7-chapter guide
Signing up with Telegram
No email address? You can create a KalHope account with the phone number of your Telegram account. This guide walks through signing up, confirming your number in the bot, signing in afterwards, and what to do if you forget your password.
Chapter 1
How it works
Phone sign-up is one more way to join KalHope, next to email, Google and GitHub — those all stay as they are. It is for people who have no email address: instead of an email, you use the phone number of your Telegram account, and a KalHope bot in Telegram confirms that the number is yours.
- You fill in a short sign-up form: name, username and password. There is no email and no phone field.
- You open the KalHope bot in Telegram and share your own phone number with one button.
- The bot sends you a 6-digit code in the chat. You type it on the KalHope website.
- Your account is ready and you are signed in. Next time, you sign in with your username and password.
Telegram is only used to confirm your number
Telegram is never used to sign you in. When your number is confirmed, KalHope signs you in with the username and password you chose, and from then on you sign in with them yourself, like on any other account. You need Telegram installed with your phone number to sign up; if you don't have it yet, install it first and register it with the number you want to use.
Don't see the Phone (Telegram) option?
It only appears on the sign-up page when phone sign-up is switched on for the site. If it is missing, contact support.
Chapter 2
Fill in the sign-up form
Open the sign-up page and choose the Phone (Telegram) tab. It asks for your first name, last name, a username and a password, plus a referral code if someone invited you (optional).
The username is what you will sign in with, so pick one you will remember. It must be:
- between 6 and 16 characters long;
- made of lowercase letters, numbers, dots and underscores;
- without doubled dots or underscores, and not starting or ending with one.
A few names are reserved and cannot be used, and a name another member already has is refused. When the form is accepted you go straight on to confirming your number.
Chapter 3
Confirm your number in Telegram
After sign-up you land on a page titled Confirm your phone number, with three steps:
- Open Telegram. Press the
Open Telegrambutton. It opens the KalHope bot from a one-time link made for your account. - Verify your account. In the chat, tap
Verify my KalHope account. This is Telegram's own share button: it sends the bot your own phone number and nothing else. The bot then sends you a 6-digit code. - Type the code here. Go back to the website tab and type the code. When it is accepted, the page says Phone number confirmed! and signs you in. If it cannot (for example you closed the tab, typed the code on another device, or more than 30 minutes passed), it takes you to the sign-in page, where you type your username and password.
Your number stays private
The bot uses your number only to confirm your account. It is never shown to other members. The bot only accepts your own number from that button — a contact you type in or forward from someone else is refused.
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| The Open Telegram link | Works for 30 minutes |
| The 6-digit code | Works for 10 minutes |
| Wrong code guesses | 5 tries, then you need a new link |
If the bot says This phone number already has an account, that number was already used to sign up. Sign in with that account's username and password, or use Forgot password if you don't remember it. Only one account can be created per phone number this way.
Chapter 4
If the link or code stops working
If the link expired, the code expired, or you used up your five tries, the confirm page offers Get a new link. Type the password you chose at sign-up and press the button; a fresh link appears. You can ask for a new link once a minute.
Closed the tab before finishing? Your account is waiting for its confirmation. On the sign-up page's Phone (Telegram) tab, press Didn't finish signing up?, type your username, and you are back on the confirm page. If that browser tab no longer has your link, use Get a new link there.
Until you confirm, the account can't be used
A sign-up only becomes a working account once the code is accepted. If you never open the bot, nothing usable is created.
Chapter 5
Signing in afterwards
On the sign-in page, type your username in the Email or username box and your password below it. You don't need Telegram again for normal sign-ins. You only need this the next time you come back, because confirming your number already signs you in.
Chapter 6
Forgot your password
- Open Forgot password and choose
Use Telegram instead. - Press
Open Telegram, then tapVerify my KalHope accountin the chat. Use the Telegram account with the number you signed up with. The bot sends a 6-digit reset code. - Back on the website, type your username, the code, and a new password (twice), then confirm.
The reset code works for 10 minutes. If you ask for another one too soon, the bot asks you to wait a minute. Changing your password this way signs you out of your other devices.
Lost your number or your Telegram account?
There is no automatic way back in yet. If you added a real email to your account earlier, use the Email option on the Forgot password page instead. Otherwise use Request help from support.
Chapter 7
Good to know
- One phone number, one account for phone sign-ups. This rule applies only to accounts made this way; it does not affect accounts created with email, Google or GitHub.
- Paying: online card payment through Chapa needs an email address. Until you add and verify a real email, you pay by bank transfer or Telebirr.
- Features that email you — such as emailed sign-in codes — aren't available on an account that has no real email.
Having trouble that isn't covered here? Contact support.
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