2026年9月13日
Many people encounter Telegram for the first time and get stuck at step one: where exactly to download it and how to sign in after installing. This guide walks through the process separately for phones and computers, and points out common pitfalls. This site is an information guide, not Telegram official; the official channels mentioned below refer only to telegram.org, Google Play, and the App Store.
Telegram clients come in mobile and desktop versions, so confirm your device type before downloading. On Android phones, search for Telegram on Google Play and install it. If your phone doesn't have Google services, you can get the Android installation package from the download page on Telegram's official website, telegram.org, or use the installation package entry compiled by this site (this is a download provided by this site, not an official Telegram download). On iPhone and iPad, open the App Store and search for Telegram to download. For Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, go to telegram.org to download the corresponding desktop version. Note: don't casually click on ads or third-party download sites in search engines—there are many fake packages with similar names.
During installation, the system will prompt for permissions that Telegram requests, commonly including contacts, storage, notifications, camera, and microphone. The contacts permission is used to match friends who have already registered, notifications are for receiving messages, and storage is for saving downloaded files. If you don't want to grant them right away, you can skip and enable them later in system settings. When installing a package from a non-store source on Android, the system will ask you to allow 'install unknown apps'; after installation, it's a good idea to turn this switch off. After downloading the desktop installer, first confirm the file source is telegram.org before running the installation.
After installation, open Telegram. The interface will ask for your phone number, so make sure to select the correct country/region code. The phone number is used to receive a verification code, which Telegram will send to that number's Telegram app (if you've logged in before) or via SMS. Enter the code once you receive it. If two-step verification is enabled on your account, you'll also need to enter the password you set previously. After signing in, it's a good idea to go to settings and fill in your username and profile photo so friends can find you. If you don't receive the verification code, first check whether the number was entered incorrectly and whether your signal is normal, then wait a bit and try again—don't request it repeatedly in a short time.
Once you've signed in successfully, first send a message to yourself or a friend to confirm messages can be sent and received normally. Then go to settings and check your privacy options, such as who can see your phone number, last seen time, profile photo, and the link when forwarding messages—adjust them as needed. Also confirm that notifications are enabled, otherwise you might miss messages. The desktop and mobile versions can be logged in to the same account simultaneously, and messages will sync automatically. If you switch phones later, as long as your phone number can still receive verification codes, you can sign in again to restore your chat history (the cloud portion). If you run into problems, check the in-app help or the instructions on telegram.org first, and don't trust third-party 'unban' or 'accelerator' services.