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I use Uber app heavily to get taxis basically in any country that has Uber, and I also get a local sim card sometimes.

I always have my roaming turned on but the problem is in receiving calls, I don't want the drivers to call me and it will be considered an international call for them, some might cancel because of that.

I have played around the app and tried to edit the account info, it redirects me to the website, and in the website its grayed out, i can't edit the phone number and a note says contact customer service. It seems there is no easy way to change the phone number. I have tried on another uber account as well, same result.

Is there a more practical and easy way to change the phone number when I land in a new country and get a local sim then change it back after leaving without contacting customer service?

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  • 12
    Uber drivers do not see your phone number, nor do they know whether it's an international number or not. They are proxied via Uber's servers and see a temporary number to call you. Knowing that, do you still need to know how to change the number? – Berwyn Aug 2 '16 at 8:45
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    @berwyn that's impressive! If you have a source for that then that will make a fantastic answer. Anyway, I am sure I received calls from drivers while roaming and it showed their number.. So I am assuming they called me directly. – Nean Der Thal Aug 2 '16 at 8:47
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    I had that problem once in India. That time I must call the driver directly with my local SIM. But I forgot if I used Uber or Olacabs or some similar service – phuclv Aug 2 '16 at 10:18
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    It is worth noting that Uber is summarily evil, their very business model is built on dismantling the rule of law and also in the United States they are steadily working on reinstating indentured servitude. Do your research and think again on what company are you supporting with your money. – chx Dec 3 '16 at 8:23
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I was having this problem: I was able to find my phone number on the Settings page, but it was grayed out and I couldn't change it. I was changing from a U.S. number to an new international number.

Here's how I was able to change the number for my account:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Click 'Sign Out'
  3. Enter new phone number
  4. Receive verification code
  5. Enter verification code into Uber app
  6. Enter email address and password for old account

My phone number for my existing account updated to the new number.

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  • Perfect! That's the only solution that worked for me! – Ochado Dec 22 '16 at 13:59
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This addresses your concern about revealing your phone number:

According to Uber:

Contact without providing personal information. While riders and drivers are able to contact each other through the app, they won’t actually see each other’s real phone numbers. Uber uses technology that makes the phone numbers of riders and drivers anonymous so they do not have one another’s contact details going forward.

Hence, if you are abroad, drivers do not normally see an international number, but just a local number that Uber redirect internationally.

If you still wish to change your phone number, you supposedly should be able to do that in the app itself under Settings->Edit Account.

According to Uber's help:

To change your phone number:

  1. For iOS users, go to SETTINGS and tap EDIT ACCOUNT under your name. For Android users, go to SETTINGS, tap the 3 vertical dots in the top right corner and select EDIT ACCOUNT.
  2. Type your account password and tap SUBMIT.
  3. Enter a new mobile number.
  4. Uber will send a text SMS with a verification code to this number. If you don’t receive the SMS within a few minutes, tap Resend.
  5. Enter the verification code and tap SUBMIT.

If this fails, then the only recourse is to contact Uber:

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    Note that it doesn't work in all countries: uber.com/ride/safety – JonathanReez♦ Aug 2 '16 at 8:51
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    Settings ->Edit account does not work, that's what made me ask this question in the first place. – Nean Der Thal Aug 2 '16 at 8:56
  • @JonathanReez That's interesting. Am failing to track down a list of countries – Berwyn Aug 2 '16 at 8:57
  • The number masking is inconsistent.. I use Uber almost daily in India and about 50% of the time the driver has access to my actual number – Akash Aug 2 '16 at 20:39
  • @Akash: I'm from India and use Uber daily. I have asked one driver how he calls the riders. He said that he doesn't call the riders directly. He just calls the 'company' number. – Nitish Aug 3 '16 at 6:44
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A more general solution to this and related problems: get a VoIP number for which you can configure forwarding, and before departing (or even after arrival, but before switching SIMs), configure your home-country cell number to forward to your VoIP number, and your VoIP number to forward to your local number in the country you're traveling to. This way, anybody can reach you on your normal number. Of course you do pay for the forwarding, but for most countries the rates are very cheap, on the order of USD $0.015-0.030 per minute.

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    The problem is taxi drivers are likely to be unwilling to call your foreign number, in countries where Uber doesn't hide your real phone #. – JonathanReez♦ Dec 3 '16 at 7:18
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You can change your phone number from within the app. Open the Settings menu option, click the three dots in the top right corner, and then click on Edit Account:

uber edit account

Enter your password and you'll be able to change your phone number, as well as your name. I've just tried it out and it works.

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  • Weird, that didn't work for me! There must be something wrong with my account then. – Nean Der Thal Aug 2 '16 at 9:05
  • @HeidelBerGensis is your app up to date? Otherwise it could be a regional restriction, I would try contacting support. – JonathanReez♦ Aug 2 '16 at 9:05
  • It is up to date. I will try that for sure now.. Since the app is capable of that then it must be something wrong with my account. – Nean Der Thal Aug 2 '16 at 9:09
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    It doesn't work for me either. I tried swapping my phone number with one of a couple of other numbers I have – Berwyn Aug 2 '16 at 9:19
  • @Berwyn I'm on Android. Maybe it doesn't work on iOS? – JonathanReez♦ Aug 2 '16 at 9:39
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and I also get a local sim card sometimes

I have had a lot of trouble with this for different services while traveling, to the point that now I am making the following. I created a Skype number, which is of course associated with my Skype account.

Then use that number for all/most services. You won't need the physical SIM card to do anything, so if you are abroad and lose it then no problem. You just need an internet connection and everything works.

I am still in the process of testing it in all apps and services, but Uber is the perfect case. I cannot receive SMS oficially, but when I do an UK number calls me (through skype) and does text-to-speech for me.

Edit: tried linking my Uber app but it gives an unknown error. Contacted Uber and awaiting for an answer.

Edit 2: just tried again and it's linked without problem

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    Be warned that Skype numbers are horrifically unreliable on mobile apps, especially Android. Plenty of times, even if you have a perfect data connection, when you're called on your Skype number nothing happens on the app and you're never notified that anyone even tried to call. Sometimes this happens even when the caller hears ringing, so they'll think you're ignoring them. Hundreds of complaints about it on Skype's forums. More info here – user568458 Aug 2 '16 at 14:06
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    If Uber doesn't accept the Skype number, it could be because it resembles a landline number so might not be able to receive text messages (Uber uses these to verify numbers). – user568458 Aug 2 '16 at 14:07
  • @user568458 I had no idea, I will check and try to find a better solution then, thanks for the tip – Francisco Presencia Aug 2 '16 at 16:56
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Try this. Go to edit account, scroll at bottom - you will find a sign out option. Sign out using this option. Then sign in again, creating a new account (you will be entering a new phone number). Next, when the app asks for the email ID, enter the old email ID that you were using previously. Uber will recognize this email ID, and ask you to verify it using ur password. Once verified, you are all set - Uber will update your account details the app will be using your new number

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