Sophie
2 November 2026 · 12 min read
You're given a phone number that looks like any other: a US +1, a British +44, sometimes even a French 06. You send a text, it goes out, you're charged for it — and it never arrives. The recipient, for their part, swears their number works fine. A virtual number (Google Voice, Skype, OnOff, Twilio, TextNow, a company switchboard number, and so on) isn't attached to a SIM card: it lives on a server. Some of these numbers receive texts perfectly, others don't receive them at all, and nothing visible in the number itself lets you tell which is which. Your carrier, meanwhile, bills you for the send either way.
Updated 2 November 2026.
What exactly is a virtual number?
It's a phone number assigned to a software service rather than to a SIM card inside a handset. Calls and messages sent to it are converted into data and delivered to an app, a browser or a piece of business software.
In practice, four families of numbers work this way:
- online messaging numbers: Google Voice (United States and Canada), Skype Number, TextNow, OnOff, Hushed. The user receives their messages inside an app;
- API and platform numbers: Twilio, Vonage, MessageBird, Sinch, OVHcloud Télécom. These are the numbers businesses use to send verification codes or receive automated replies;
- IP switchboard numbers: the line of a practice, a hotel or a customer service desk, hosted on a software PBX;
- "nomadic" landline numbers in France, often starting with
09, allocated to voice-over-IP services. L'Arcep (the French telecoms regulator) governs them in its numbering plan and explicitly distinguishes between geographic, non-geographic and mobile numbers.
In every one of these cases, the question "will my text arrive?" doesn't depend on the shape of the number but on what the provider has chosen to switch on behind it.
How can you tell whether a number is virtual before sending?
There's no 100% reliable method, but three checks are enough in most cases: ask the recipient which app receives their messages, look at the format of the number, and test with a short message.
The most telling clues:
| Clue | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| The contact says "I get my messages on my computer" | Virtual or VoIP number |
| A US number but the person lives in Europe | Google Voice, TextNow, Hushed |
French number starting with 09 | Voice over IP, texting very rarely enabled |
French number starting with 01 to 05 | Landline: see our dedicated article |
| The number is only used to receive codes | Platform number (Twilio and co.) |
| The person has "two numbers on a single phone" | Possibly a second-number app |
Beware of one common trap: a standard mobile number can also be forwarded to an app. A subscriber can route their texts to a web service while keeping their SIM. In that case the text goes through normally — what changes is the display, not the transport.
If you need to check numbers regularly for work, the simplest approach is to keep a second test handset with a dedicated prepaid SIM; a basic unlocked mobile phone is more than enough for this, and it keeps work trials separate from your personal line.
Why isn't my text arriving on a virtual number?
Because inbound texting is a separate option, which the number's provider either enables or doesn't. The global mobile network knows how to route the message to the carrier that holds the number; what that carrier does with it next is out of your hands.
Three causes dominate.
1. The number isn't "SMS-enabled"
In platform jargon, a number can be voice-enabled without being SMS-enabled. Twilio, Vonage and MessageBird show this distinction in their catalogues: some numbers, particularly landline and non-geographic ones, only offer voice. A text sent to such a number is accepted by the network and then destroyed at the end of the chain. No feedback whatsoever is returned to the sender.
2. International texting is filtered out
Many services only accept inbound texts originating from their own country. Google Voice is the best-known example: its help centre states that the service is intended for users in the United States and that messages from or to certain foreign networks may not be delivered. A text sent from France to a Google Voice number may therefore arrive… or vanish, depending on the interconnection agreements in force at the time.
3. The provider's anti-spam blocks the message
Virtual numbers are used on a massive scale for fraud and throwaway sign-ups. Platforms therefore apply aggressive filters: messages containing links, unknown sender numbers, a first message from a new sender. A perfectly legitimate text can get caught in that net.
Do MMS messages get through to a virtual number?
Even less often than texts. MMS relies on passing through multimedia servers (MMSC) and a specific interconnection between carriers, far less universal than the one used for SMS.
The result: sent to a virtual number, a photo fails in the vast majority of cases, or arrives as a link the recipient can't open. If you need to send an image to someone whose number is hosted online, use email or an internet messaging app. The subject is close to the one we cover in our guide on MMS not received abroad, where the causes of blocking are much the same.
What about RCS to a virtual number?
No, RCS doesn't work with a virtual number. RCS (Rich Communication Services, the enhanced messaging used by Google Messages and by Apple's Messages app since iOS 18) requires an active SIM on a mobile network that has deployed the service, plus a compatible handset.
A number hosted on a server meets none of those conditions. Your app will therefore fall back to SMS automatically — and run into exactly the same blocks. It's a structural difference we break down in our comparison of RCS versus SMS.
How much does a text to a foreign virtual number cost?
Exactly the same price as a standard international text to the country of the dialling code, whether it arrives or not. That's the most galling part: your carrier bills for delivery to the destination network, not for the recipient reading it.
Rough out-of-bundle figures from France, to be checked on your carrier's pricing page before sending in volume:
| Country of the dialling code | Out-of-bundle international text rate |
|---|---|
European Union (+34, +49, +39, etc.) | Usually included in bundles, otherwise ~€0.13 |
United States, Canada (+1) | ~€0.20 to €0.30 depending on the carrier |
United Kingdom (+44) | ~€0.13 to €0.25 |
French number (06, 07, 09) | Counted as a domestic text |
One detail matters: a +1 number rented by someone living in Paris is still billed as a text to North America. The dialling code sets the price, never the person's actual location. We explain this in detail in our article on texting the United States and Canada.
What should you do when the text won't go through?
The steps, in order
- Check the format of the number. Strict international format:
+followed by the country code, no national leading zero, no stray spaces. A+1 (415) 555-0132should become+14155550132. - Send a short message, with no link or attachment. Platform anti-spam filters react first to URLs and long messages.
- Ask the recipient to message you first. On many services, a number that has already exchanged messages with the account gets past the filters.
- Switch channels if nothing works. Email, internet messaging, a voice call: a virtual number almost always accepts voice, even when it refuses texts.
- Don't resend the same text ten times. Every attempt is billed, and rapid repetition is read as spam by the platforms.
Don't rely on the delivery receipt: on a virtual number it confirms, at best, delivery to the destination network, not arrival in the app. We've devoted a whole article to this misunderstanding, SMS delivery receipts abroad.
For business exchanges with distant contacts, keeping a written record of what you sent and what came back saves a lot of argument. A professional logbook or a plain paper diary is enough when you're tracking several cases and need to be able to say which day a message went out.
Can you send a text from a virtual number?
Yes, and it's often simpler than the other way round — but with one major caveat: the number shown on the recipient's phone isn't always the one you think.
Second-number services generally send the text from their own gateway. Depending on the country and the destination carrier, the recipient may see a different number, an alphanumeric sender ID, or a relay number. Replying directly then becomes impossible for them.
It's also why bank verification codes almost never arrive on a virtual number: since the strong authentication rules came into force (DSP2 — PSD2, the EU's second Payment Services Directive), banks have favoured their own apps and channels whose delivery they control. If you use an online second number for sensitive accounts, you risk locking yourself out.
What are the alternatives when a virtual number refuses texts?
Three options, in order of reliability:
- email, which is subject to no interconnection filtering between carriers;
- an internet messaging app (WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram), which works on the number… provided the service was able to activate it, which is not guaranteed on virtual numbers;
- sending from a professional SMS platform, which often has different interconnection routes from those of your consumer carrier. That's exactly what our online SMS sending service is for, with a price known in advance rather than an "out of bundle" line discovered on your bill: the details are on our pricing page.
If the need is recurring — a contact based abroad, remote work — the real answer isn't to keep hammering away at the virtual number, but to have a real line in the country concerned. An international eSIM or a local SIM solves the problem upstream, and a dual-SIM, eSIM-compatible phone lets you keep your French line active in the meantime.
How can you spot a virtual-number scam?
A virtual number isn't suspicious in itself — millions of businesses use them legitimately. But it's fraud's tool of choice, because it's disposable, anonymous and attached to a country picked à la carte.
Warning signs, as highlighted by cybermalveillance.gouv.fr (the French government's cybersecurity assistance platform):
- a "bank adviser" or "customer service team" writing to you from a foreign number;
- a number that changes with every message within the same conversation;
- a request to move immediately to an encrypted messaging app;
- the impossibility of calling the number back, or a call back that never rings.
In France, a fraudulent text can be reported free of charge to 33700, by forwarding the message and then the sender's number. This scheme, run by the AF2M association together with the carriers, also covers texts sent from abroad or from virtual gateways. For unsolicited marketing calls and texts, read our guide on spotting smishing and reporting it as well.
Conversely, if you're the one receiving too many promotional messages, the procedure is set out on our STOP SMS page.
Key takeaways
- A virtual number looks like any ordinary number: nothing in the way it's written tells you whether it accepts texts.
- Inbound texting is an option the number's provider either enables or doesn't; if it's refused, no error message comes back to you.
- MMS almost always fails, and RCS doesn't work at all with these numbers.
- The text is billed at the international rate for the country of the dialling code, even when it is never delivered.
- If you're blocked: short message with no link, ask the recipient to make first contact, then switch channels.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Voice receive texts sent from France? Only sometimes. Google states that the service is designed for users in the United States and that messages from certain international networks may not be delivered. The message is billed by your French carrier either way.
Can a number starting with 09 receive a text?
Very rarely. 09 numbers are non-geographic numbers used for voice over IP; inbound texting depends entirely on the provider and is usually not enabled.
Why isn't my verification code arriving on my second number? Because many services deliberately block virtual numbers for authentication, to prevent throwaway accounts and fraud. Use a number tied to a SIM card for your sensitive accounts.
How do I know whether a number is a virtual number? There's no foolproof test from a phone. The useful clues: a dialling code that doesn't match the person's country of residence, messages read on a computer, or a number that only accepts calls.
Can I get a refund for a text to a virtual number if it doesn't arrive? No. Your carrier bills for delivery to the destination network, which did take place. The blocking happens afterwards, at the number's provider, outside the contractual scope of your plan.
