In mainland China, WeChat isn't a messenger — it's an operating system. Payments, taxi rides, government services, work chats, food orders, dating, medical appointments: all of it runs inside WeChat. For anyone doing business with the mainland, being reachable on WeChat isn't optional.
And yet, adding someone on WeChat is surprisingly finicky. Phone number, WeChat ID, and QR code all exist, and each behaves slightly differently. Here's what actually works.
The three identifiers
- Phone number — every WeChat account is tied to one. It's the primary sign-in credential.
- WeChat ID (微信号) — a public username, 6–20 characters, must begin with a letter, can only be set once in the account's lifetime. Case-insensitive.
- QR code — personal QR that any WeChat user can scan to add you as a friend.
Adding by phone number: works, but with caveats
In WeChat, go to Contacts → New Friends → Add and type the phone number in international form (e.g. +8613800138000). WeChat will find the account and show a "Send friend request" button. This works, but only if the target account has "Allow strangers to find me by phone number" turned on — which many mainland users disable to reduce spam.
Even when it works, the recipient sees a friend request they must accept before you can chat. This is different from WhatsApp, where typing a number opens a chat directly.
Adding by WeChat ID: the standard method
The WeChat ID is what people print on business cards in China. It exists precisely because phone numbers are considered private. Use the same Add screen and paste the ID. WeChat finds the account and lets you send a friend request.
Two gotchas:
- Not everyone sets a WeChat ID. If a user hasn't chosen one, the system assigns them
wxid_xxxxxxxxx— which is searchable but almost never handed out. - IDs are permanent. Users can't change them once set. Long-time users often have IDs based on 2013-era nicknames they'd rather forget.
Adding by QR: the in-person default
Everyone in China defaults to QR. You hold up your phone, they scan, done. To display your QR: Me → your name → My QR Code. To scan someone else's: the + button on the top-right of the Chats tab, then Scan.
Why Ringlink prioritizes the ID field for WeChat
WeChat doesn't publish an official deep-link URL scheme likewa.me. Tapping WeChat from Ringlink opens the app, but the app doesn't accept a phone number as an argument. What Ringlink can reliably do is pre-fill your clipboard with the WeChat ID and open the Add Friend screen when the user paths through it.
The workflow we recommend:
- Enter the WeChat ID in Ringlink's Username field.
- Tap the WeChat tile. Ringlink copies the ID to your clipboard and opens WeChat.
- Tap the WeChat search bar and paste. The account appears; send a friend request.
Official Accounts and Mini Programs
WeChat isn't just chats. Businesses run Official Accounts (like newsletters plus chatbots) and Mini Programs (small apps that run inside WeChat). Both have their own search-driven onboarding inside the app. If someone gives you a WeChat Official Account name, you search for it under Contacts → Official Accounts.
Regional friction: two WeChats
WeChat and 微信 (Weixin) are technically separate services on the backend, though they look identical. Users register with a mainland Chinese phone number end up on Weixin; users elsewhere end up on the "international" WeChat. Chats cross freely, but payments and Mini Programs are gated by which side you signed up on. If a friend request fails between a +86 number and a foreign number, this compartmentalization is often why.
Quick reference
- Best identifier to collect: WeChat ID.
- Second best: QR code screenshot.
- Third best: phone number, with the acceptance that it may fail.