- Here is how to keep your number active on MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile when you travel abroad from Nigeria for some years.
Over the past few years, there have been controversies surrounding the act of recycling SIM card numbers in Nigeria. According to the NCC, a SIM card or line left dormant for up to a year can be recycled.
There are a lot of issues that can come with recycled SIM card numbers, including cases of bank fraud which is very common. One case was of someone whose number was still linked to his BVN after being recycled and it caused him to lose over 1 million naira to fraudsters.
Knowing how to keep in ER active on MTN, Glo, Airtel, or 9Mobile, when you leave them unused for a long period, especially when you travel out of the country for a long time. In this piece, I will show you how to keep your number active when you travel out of the country.
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How to keep your number active while abroad
Now, all four major telecommunications operators in the Nigerian space have made it possible to retain your phone number if you think it will be dormant for a long period. This has made it possible, for the first time, for mobile users to keep their number active while abroad.
How to keep your MTN number active while abroad
MTN has a special service, called Keep My Number (KMN) Service, for this. This special service from MTN that allows you to keep your MTN number active if it stays unused for more than 180 days. Follow the steps below to keep your MTN number active whike abroad.
Recharge your line with sufficient airtime to pay for the service, it costs N511, N819, and N1228 for 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years subscriptions respectively.
- For the 1-year plan, dial *365*1# or send KMN1 to 36500 via SMS.
- For the 2-year plan, dial *365*2# or send KMN2 to 36500 via SMS.
- For the 3-year plan, dial *365*3# or send KMN3 to 36500 via SMS.
Your balance will be charged for subscribing to the plan and a confirmation text from MTN detailing the expiration of your reservation.
This is only available to MTN Prepaid subscribers so if you’re a postpaid user, you have to consider switching.
Glo – ALWAYS ON
Glo ALWAYS ON is a special offer from the telecommunications operator that allows you to retain your phone numbers for one full year (365 days) despite inactivity.
To subscribe to Glo ALWAYS ON, dial *777# and select ALWAYS ON from the options that come up on the screen. It costs a fee of N500 which will be charged from your airtime balance.
This plan is only available to Prepaid subscribers, and it lasts for 365 days, afterwards, you can renew the plan if you will be away for much longer.
Airtel Keep My Number
If you are an Airtel user, you are also not left from retaining your phone number when traveling out of the country for a long period. Airtel Keep My Number is the new plan from Airtel which allows you to retain your phone number if you’re in Diaspora. They have plans which last from one year to three years. With this, your phone number linked to your NIN and BVN will no longer be recycled.
Follow the steps below to retain your Airtel phone number.
- Dial *494*1# to subscribe to Airtel Keep My Number for One Year. It costs N2000 for this plan.
- Dial *494*2# to subscribe to Airtel Keep My Number for Two years. It costs N3500 for this plan.
- Dial *494*3# to subscribe to Airtel Keep My Number for Three years. It costs N5000 for this plan.
This is only available to Airtel Prepaid subscribers so keep this in mind if you’re a Postpaid subscriber. Airtel was the last to support SIM card retaining and I don’t know why they charge way more than other networks to use this service.
9Mobile Extended SIM Validity
As a 9Mobile user who is planning on traveling out of the country for a long period of time, you should retain your phone number so it won’t be recycled.
9Mobile Extended SIM Validity service allows you to prevent your 9Mobile phone from being deactivated or recycled to another person if you travel for a long time. Follow the steps below to activate the plan.
Dial *539*1# or text 1 to 539 via SMS to subscribe to the plan. Once it is successful, you will be notified or you can check your SIM card status by dialing *539#. This service costs N500 and it retains your phone number for just one year. Afterward, you will have to renew the subscription.
Unlike others on this list, this service is available to all prepaid and postpaid subscribers on 9Mobile.
Now, we have come to the end of this article showing you how to retain your MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile phone number when you travel abroad. Check out our article on how to share airtime on MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9Mobile.