Azure Free Trial Phone Number (Communication Services) Won't Activate

Question

Azure Free Trial Phone Number (Communication Services) Won't Activate

TAL 20

Hello, I have a 30-day free Azure account in the US and would like to add SMS Text messaging to an app, but after trying numerous times for several days, the trial phone number will not activate, and I don't see a way to add a paid number. Is Microsoft aware this is an issue? Thanks!

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Hamid Sadeghpour Saleh 101 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-05-03T09:42:00.9433333+00:00

Hi TAL,

With a 30-day free Azure trial, you cannot provision a paid phone number or send SMS messages from real numbers. Microsoft blocks SMS capabilities in free/trial accounts to prevent abuse and fraud.

This is by design, not a bug.
TAL 20 Reputation points

2025-05-04T06:06:37.2866667+00:00

Interesting, since the Microsoft sales associate, Mohamed Shaaban, that helped me setup the free account, but who will not answer any emails now, told me specifically that I could setup SMS in the free account, otherwise I wouldn't have started it. Also, Microsoft's documentation for the trial phone seems to suggest it works with a free account:

Lastly, Azure says it's trying to provision the phone before showing the error above, so if the problem is my account type, then I think this is still a bug since it should let me know that's the problem. In fact, it shouldn't have let me add Communications Services at all, if I can't do anything with it.

However, if you're correct, thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it!
TAL 20 Reputation points

2025-05-05T16:17:06.67+00:00

Okay, thanks for confirming.

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Hamid Sadeghpour Saleh 101 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-05-03T09:42:00.9433333+00:00

Hi TAL,

With a 30-day free Azure trial, you cannot provision a paid phone number or send SMS messages from real numbers. Microsoft blocks SMS capabilities in free/trial accounts to prevent abuse and fraud.

This is by design, not a bug.
TAL 20 Reputation points

2025-05-04T06:06:37.2866667+00:00

Interesting, since the Microsoft sales associate, Mohamed Shaaban, that helped me setup the free account, but who will not answer any emails now, told me specifically that I could setup SMS in the free account, otherwise I wouldn't have started it. Also, Microsoft's documentation for the trial phone seems to suggest it works with a free account:

Lastly, Azure says it's trying to provision the phone before showing the error above, so if the problem is my account type, then I think this is still a bug since it should let me know that's the problem. In fact, it shouldn't have let me add Communications Services at all, if I can't do anything with it.

However, if you're correct, thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it!
TAL 20 Reputation points

2025-05-05T16:17:06.67+00:00

Okay, thanks for confirming.

Answer 1

Laxman Reddy Revuri 5,400 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @TAL
You’re correct that Microsoft’s documentation refers to trial phone numbers, and that wording can be misleading. However, the term "trial" in that context refers to internal ACS trials granted to fully active paid accounts, not to the Azure 30-day free trial program. If you want to test SMS features with Azure Communication Services, you’ll need to Upgrade your Azure account from Free Trial to a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) subscription.

Please accept as "Yes" if the answer provided is useful , so that you can help others in the community looking for remediation for similar issues.
Thank you for Answering Hamid Sadeghpour Saleh

Laxman Reddy Revuri 5,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-06T12:13:42.5366667+00:00

Hi @TAL
Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.
Laxman Reddy Revuri 5,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-07T04:19:01.6366667+00:00

Hi @TAL
Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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Azure Free Trial Phone Number (Communication Services) Won't Activate

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