How to Port Your Mobile Number in India: MNP Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Mobile number portability is the reason you can walk away from an operator you are tired of and still keep the ten digits your bank, your employer and every WhatsApp group already have. If you want to port your mobile number, MNP is the regulated process that does it, and it runs on rules laid down by the telecom regulator rather than on whatever the shop near you feels like doing. The mechanics are short: one SMS, one code, one KYC visit, and a brief switchover window.

What actually trips people up is never the SMS. It is the eligibility conditions nobody mentions at the counter, the short shelf life of the porting code, and the handful of reasons a request gets quietly rejected three days later. This guide from TechLein walks through the sequence in order, including what to verify before you send anything and what to do when a port fails.

Key takeaways

Send PORT followed by a space and your 10-digit number to 1900 to get a Unique Porting Code (UPC).
Your number must have been active on the current operator for at least 90 days, and postpaid dues must be cleared.
The UPC is short-lived in most of the country, so start the KYC at the new operator immediately.
Most rejections come from name mismatches, unpaid bills, an expired code, or a recent SIM replacement.

What MNP changes and what it does not

Porting moves your number from one operator’s network to another. The number itself, its association with your bank accounts, UPI apps, Aadhaar records and two-factor logins stays exactly as it was. You do not need to update your number anywhere afterwards. What changes is the SIM in your phone, the tariff plan you are on, the coverage you get and the customer service you deal with.

You can port prepaid to prepaid, postpaid to prepaid, prepaid to postpaid, and across operators within the same telecom circle or to a different circle. Inter-circle porting is allowed but takes longer to process, and your billing relationship shifts to the new circle, which can change what counts as roaming for you. If your only complaint is indoor signal rather than the operator itself, it is worth trying Wi-Fi calling on your existing connection before going through a port at all.

Before you send the PORT SMS

Run through this list first. Every item here is a genuine reason ports get bounced back.

Condition	What it means in practice
90-day rule	The number must have been active on your current operator for at least 90 days since activation or since your last successful port.
Dues cleared	For postpaid, the last generated bill must be paid. Usage after the bill date is billed separately later.
No pending port	If an earlier porting request is still open, a new one will not be entertained until it closes.
Recent SIM change	If the SIM was replaced or swapped very recently, the code request is refused. This is an anti-fraud rule, not an operator whim.
Name match	The name in the new operator’s form must match the name on the existing connection exactly.
Corporate connections	A company-owned number normally needs a no-objection letter from the account holder before it can move.

Also worth doing before you start: note down your current plan’s expiry, and if you keep anything important on the phone, take a moment to back up your phone data so a SIM change never becomes a bigger problem than it is.

Step 1: get your UPC from 1900

Open the SMS app on the phone holding the number you want to port.
Type PORT, then a space, then your own 10-digit mobile number. Nothing else in the message body.
Send it to 1900. This is a toll-free short code and works from any Indian operator.
Wait for the reply SMS. It contains an eight-character Unique Porting Code and an expiry date. Read the expiry line, do not assume it.
If you get an error instead, the message usually names the reason: dues pending, 90 days not completed, or a recent SIM replacement. Fix that first and resend.
Do not share the UPC with anyone who calls you claiming to be from an operator. A genuine port only needs the code at the new operator’s counter, in person.

How long the UPC lasts

The porting code is deliberately short-lived so that stale requests do not float around. The validity differs by region.

Where your number is registered	Approximate UPC validity
Most telecom circles in India	Four days from the date of request
Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North East circles	Around 30 days

Treat the shorter window as the rule and start the next step the same day. If the code expires, you simply send PORT to 1900 again and get a fresh one, but you lose whatever paperwork was half done.

Step 2: KYC at the new operator

Take the UPC to a point of sale of the operator you are moving to. That can be a company store or an authorised retailer. You will need a proof of identity and address, a photograph, and your Aadhaar or another accepted document for KYC. Most stores now do Aadhaar-based verification with an OTP or a fingerprint scan on a small biometric device, which takes a couple of minutes.

What happens at the counter

The executive fills a Customer Acquisition Form, records your UPC, captures the KYC, and hands you a new SIM which stays inactive for now. A nominal porting charge applies. The regulated per-port transaction charge is a small amount, but retailers frequently ask you to buy a first recharge along with it, so confirm what you are paying for before you hand over money. Keep the acknowledgement slip with the reference number until the port completes.

If you would rather not deal with a plastic SIM at all, most operators can issue the new connection as an eSIM at the same visit. Our complete eSIM guide for Jio, Airtel and Vi users covers what your handset needs to support and how the profile download works.

Step 3: the switchover

Once the request is accepted, the two operators coordinate the actual cutover. Within the same circle this normally completes in about three working days; inter-circle and corporate ports take longer. You will get an SMS a day or so before, telling you the date and time window.

The switchover itself is short. Your old SIM stops working, and after a gap that is usually well under two hours, the new SIM registers on the network. Operators schedule this late at night in most cases. Keep the old SIM in the phone until it loses signal, then insert the new one and restart the handset. If the new SIM shows no service after a couple of hours, call the new operator’s helpline from another number and quote your reference slip.

After the port lands, your data settings may need one nudge. Some phones need the new APN to be applied, and if you have moved to an operator with a different network build you may want to re-check how 5G is configured on your Android phone.

Why porting requests get rejected

Rejections are common enough that it is worth knowing the usual list. The most frequent cause is a mismatch between the name on the porting form and the name in the donor operator’s records, which happens easily when a connection was taken in a parent’s or spouse’s name. Next is an unpaid postpaid bill, including a small final amount you forgot about. Then there are expired codes, a second port attempt inside 90 days of the last one, and a recent SIM replacement on the number.

A rejection is not a penalty. You are told the reason by SMS, you fix it, and you send PORT to 1900 again. What you should not do is hand your UPC to a caller who promises to “fast track” the port. That is a standard social engineering script, and it sits close to the same family of tricks covered in our guide on how to secure your Android phone.

Choosing where to port

Coverage at the places you actually spend time matters more than any advertised speed. Ask neighbours and colleagues on the network you are considering, and if possible borrow a SIM for a day. After coverage, look at what the plans cost in real terms rather than at the headline validity. Our walkthrough on how to compare mobile recharge plans on value explains the cost-per-GB and cost-per-day arithmetic that makes those comparisons honest.

Frequently asked questions

Does porting cost anything?

There is a small regulated porting charge, and the retailer may push a first recharge alongside it. Ask for the breakup before paying and keep the receipt.

Will I lose my number during the switchover?

No. The number is retained throughout. There is only a short outage between the old SIM going dead and the new one activating, usually scheduled overnight.

Can I port again immediately if I dislike the new operator?

You have to complete 90 days on the new operator before another port is allowed. Plan accordingly rather than treating a port as reversible.

Do I need to inform my bank or update WhatsApp?

No. Your number does not change, so OTPs, UPI apps and WhatsApp continue as before. Only the network behind the number changes.

What if my port is stuck past the promised date?

Call the new operator with the reference number from your acknowledgement slip. If it stays unresolved, escalate to the operator’s appellate authority, whose details are on their official website.

The bottom line

MNP is one of the better-designed consumer processes in Indian telecom, but it rewards preparation. Clear your dues, confirm you have crossed 90 days, avoid replacing your SIM just before you start, and get to the new operator’s counter the same day the UPC arrives. Do those four things and the port is usually uneventful.

The one habit worth keeping is patience on switchover night. A dead SIM at 11 pm is not a failed port; it is the process working. Give it a couple of hours with the new SIM in and the phone restarted before you decide something has gone wrong.