Collecting +291 Eritrean verification codes for QA and support teams

Why would a product team need an Eritrean number?

Most requests for +291 come from teams whose users have family or business ties to Eritrea, not from large local launches. Messaging and community apps often serve a sizeable Eritrean diaspora, and those people expect their home country to work in the phone picker, the SMS step and the account-recovery screen. A real +291 line lets QA confirm that the full sign-up path accepts the prefix, displays it properly and produces a usable code.

It is also a handy edge case for country routing logic: a three-digit calling code followed by a short national number tends to expose validation rules written with only longer formats in mind.

Which apps can deliver codes to a +291 number?

The current Eritrea snapshot lists more than 500 services. Frequently requested ones include WhatsApp, Telegram, Google (Gmail & YouTube), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude, Microsoft & Outlook, LinkedIn, Signal, Viber and imo.

Inventory on a smaller route shifts during the day, so treat that list as a starting point. Have your test harness read GET /api/v1/prices?country=er&service=<id> immediately before ordering rather than trusting a cached answer from yesterday.

What does the Eritrea OTP API sequence look like?

1. Create a Bearer key in the Developer console. Keys begin with or_live_, and one account can hold up to 10 of them.
2. Resolve ids once with GET /api/v1/countries and GET /api/v1/services; Eritrea is er.
3. Confirm price and stock for your pair with GET /api/v1/prices.
4. Send POST /api/v1/activations with a body like {"service": "telegram", "country": "er"} and store the returned activation id.
5. Receive activation.sms_received on your webhook, or poll GET /api/v1/activations/{id} at a relaxed interval.
6. If a test run is abandoned, call POST /api/v1/activations/{id}/cancel so the hold is released.

Each webhook delivery carries X-OTPRoute-Signature. Recompute the HMAC-SHA256 of the timestamp plus raw body with your endpoint secret, compare, and discard anything with a stale timestamp. The account-wide limit is 300 requests per minute, which is ample for this kind of SMS verification API work.

How should +291 numbers be stored, and what language do codes arrive in?

Keep every number in E.164: a plus sign, 291, then the national digits with no spaces or punctuation. If a user types a domestic form that starts with 0, strip that digit before prefixing the country code, and render a friendlier grouped format only at display time.

Eritrea has no single official language; Tigrinya, Arabic and English all appear in daily life. Codes from global apps generally follow the language chosen on the account or device, which is commonly English or Arabic. If your own product sends localized texts, check that Tigrinya in Ge'ez script survives your SMS templates intact.

What if the code never appears?

• Let the activation run its full 20 minutes before drawing conclusions.
• Confirm the service accepts virtual numbers at all; some do not, which is exactly why the refund exists.
• Try again later, or switch to another service route or a nearby country such as Ethiopia or Djibouti.
• Avoid re-ordering in a tight loop; spaced retries are kinder to the route and to your wallet.

An expired or cancelled activation costs nothing, because the full amount goes back to the wallet.

Is there a no-code way for support staff to get a +291 code?

Yes. Someone without API access can sign in, choose the service and Eritrea, check the price displayed, and place the order. The temporary number shows up at once, and the code appears beside it when the SMS lands. That route suits a support agent reproducing a customer's complaint about the Eritrean sign-up step.

Can I keep an Eritrean number, and how does billing work?

There is no self-serve long-term +291 line. Dedicated Numbers are a US and Canada product from $1.95/month (how they work); for Eritrea you can email [email protected] to ask, but the answer depends on local rules and nothing is promised.

Payment is simple: a single prepaid USD wallet, pay as you go, with nothing billed monthly. Fund it by card or USDT/USDC stablecoins and an emailed PDF invoice follows each deposit. See pricing for the model.

Frequently asked questions

Can I test my app's Eritrean sign-up flow without a local SIM?

Yes. Order a +291 number for your own app or a supported service, trigger the SMS, and read the code in the dashboard or via the API.

What is Eritrea's country id in the OTP Route API?

It is er. Use it in the country field of POST /api/v1/activations and as the query value for GET /api/v1/prices.

How much does an Eritrea verification number cost?

Codes start at $0.20, and the exact price for each service is returned live before you order. You pay only when a code is delivered.

How long does a +291 activation stay open?

Twenty minutes. Cancel earlier if you no longer need it; either way, an activation without a code is refunded in full.

Will every service accept a +291 number for testing?

No. Some platforms reject virtual numbers, so expect occasional refusals and follow each service's terms along with OTP Route's Acceptable Use Policy.

Is there a sandbox for building the integration first?

Yes, on request a development account can be switched to sandbox mode, which returns simulated numbers and codes without touching wallet funds.

Which language will the Eritrean SMS code be written in?

Usually the language set on the account or device in the sending app, commonly English or Arabic. The digits themselves are the same either way.

Can I use Eritrean numbers to open lots of accounts?

No. OTP Route is meant for testing your own product and running legitimate business accounts, one account per real person or business.

Service names are trademarks of their respective owners. OTP Route is not affiliated with them. Use numbers lawfully, follow each service's terms and our Acceptable Use Policy.