Problems with UK phone number when attempting to register for an Azure account

Question

I want to register for a free Azure account so I can evalute whether it is suitable for a blockchain project.

However, when entering any UK phone number - landline or mobile - into the registration form, I am informed either that I have entered a country code as part of the number, or that the number is an invalid format for the UK. Neither of these errors is correct - the numbers I have tried to enter are valid, UK numbers. The phone number is mandatory since the registration process requires you to respond either to a text message or phone call.

I can't even raise a ticket for this issue because you need an Azure account to raise a ticket.

So, any ideas as to how I can resolve this issue? Or even better, could Microsoft just fix this issue?

Many thanks.

Answer 1

I did figure this out, but it does appear broken.

I had to select 'use a different number to verify my identity'

leave your mobile number without the leading zero in the 'broken' phone numberbox.

Once you hit 'use a different number to verify my identity' you can then select a country code and enter the same mobile number without the leading 0 into the second 'phone number' field.

Hit 'verify' 'Text Me'

Enter the text you receive, and the form then appears to validate correctly even with the original number in the original broken field.

I could then conitinue with the registration process

Answer 2

I managed to get hold of a very helpful sales person after using the chat window/bot.

It took a few different procedures but this worked for me....

1. Use your phone to access the link instead of the Laptop/PC, and open Mobile data instead of Wifi.
2. Open the azure free account page in an incognito/private tab in browser.
3. Clear cache and cookies.
4. login with an existing microsoft account At this point I was directed to a 'check you're not a robot' page which I hadn't seen before in ant other attempts - so I had to complete that.
5. On the phone verification page, select 'use a different number to verify my identity', and in the second phone number field,  write the same phone number without the leading zero (eg: 12345XXXXX) after your select the country code, hit Verify "Text Me" or "Call Me". (It will still state you're entering a number with the country code but ignore that).
6. You hopefully get a text and can continue with card registration.

Fingers crossed this works for someone else... and credit should go to the helpful sales person (Ayah) for their perseverance.

Answer 3

Good Evening All,

The answer is the following:-

+44 1234567890

Put a space after the +44 and drop the 0

Nick

Answer 4

Update (12/11/2024)

I spoke with the registration team and there is a warning that may appear for certain phone number formats but this should not prevent you from completing the registration process. If you are not able to complete registration because you do not receive a text or call on a valid phone number, please include the information below:

• The exact error message that you received.
• Country that you are attempting to register from.
• If possible, the session ID shown on the signup form.

From the registration team:

• Do not enter the country code as this will be automatically detected during signup.
• There may be a warning associated with specific phone number lengths/formats however this is just a warning and should not block you from signing up.  If you are unable to receive a text or phone call from a valid phone number, please give us the following information:
  • The exact error message that you received.
  • Country that you are attempting to register from.
  • If possible, the session ID shown on the signup form.
• The issue causing the warning for UK should be resolved with a fix in early 2025.

Answer 5

This is new workaround 12-March-25

Disregard my previous comment I was able to sign up using the following:
1 Use your mobile phone
2 Use Mobile network (4G) for internet access
3 Use Ingonito mode in Chrome
4 Log in to Azure portal
5 Try to sign up for Azure free subsciption

This way there was no error, I got the code and was able to proceed, worked for Ukraine phone number

Thanks to @dima dima