Signal automatically considers accounts dormant or inactive after approximately 120 to 180 days of no connection to the service. If an account remains inactive for too long, it may be automatically deactivated or deleted, requiring a new registration.
Signal’s Dormant Account Policy
Automatic Deactivation: If your primary device (the phone used to register) does not connect to Signal for 120 to 180 days, your account may be automatically deactivated.
Reactivation: If your account is deactivated, you must re-register using the same phone number, provided you still have access to it.
Data Loss: If your account is deleted due to inactivity, the message history stored only on the server is gone. If you had secure backups enabled on your phone and can still access the 30-digit passphrase, you might be able to restore that specific data.
Desktop Unlinking: If you only use Signal Desktop and not the mobile app, the desktop app will unlink after roughly 30 days of inactivity.
Registration Lock: If you enabled Registration Lock, this feature expires after 7 days of inactivity.
Updating or Re-Activating a Dormant Account
To update or re-activate a dormant Signal Capture account:
Find the Original Phone: Locate the phone originally used to register for Signal Capture.
Update the Application: Install the latest version of Signal Capture. Signal Capture releases expire after 90 days, so an old app version will not connect.
Launch and Connect: Open the updated app and let it connect to the service. Keep it open for a few minutes to allow it to catch up.
Re-register: If the account has been deleted, you will see a yellow banner or are forced to register. Follow the on-screen steps to re-register with your phone number.
Important
You must have access to the original phone number to receive the SMS/call verification code.
If you no longer have the phone number, you cannot regain access to that old account.
Some new Signal features require all devices to be updated. If your primary device is too far behind, you may be required to re-register to continue using the service.
Re-Registering Using Your Signal Capture PIN
Re-registration is required in one of the following scenarios:
If the app was uninstalled.
If the primary device was unused for a long time
For security reasons when setting up a new device, often prompted by the "This device is no longer registered" alert.
A re-registration prompt appears for one of the following reasons:
Security & Verification: Signal requires verification that you are still the owner of the phone number, particularly after major updates or if your account was inactive.
Version Mismatch: Some updates require all linked devices to run the latest version to support new features.
Reinstallations: If the app was uninstalled or its data cleared, you must log in again.
Security PIN/Token: Re-registration uses your Signal PIN and a stored security token to securely re-verify your account.
The latest Signal updates introduce an optional way to re-register your Signal account on a new phone or reinstall Signal on an existing phone. Instead of waiting for an SMS code the new process is faster and easier, and just as secure. In this process:
Signal stores a token using the key-value data store on Android (if available) or the iCloud key-value store on iOS (if available).
This token, when combined with your Signal PIN, proves that you were the most-recent owner of a given phone number, which lets us skip sending an SMS code. In other words, the combination of the token and Signal PIN can replace the SMS code.
The token itself does not provide any information about you or your account to anyone else, and it's only used for the purpose of enabling re-registration.
Note
If you cannot remember your Signal PIN, tap the Skip on the top-right corner to go through the traditional SMS verification flow instead.
Tokens are immediately invalidated:
If you complete the registration process using SMS verification.
If you delete your account.
Only the latest token that successfully registered with your phone number is valid.
The token is not valid without the correct Signal PIN.
Registration Lock isn’t affected by any of these updates. You only need to enter your Signal PIN once.