Mobile Number Portability guide: How to port your mobile number to Jio, Airtel or Vodafone Idea

The age of switching to a new 10-digit number every time you want to switch carriers thankfully, has been behind us for a while. Today, you can go from any Indian cellular carrier to another while keeping your current mobile number. This is possible thanks to a service that you may have heard of called Mobile Number Portability.

But how exactly do you use Mobile Number Portability? How do you get things started? Let’s dive deep into this.

The need for Mobile Number Portability

There are several reasons why you’d want to change to a new cellular network, and even more reasons to want to keep the same number. Today, a phone number is much more than a code that people use to reach out to you.

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It’s also your login credential for multiple apps and services, your authentication provider for government-related services like Aadhaar, and more. If you switch to a new number, sending it all your contacts is actually the easy part.

Manually going to each app and service that you have signed up for using your old number and switching to a new one while going through multiple security hoops? That’s a time-consuming, boring task. That is where Mobile Number Portability comes in handy.

How to switch with Mobile Number Portability

There are three easy steps for porting your number. Let’s go over each of them in detail.

1. Getting your Unique Porting Code (UPC)

To use Mobile Number Portability, you can use the SIM that needs a network switch to send out a simple SMS to get started. Type “PORT <your 10-digit mobile number>” and send it to 1900.

You should then soon get a message with a UPC (Unique Porting Code) that will be used by the new cellular provider to port your SIM card. The UPC will be a combination of two letters and six numbers and should look like “AB123456”.

Note that this UPC is only valid for a limited time. If a porting request (the next step) is not initiated within that time, you will be required to send out a new message for a fresh UPC.

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It is also worth noting that sending out a porting request to 1900 will require SMS fees, and hence, you may not be able to send this message if you don’t have talktime balance left in your current SIM, even if you have an unlimited data/SMS plan active. To fix this, simply add a small talktime of Rs 10/20 to your account and you should be able to send the message.

2. Requesting a new SIM

Now that you have your UPC, simply go to the Mobile Number Porting website of the cellular service that you want to switch to. You can use the links below.

– Port to Jio

– Port to Airtel

– Port to Vodafone Idea

Follow the on-screen instructions to order a new SIM card. You will be required to put basic details like your name, address, etc.

A SIM delivery order will then be scheduled and depending on the date and time you set, a representative of the new service provider should come to your address to deliver the SIM. The representative will also take you through an initiation process that will require your original Aadhaar Card for KYC registration along with a picture and some other details.

This is also where you will have to make your first recharge on the new SIM (for prepaid customers). But note that the new SIM will not be activated just yet. That may take 3-4 days more, and the representative should fill you in on all the details. You may also receive SMS alerts telling you the exact date and time the switch to the new SIM card will be made.

3. Making the switch

On the night of the number switch, which should have been communicated to you in the previous step, put the new SIM card into your smartphone of choice. You can now go to sleep, as the switch will happen in the middle of the night. This is done so you miss no important texts or calls from your family, friends or colleagues during the day.

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If you have a dual-SIM smartphone that supports two physical SIMs, you can just put the new SIM card in the second SIM slot in the phone. Now, you don’t have to worry about the perfect time to switch SIM cards.

When you wake up the next morning, your number should have been ported to the new cellular network, and you can now remove the old SIM, and continue using the new SIM normally.