Losing your Ugandan SIM card while abroad after it has been recycled by the telecom company back home can be a bigger headache than you think. It’s not just about losing the phone number that your distant relatives and old friends used to get in touch with you.
Besides your mobile money balance, your MSISDN could be tied to your bank account, services like permits or insurance, and even your education records. Losing that number will automatically translate to losing access to all of these services linked to it, or worse, exposing your data to the next number holder.
Whether you’re a student heading to the US or a Munakampala travelling to the Middle East for kyeeyo, keeping your Airtel or MTN line active for years while abroad has been made easier. The new approach of buying specific bundles now guarantees that you’ll have your line active and under your name for as long as you buy and renew the bundles. This is different from the older approach, where users saved some money on mobile money or occasionally bought airtime and internet bundles, which in many cases did not ensure that the line would not be recycled by the telecom company after the inactive period. To address this, Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda now offer special long-term bundles designed to keep your number active for months or even years, even when you’re not in the country.
How to keep Airtel Uganda Number Active while abroad – Save Your Number
Airtel Uganda’s “Save Your Number” bundles keep your SIM active for 6, 12, or 24 months, with data and voice minutes included.
How to Activate Save Your Number
Dial *100*10# → Select option 3 (My Number/Profile) → Select 7 (Save Your Number).
Airtel Save Your Number Bundles
6 months – 6GB data + 100 minutes at UGX 60,000
12 months – 10GB data + 200 minutes at UGX 100,000
24 months – 20GB data + 300 minutes at UGX 160,000
Even when you’re abroad, someone in Uganda can purchase the package for you using their Airtel line. Note: These aren’t regular data or voice bundles; to keep your line active, you must buy a “Save Your Number” bundle.
How to keep MTN Uganda Number Active while abroad – Keep My Number
MTN offers similar long-term bundles to protect your line from deactivation, branded as “Keep My Number”
Using USSD to activate Keep My Number
Dial *100*8# → Select option 2 (Keep My Number) → Select option 1 (Activate for Myself) or option 2 (Activate for Another Number).
How to Activate Keep My Number
6 months – 3GB + 300 MTN minutes + UGX 30,000 airtime at UGX 60,000
12 months – 6GB + 600 MTN minutes + UGX 50,000 airtime at UGX 100,000
24 months – 8GB + 800 MTN minutes + airtime at UGX 160,000
Using the MyMTN App to activate Keep My Number
Open the MyMTN App → Select Buy → Scroll to Other Bundles → Choose Keep My Number → Pick a bundle → Select “Buy for Myself” or “Buy for Someone Else” → Enter PIN and confirm.
So, if your line is about to hit nine months of inactivity, try purchasing the bundles above. This will save you from the frustration of changing the password to the Instagram account you created using Facebook, where authentication login codes are sent to someone else.
Note: Both MTN’s Keep My Number and Airtel’s Save Your Number bundles can be depleted before the set period. Once all minutes and data are used, you will need to renew the bundles to continue using the service. In short, it’s safer not to use these for calls or browsing.
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