Mobile number portability lets you change operator while keeping your number. It is not an instant switch, and keeping the number does not guarantee that every app or SMS-dependent service will work throughout the change. Plan the cutover around important calls and payments.
Check eligibility before choosing a date
TRAI’s MNP checklist requires more than 90 days on the present network and seven days since a SIM replacement. Issued postpaid bills must be paid. Pending ownership changes, court restrictions and unmet contractual exit obligations also matter. Corporate numbers need the prescribed authorisation; consult the full checklist for that route.
Before visiting a shop, compare the new operator’s coverage where you actually use the phone: home, workplace and regular journeys. Ask about the plan’s validity, data allowance and renewal price separately from porting. A promotional recharge is not evidence that indoor coverage will improve.
Generate the code and submit the request
- From the number being moved, send
PORT your-ten-digit-numberto 1900. - Keep the UPC reply and its expiry date. Submit it through the new operator’s authorised store or official ordering route.
- Complete the requested identity/address verification and collect the replacement SIM or follow the operator’s supported eSIM process.
Jio’s official instructions, for example, accept original Aadhaar or the required identity/address documents. Do not assume that a stranger asking for an OTP is part of KYC. Keep the application receipt and use the operator’s own support channel for status questions.
Understand the two different clocks
The UPC normally lasts four days, or 30 days in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East LSAs; its generation day is excluded. That is the application window, not the promised activation time.
After validation, the usual porting timeline is three working days within an LSA and five between LSAs or for corporate numbers. Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East can take up to 15 working days. The operator’s timeline guidance should be read alongside the scheduled cutover SMS.
Allow for the service interruption
TRAI allows a nighttime cutover interruption of up to four hours. Follow the activation message rather than repeatedly switching SIMs early. The optional porting charge stated by TRAI is ₹6.46 if the receiving operator asks for it; a new plan can cost extra.
Before the scheduled window, arrange another way to reach family or colleagues. Avoid making the porting night your only opportunity to complete a time-sensitive login. Once activated, test an incoming call, outgoing call, mobile data and ordinary SMS before relying on OTP delivery.
Check money and account access afterwards
Unspent prepaid balance lapses. Refundable postpaid deposits remain refundable. A port can be withdrawn within 24 hours of submission by sending CANCEL your-ten-digit-number to 1900; this cancels the UPC too, without refunding any porting fee.
Keeping the number is different from retaining an app’s device registration. If a banking or payment app asks for verification, use its own instructions and support. Do not share a UPI PIN or install a “porting repair” APK. Keep both the final old-operator bill and the new plan receipt until you have reconciled charges.
Reviewed on 27 October 2026. Corrected timing, eligibility and continuity claims against regulator and operator guidance.
Techleez Editorial Team
The Techleez publishes practical digital guides. For our scope, use of AI assistance and corrections process, read our editorial policy.
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