US mobile numbers

Tether is now Tether Mobile. The website and the app have a new design, and new US numbers are real mobile numbers. Here's what changed, and what it means if you already use Tether.

The job is the same. You get a phone number without a SIM card. When a text arrives, we forward it to Email, Telegram, LINE or Discord, so you can read it wherever you have an internet connection.

Real US mobile numbers

Before a service sends a verification code, it often looks up your number's line type: mobile, landline or VoIP. Virtual numbers usually come back as VoIP, and some services refuse to text them. We explained how this works in why some services won't text virtual numbers.

New US numbers from Tether Mobile are now real mobile numbers on a US carrier network. The lookup comes back as "mobile", so services treat your number like any other phone.

We've confirmed that codes from the largest US banks work on Tether Mobile numbers, including Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Capital One and Wells Fargo. Claude, which blocks virtual numbers, sends codes to them too. The service compatibility page lists every service we've tested on each type of number.

Our Canada, UK and Netherlands numbers are virtual long numbers (VLNs). Most services do send codes to VLNs, and there are generally fewer restrictions outside the US. Still, some services may not work on these numbers, so check the list before you rely on one.

Build your own plan

You pick the numbers you need, then an SMS allowance.

• Numbers: $10/month in Canada. $15/month for a US mobile number, the UK or the Netherlands.
• Texts: every plan includes 50 SMS a month, shared across all your numbers. Larger allowances start at 150 SMS for $5/month and go up to 2,500 SMS for $50/month.
• Discounts: 10% off every number when you have 3 or more. Pay annually and you pay for 11 months, then get the 12th free.
• No setup fees.

Each text goes to up to 3 destinations as soon as it arrives. Personal plans receive and forward texts. They don't send texts or replies, make calls or include mobile data.

If your team needs texts in Slack or Microsoft Teams, webhooks, an API or replies, that's Tether Mobile for Business.

See the pricing page for every allowance and to build a plan.

Texts are deleted after delivery

Your texts include login codes and bank alerts, so we don't keep them around. About an hour after a text reaches all your destinations, we delete its message text. If a delivery fails, we keep the text so we can retry, and delete it within 7 days.

We never sell your texts or use them for advertising. The details are in our privacy policy.

Bringing a US number

If you already have a US number, porting it to Tether Mobile is free. Porting is for US numbers only. The porting help page explains how to start a request.

If you already use Tether

Nothing changes unless you want it to.

• Your plan, price, SMS allowance and numbers stay as they are.
• You don't have to move to a new plan.
• You can add a real US mobile number from your dashboard. It's billed as its own plan, next to the one you have now.

We'll email existing customers with the details. If you have a question before then, start with the help center.