Using devices on Android 12 or below with an upgraded SIM

If you purchased your TextNow SIM on or after August 15th, 2025 you'll be able to activate onto our new upgraded network! Android devices running versions 9, 10, 11, and 12 may require some additional configuration steps to get up and running after you have activated the device in the app. For more information and FAQs about upgrading your old SIM and using our new network, click here. 

Finding your Android version

You can find out which version of Android your phone is running by opening the device's settings menu and searching for "Android version", or by clicking on About phone and then selecting Software information. 

Check for a software update

If your phone's Android version is 12 or lower, first check if there is a software update available to update your phone to Android version 13 or higher. 

If your phone is already running Android 13 or higher, make sure your TextNow app is updated to app version 25.29 or higher by opening the app settings and then tapping About (the app version will be listed at the bottom of the page). After confirming you're on at least Android version 13 and TextNow app version 25.29, click here to visit the SIM activation troubleshooting article. 

Make sure your phone is on Android 9 or above

The TextNow app is only available for download on devices that are running Android 9 or higher. If you've already updated your software to the latest available version and it is below Android 9, unfortunately, that device will not be compatible with our app and will be unable to activate a TextNow SIM card.  

Post-activation steps for Android 9, 10, 11, & 12

1. Make sure you've already activated your SIM in the TextNow app by clicking Activate my SIM Card in the app menu, and have added the APN settings (click here  to view those steps)

2. Open the regular Phone dialer app your device came with (Not the TextNow app)

3. Dial *#*#4636#*#*

   • If nothing happens, or you see a message saying that your phone is not registered on a network, make sure your default phone app is set to the device’s standard Phone app (see below for how to do this), then try dialing again

   • If this isn't working on your standard Phone app, even after setting it as your default dialer, try downloading the Phone by Google app and repeating these steps with that app set as the default dialer (this is often needed for older Samsung devices)

4. In the Testing menu, tap Phone Information

5. If you see the 'select phone index' section make sure it is set to Phone 0

6. Set Preferred Network Type to:

   • NR/LTE (if this option is available)

   • If that is not an option, select LTE Only

7. Return to the home screen

   • If you changed the default phone app previously, make sure to set it back to TextNow

Step walkthrough

Changing your default phone app

1. Open your device Settings

2. Scroll to and tap Apps (sometimes also called Applications)

3. Tap Default apps

   • If you don’t see it, tap the three dots (⋮) in the top corner and look for Default apps

4. Tap Phone app

5. Select the built-in Phone app 

6. After completing the activation steps above, repeat these steps and select the TextNow app to switch your default phone app back to TextNow