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Though iTunes was discontinued in 2019 in favor of Apple Music since macOS Catalina, it still is a very demanded media content manager used by millions of people globally. Is it obligatory to enter a personal phone number for iTunes account verification?

Short answer: yes, you can complete an iTunes sign up and receive the Apple ID verification code without giving Apple your personal SIM. You just need a working virtual number that accepts SMS from Apple, and a clean device state (no other Apple ID currently signed in on that iPhone or iCloud session).

What is iTunes?

Searching for an answer to “What is iTunes?”, we cannot fail to mention that it has become the revolutionizing app that changed the way people consume music.

The app started in 2001 as a music player with the sleek and simplified user experience in response to “too complex and difficult to learn” music apps of that time. And, over time, it evolved into a full-fledged content management platform with expanded functionality.

The Early Years of iTunes

What is iTunes if we look back to history? First, it provided people with a convenient way to rip CDs and transfer songs to the iPod, which was released a year after the app. It was a regular thing in the 1990s and early 2000s to rip CDs, put music on a computer, create playlists and then burn them to CDs to listen to on the go or in the car. And with iTunes and the iPod, people now were able to carry their music library with them.

Later, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, and since then, iTunes account holders started buying music by paying for each download. This helped solve the problem of piracy, another goal that Steve Jobs pursued when creating iTunes. Artists received royalties for their songs’ downloads, and later singles and albums began to be exclusively published on iTunes for pre-listening.

The Evolution of iTunes Features

With each update, iTunes functions expanded. In version 2, Apple added self-updating smart playlists, as well as support for audiobooks from Audible.com. And already in 2004 iTunes account holders got access to the Shuffle function for shuffling songs in a playlist and playing from a random song, as well as photo support and video support.

In 2005, iTunes added support for podcasts along with a huge directory of podcasts.

Therefore, over time, from a music player with an extensive library and music store, iTunes also began to transfer photos, videos, and later apps to portable devices across the entire Apple line: the iPod, the iPhone, which appeared in 2007, and later the iPad. All types of digital content were moved from desktop to pocket-sized devices through iTunes.

In 2007, Apple also launched Apple TV, and with the release of iTunes 8 and 9, the iTunes account holders had the opportunity to rent and buy movies and TV shows, buy e-books and download courses. The app continued to gain functionality to keep up to date. iTunes 11 added iTunes in the Cloud (that we know as iCloud), then it introduced the iTunes Radio. In 2015, when streaming services started to gain strenght, iTunes added the music streaming functionality through Apple Music. However, with each update the app became more and more chaotic and “sold” more and more with its design.

As a result, a few years later Apple Music and Apple Podcasts together with Apple TV became separate apps. And in 2019, iTunes decided to no longer update iTunes for new versions of macOS, starting with Catalina.

Why People Want an Apple ID without Phone Number

A few realistic reasons this search shows up thousands of times a month:

Second region account. You want US App Store access to grab an app that isn’t in your country’s store.
Family / kids device. You’re setting up an old iPhone for a child and don’t want to burn your own number on it.
Privacy. You’d rather not hand your real MSISDN to another Big Tech account that already has your email, card and address.
Testing. Developers spinning up sandbox Apple IDs to test in-app purchases or TestFlight builds.

Apple technically lets you skip the phone step in some flows (email-only), but the button is hidden, region-dependent, and increasingly Apple asks for SMS confirmation the moment you try to buy anything or enable 2FA. A virtual number solves that in one shot.

What Actually Works for an Apple ID Verification Code

Not every free “receive SMS online” site will get you through. Apple’s SMS gateway filters heavily. Here’s what to look for:

Mobile-range numbers, not VoIP. Apple blocks most Google Voice, TextNow and landline ranges. You need a real number from a mobile carrier.
A country that matches your App Store region. If you’re creating a US Apple ID, use a US number. Mismatched country + region is the #1 reason the code never arrives.
Fresh, unused number. If someone already burned that number on Apple, it won’t send a second code. This is where paid, single-use numbers beat free public ones — those free ones have been hammered by thousands of people already.
A service that lists “Apple” as a supported activation. Don’t guess; pick a provider where Apple is a named service so you know the routing works.

Budget-wise, an Apple activation on a paid virtual number service usually costs between $0.20 and $1.50 depending on the country. Cheaper than losing your real number to spam forever.

iTunes Sign Up Walkthrough (Email + Temporary Number)

The flow is the same whether you’re on iPhone, iPad, Mac or the web at appleid.apple.com.

Sign out first. On the device, go to Settings → your name → Sign Out. If any old Apple ID is active, the new sign up will loop.
Open the create screen. On iPhone: App Store → profile icon → “Create New Apple ID”. On desktop: appleid.apple.com → “Create Your Apple ID”.
Pick a country that matches your virtual number. This is locked once you buy anything, so choose carefully.
Use an email you actually control. Free Gmail / Proton works fine. Apple will send a 6-digit email code here.
Buy a temporary number. Enter the number when Apple asks for a phone. Choose “Text message” — not “Phone call”, temp numbers rarely accept voice.
Grab the Apple ID verification code from your temporary number dashboard in sms-man.com and paste it in.
Skip payment by choosing “None” as the payment method (only works if you haven’t tried to buy anything yet).

If the SMS doesn’t arrive in 2–3 minutes, don’t spam “resend”. Cancel, get a different number, try again. Apple rate-limits per email address.

What is a Temporary Phone Number?

Temporary phone numbers are a convenient service that doesn’t cost a fortune. Using them, you can bypass OTP verification on various platforms and applications from any country, regardless of where you are physically located.

To buy a phone number and receive a SMS, you don’t need to go to a provider’s office and reveal documents, as when you purchase a SIM card. Everything you need to do is to register on the platform or app. And this can be done from any device: you only need to enter an e-mail address.

There are quite a few platforms of this kind on the web that you can use to create iTunes account. But we recommend you use SMS-MAN functionality. We issue virtual phone numbers from providers of 190+ countries to help you set up accounts without a phone number in 1000+ services and apps. So, temporary phone number is a practical way to protect your phone from spam or create multiple accounts at once.