Industry, Business & Companies ·
OpenAI gave me six months of Pro 20x rights, but I can't.
English translation of the Chinese original. This version is generated for international readers and may be refined over time.
English translation of the Chinese original. This version is generated for international readers and may be refined over time.
Date: 2026-05-02
March 18, I received an open source benefit from OpenAI.
It's probably because I am.bestJavaerThe author is entitled to the benefit of Codex for Open Source, i. e. six months of ChatGPT Pro.
In other words, OpenAI gave me six months Pro 20x.
Honestly, the first reaction must be happy.
After all, ChatGPT Pro 20x is 200 U a month, six months is 1, 200 U, it's not cheap. More importantly, it's not an award, it's not a wool, it's an official OpenAI plan for Open Source Defenders. As a person who has written open-source projects for many years, it's nice to suddenly receive this endorsement.
And then the question came up.
I can't.
This is not a matter of process and not of warehouse eligibility.
There's only one problem: ** I'm from mainland China, which is not on the OpenAI list of currently supported areas.**
Thus, even if the warehouse itself meets the conditions, the interest may not be activated.
OpenAI Support's final manual response largely confirms this judgment:
Such services and benefits may not be convertible if account numbers are based on or primarily visit areas that are not supported. In the future, I may have access to the relevant interests if I am physically present in the country or area of support and the account number is satisfactory at that time. They do not, however, guarantee re-issuance, extension, retention or extension of such alternatives.
In other words, this benefit is real.
But it's true to me that I can't get it now.
At first I thought I was wrong
My first judgment was simple: if OpenAI sent me, it should be.
My GitHub warehouse is not just a little toy.bestJavaerIt's been open for years. Star and fork are on a scale. This project can be identified, indicating that the selection logic of OpenAI has at least swept my open source identity.
So I didn't start by thinking about regional restrictions.
I tried a lot of ways.
Change browser, change login status, check OpenAI accounts, identify GitHub, confirm whether the mail was officially sent and confirm whether the receipt is expired.
None of the last discoveries.
The real stuck point is the OpenAI service area limit.
This place is delicate.
Because when you get your rights mail, it gives you the psychological expectation, "You're qualified."
But when it does, the system looks not only at whether you have an open source contribution, but also at your account number, area, compliance.
This track-off is realistic:** Open-source eligibility is one threshold and regional availability is another. The former passed, not the latter.**
I asked for a round of AI auxiliaries
I'm leaving now, OpenAI official Support.
I started by replying to AI-Asisted support, which is an AI auxiliary passenger service.
Its answer was straightforward:
ChatGPT does not currently support mainland China, so neither ChatGPT Pro nor Pro-related Codex interests can be activated or used in mainland China. The use of services in the areas was never supported, and there was a risk that accounts would be suspended.
It also gives an official list of support areas:
https://platform.openai.com/docs/supported-countries
Seeing here, it's pretty clear.
But I'm still not happy.
It's not because I want to bypass the restrictions, it's because the right itself belongs to Openai. I want to confirm one question:
If I had actually gone to the country or region of support in the future, could that right have been restored?
Or are there any alternatives to compliance, such as API credits, extensions, qualification.
This question is not answered by the AI client service.
So I keep asking for a transfer.
What did I tell Openai
Here's something important.
I didn't say "I'm abroad," and I didn't say "can I get it from an IP?"
This statement is easily understood as circumventing regional restrictions.
My reality is that I am physically in mainland China.
So I made it clear in my worksheet:
I'm from mainland China and understand that mainland China is not on the support list. I am not trying to circumvent regional restrictions, but to confirm whether there is an official compliance path.
I gave this information:
- GitHub username:
crisxuan - Warehouse:
https://github.com/crisxuan/bestJavaer - ChatGPT account mailbox: coded
- OpenAI Organization name: numbered
- OpenAI Organization ID: coded
- Distribution of entitlements: 18 March 2026
I then asked a few specific questions.
Is it just because I'm in mainland China?
Would I still be able to collect it if I were actually in the supported area in the future?
Can it be retained, extended or reissued?
Are there any such alternatives?
If not, can you give me a formal conclusion and let me turn this case off.
I think that's the key.
Don't go around, don't guess, don't hint at yourself in an unrealistic position.
You're gonna tell me what you really are, and then you're gonna get the official policy conclusions.
It's coming back manually
The list later shows that it has been upgraded to the support specialist.
After a while, OpenAI Support responded manually.
The answer says a few things.
First, Codex for Openource is indeed affected by regional availability and compliance requirements.
Second, if the account number is based on or primarily visits areas that are not supported by itself, even if the warehouse itself meets the conditions, the interest may not be convertible.
Thirdly, in the future I may be able to access eligible functions or interests if I am physically present in the country or area of support and if the account number is satisfactory at that time.
Fourthly, they cannot guarantee the reissuance, extension or retention of interests.
Fifth, there are currently no alternative mechanisms for unsupported areas such as credits or deferral.
Sixth, this case can't go up any further.
Here, the conclusions are clear.
I didn't find the right button.
Not GitHub account untagged.
It's not mail.
It's a regional policy card.
It's the worst part
The hard part is not how much it costs.
Of course, six months Pro must be worth money. But the real pain is that you have been systematically identified as an open source defender, and that the rights have come out, and finally, because the regional restrictions are stuck at the end.
It's kind of like you got a ticket, and the door confirmed it was real, and the security check told you that you couldn't get in.
You can't even say it doesn't make sense.
Because from the perspective of OpenAI, it has to comply with regional compliance.
But from the point of view of the open source authors, the experience is quite fragmented.
In particular, open source projects themselves do not have national boundaries.
The code is on GitHub, issue from the world, Star from the world, and contributors from the world. However, once an interest has been placed on a specific account number and service, it returns to the real issues of area, payment, access to compliance.
That's an awkward reality now for AI to serve.
Technology is globalized, not services.
To other open-source authors
If you receive an OpenAI-like open source benefit, I suggest you take it easy.
Three things first.
Your mail wasn't officially sent.
Your ChatGPT account box is not the same as the application mailbox.
Your country or region is not in the OpenAI support list.
If you're in a supported area, follow the official process. Use the real account number, the real information, not the substitute.
If you're in unsupported areas, especially mainland China, I suggest not to try to exchange money repeatedly, nor to communicate with customers with false regional information.
The most stable approach is to open official support lists, give a true picture and then ask whether it can be postponed, reissued or replaced.
Probably not too optimistic.
But at least you can get a formal conclusion that you don't have to waste your time on all kinds of "genetic methods."
Final conclusion
I checked account numbers, mail, pick-up entrances, and consulted OpenAI official Support. For reasons of privacy and account security, specific interceptions and sensitive information are excluded.
This time OpenAI gave me six months of Pro 20x equity, which can be generally determined as:** I have open source eligibility, but currently there are no regional conditions.**
And then if I'm really in a supported area, I can ask if I can get a copy of the original mail and a support log.
But from this manual reply now, OpenAI is not guaranteed.
So this is it for now.
I'm a little sorry, but I guess I ran the process.
At least I know now: it's not that I didn't get it, it's that it really didn't let me.
Disclaimer
This article is just a record of my personal experience with OpenAI's opening author's rights, does not represent OpenAI's official position and does not constitute any legal, compliance, account operation or payment advice.
OpenAI service areas, account policies, equity rules and support processes may change, depending on OpenAI's official website, official mail and official Support responses.
The approach mentioned in the text is only one: communication through official channels. This paper does not encourage or advise anyone to receive an interest through false identities, false areas, account transfers, surrogates, resales, unusual payments or other circumventive policies.
If you are in a similar situation, you may wish to confirm your region, the status of the account and the validity of your rights, and contact the official OpenAI Support. In the case of sensitive information, such as account numbers, mailboxes, payments, exchange links, etc., it is essential that it be protected by its own code.