If you try to log into TikTok for the first time since you changed phone numbers, you will run into trouble if you decide to secure your account with the previous number.
Luckily, several ways to work around that hurdle in verifying your identity.
Like most major online platforms that have access to sensitive information, TikTok offers many features to ensure the security of users’ accounts. Among the most important is the registration of a phone number.
You can link a phone number to your TikTok account during setup or through settings. This number cannot be registered to any other account.
Afterward, once you log into that account on any device, you must verify your identity via a text message. This is one of the most secure login protocols, though it may have some downsides.
If your registered phone number has been changed, you might be unable to directly access your TikTok account (or other accounts on other platforms that use this security measure).
If anything makes this dilemma a small price to pay for account security, it’s the fact that there are ways around it.
Can You Change Your TikTok Phone Number Without the Old Number?
You can access TikTok and change the linked phone number without using the registered number. However, as long and challenging as this process is, you may need to take precautions.
Your phone number may have changed because you changed mobile carriers or because you had the number changed in light of security or spam concerns.
If you are changing phones entirely, you may want to log in to your TikTok account on a separate device you can later use to change your number.
You can remove the phone number and verify your login attempt via email or two-step authentication.
Registering a phone number is still a significant security measure for your TikTok account, so logging in without a text message can be difficult.
How to Change Your TikTok Phone Number Without The Old
There are several ways to change the phone number linked to your TikTok account, almost all contingent on verifying your identity.
Incidentally, one of the easiest methods is still accessing your old phone number. Tips on what to do from there will come up later.
For now, whether or not you are still logged into TikTok on a device, the all-important first step in addressing this issue remains verification.
Report Problem to TikTok
If you cannot access your TikTok account, email the support team at [email protected]. Use the same email that is linked to your account.
When the TikTok team gets back to you, you must verify your identity by typing in your username, signup date, recent login location, registered device, and old phone number.
You may not need to put in all of this information to get verified.
Once the support team declares that your identity has been verified, tell them the phone number you would like to add.
If you are logged into TikTok on a device, you can use Settings and Privacy to request a phone number change.
1. Go to your profile page.
2. Open the “hamburger” menu in the top-right corner of the screen to open Setting and Privacy.
3. Under “Support,” tap “Report a Problem.”
4. Tap the “notepad” icon in the upper-right corner to open support contact, then type your problem into the text box labeled “Tell us your feedback.”
5. When the TikTok team responds, follow the formalities above involved in changing your number. Verify your identity and declare the new phone number.
Filing a report is the safest and most ethical way to change the phone number linked to your TikTok account if you are already logged into it.
However, there are much faster and easier ways to add a new number without using the old one to verify your identity.
Use Your Email to Send a Verification Code
When attempting to change a phone number through TikTok’s settings, you must authenticate your identity by copying a 6-digit verification code.
Among the mediums to which the code can be sent is the phone number already associated with the account.
You can see the irony in this authentication process if you are trying to change the phone number linked to your account. Seeing it as well, TikTok gives you the option to receive the verification code in your email.
1. Go to your profile and open Setting and Privacy.
2. Tap “Manage Account.”
3. Tap “Phone number,” then “Change phone.”
4. Type in your email and tap “Use email.”
Go to your email to find the message containing the verification code. Copy and paste that code into TikTok’s verification prompt.
Add the new phone number, then verify your identity through it.
Use Your Password
After tapping “Change phone,” you have the option to verify your identity simply by typing in your login password.
This is not a very secure way to verify your identity. It could make it easy for a potential infiltrator of your account to change your phone number, providing you do not have proper authentication protocols for logins.
On the other hand, if you continuously put in the wrong password, you may face the consequences of a presumed infiltrator.
If you do not have access to the phone number or email address you initially used to log in to your TikTok account, changing such information with your password is your only option under “Manage Account.”
Otherwise, you may be better off reporting an obsolete phone number and email to TikTok’s support team.
Unlink Your Old Number
After tapping your phone number under “Manage Account,” you can unlink your number. You will not need to verify your identity to confirm this action.
When you unlink your phone, you will receive a confirmation prompt outlining what you will lose with your phone number registration.
Removing a password from your account also removes a key measure of security. It also limits your interactivity with TikTok and even other users.
You will have to use your email to verify your identity during logins. This may be more convenient for you.
Still, it is generally recommended that you quickly link a new phone number to your account after unlinking the old.
Update TikTok
TikTok has only recently developed many protocols mentioned above to make changing linked phone numbers more secure and convenient.
There have always been options for modifying this and other information on TikTok. This article addresses the protocol for the version of the app available as of July 2022.
If you do not see all the steps for changing your phone number above, your app needs an update.
Updating the TikTok app without uninstalling it should not affect your login status. Please find it in your device’s app store or settings to ensure that you have the most recent version compatible with the device.
How to Change TikTok Phone Number With Old Number
There are several tricks to add your new phone number to your TikTok account with a verification code sent to your old number.
It is much easier to change your number via email or password verification. Unfortunately, some versions of TikTok may only allow you to change your number by verifying your identity with the old one.
If you encounter this problem, you must report the issue to TikTok or try the following tricks.
Try to Find Your Old Phone
If you changed your phone along with your phone number, verifying your identity through that information linked to your TikTok account might not be too late.
Many mobile providers allow accounts an activation grace period after the owner has canceled.
If you have already started an account with a new provider during this period, you can send a verification code to your number with the other provider.
Alternatively, you can use the SIM card to which your old number is registered, providing it is compatible with your device.
Contact Your Carrier
Suppose you changed your phone number while retaining your mobile carrier and account. In that case, you may be able to contact your carrier’s support services to request the temporary reactivation of your old phone number.
The United States’ FCC requires that mobile providers wait at least 45 days before reassigning deregistered phone numbers.
You may have a strong argument for temporarily restoring your old phone number if you need to authenticate your identity with specific accounts.
Social media accounts might not cut it, so choose your words carefully or use this opportunity to tie up your old numbers’ loose ends.
You may have a backup phone for work or other purposes. Consider relinking your TikTok account to the number that you consider most secure.
Conclusion
Adding a phone number to your TikTok account is a valuable piece of security and convenience. But so is changing your phone number when you feel the time has come.
If you still have access to your old phone or number, you’re in a lucky position to quickly link the new number to your TikTok via verification code text.
Many app versions also allow you to receive that code as an email or bypass it altogether with a password.
However, if you are not logged into TikTok on any device, signing on may prove difficult if you do not have the correct number to authenticate your identity.
In this position, your best bet is requesting that the platform’s support team change the number. You might want to play it safe and formally request the change even if you are already logged in.
Your phone number is just too significant of a signature to change or disable easily.
Just as you would ensure that your friends can reach you, you want to ensure that TikTok and other platforms you enjoy can verify who you are.
