Here is a complete guide on how to Port From MTN To Vodacom And still Keep Your Number. The two mobile networks are the best in South Africa at the moment, and you will find the steps simple and easy to follow.
Mobile Network service providers are in high competition here in South Africa. They take advantage of every available opportunity to gain a competitive edge.
So, at any point you feel like switching from one mobile network service provider to another, you can do that effortlessly.
Why SIM Swap Your MTN Number To Vodacom?
One of the major reason why lots of prepaid customers wants to change their network to Vodacom is because of the general feeling that MTN is expensive. If you think that subscriptions is depleting your airtime and data, you can read how to unsubscribe from MTN subscriptions rather than porting to Vodacom.
Some people complains that MTN does take their money without their consent with disappearing airtime, same complain also with Cell C.
If you experience such, you can read our guideline on how to stop disappearing airtime on MTN and also how to stop disappearing airtime on Cell C.
At Mamzansi, we carried out due diligence and came to conclude that this is not true, because most phones settings is the root cause of this issue. In most cases, if they do not have data, their airtime are being used as data and secondly, due to background updates of some Apps, their airtime are mostly being used.
The second reason is because they are of the opinion that Vodacom network has far more superior reach than MTN, though this is not true. Anyway, no matter the reason why they chose to Port From MTN To Vodacom, these guideline is here to help you out.
What is Sim Porting?
You can switch from using MTN mobile network service provider to Vodacom service provider without having to affect your number. The only way you can do this is to port your number.
In case you don’t know what porting is, porting allows you to retain your phone number when changing your mobile network provider without losing your phone number. Though you will lose any name or number you saved on that number.
That’s to say that if you are using an MTN number and you want to change to VODACOM, you don’t have to be given a new number. All you have to do is to transfer your mobile network provider without losing anything.
Porting is the best way to go; I have done it before, and I will guide you through porting your number from MTN to Vodacom. I earlier wrote on how you can port your vodacom number to Cell C and also how you can sim swap from cell c to vodacom, you can read them if interested.
If you doubt me, that’s not a problem; just ensure you read through and follow the steps I’ve provided in the latter part of this article.
To port your MTN number to Vodacom, you have your MTN sim card intact in your phone. You will not be able to proceed to the next step without having your MTN sim you want to port to Vodacom.
If you have the sim card with you, you can commence the process of porting your MTN number to Vodacom. Don’t worry, it is not a herculean task; it is way easier than you thought.
Please note that the following steps only work in South Africa.
Watch this video:
You may like:
How To Port From MTN To Vodacom
To sim swap from MTN to Vodacom or technically port from MTN to Vodacom, follow the guidelines below:
1. Keep your MTN sim card number in your phone
To Port From MTN To Vodacom, the first step you need to take is put your MTN inside your phone. Do not remove it yet.
2. Clear your MTN debt and Credit
If you want to Port From MTN To Vodacom and you are owing MTN, MTN will not let you go. Out of all the mobile network provider in South Africa, MTN is notorious for this rule and they very much right.
3. Load airtime on your MTN ( because you are going to send SMS)
Make sure you have an airtime on your MTN Sim card. You will need to send an SMS from your MTN sim card to Vodacom, so therefore you need to have at least R1 airtime as your balance.
4. Make sure your MTN is not a contract line
To Port From MTN To Vodacom works if your MTN starter pack sim card is a prepaid Vodacom SIM card. If your MTN line is under a contract, sorry it will not be successful.
5. You cannot port a lost MTN to Vodacom
MTN sim swap is easy to do, so if you want to Port From MTN To Vodacom and your MTN is lost, it will not work. All you need to do first is to retrieve your lost MTN number back. You can do the same to retrieve your lost Vodacom number also if that applies to you.
6. Buy a new Vodacom starter pack and get it rica’d
Buy a new Vodacom Starter pack sim card and get it registered with your name and ID. The law enforcing the registration of SIM cards in South Africa is called the Regulation of Interception of communications and Provision of communication-Related Information Act (RICA).
This law makes it mandatory for every sim card in South Africa to be registered with the user’s personal information. i.e., your full name, house address, age etc.
If you do not RICA your Vodacom sim pack, you will not be able to Port From MTN To Vodacom with the porting process because your Sim Card will not be activated.
Another point to note is that when it comes to porting to Vodacom, do not use a pre-ricad sim card. I mean, do not use a sim card that has been registered for more than 2 hours.
Why?
Because the porting process will fail. What you need to do is to have your Vodacom starter pack registered the moment you want to do the porting ( not more than 20 minutes). That is why using or collecting free Vodacom on the street will not work for this purpose, unless the freelance agent will rica you in your name, ID and details on that spot.
7. Send an SMS text from the MTN sim card in the phone
With your MTN sim in the phone, text portme with the 20 digit serial number on the vodacom card to 0827678287 e.g portme 88484000000004153333 to 0827678287.
The text message from your MTN will be in this format ( an example).. portme20digitserial number to 0827678287.
This will notify MTN of your intention to move to Vodacom mobile network service. Once you send the SMS to the provided number, the necessary change will commence, and you will get two messages from MTN.
One good thing about Mobile Network providers in South Africa is the freedom to move from one network provider to another provider without being judged. It doesn’t mean that you will no longer be able to use MTN network provider service if you wish to port back.
You can go back or revert to your old network after 3 months!!
I made bold to say that the option of self porting your number is only available in South Africa for now. I hope other African countries will follow suit.
You may like:
8. MTN Will Call You 3 Times after 2-5 Minutes
MTN is a good business entity, they value customers and they do not want you to leave. After 2-5 minutes of sending the SMS to 0827678287 to Port From MTN To Vodacom , MTN will call you 3 times, yes 3 times.
You will be asked to terminate the porting process by pressing 1, do not press 1; simply pick the call, listen to what they are saying and drop the call. After this, the porting process will commence.
To Port From MTN To Vodacom takes roughly 6 hours. If you do it anytime from 6pm, it will be done the next day; the best way is to do it before 12am and it will be done between 4-8pm. At least, wait for 6 hours.
In addition, if you Port From MTN to Vodacom on weekends, it will not be successful or it will only take effect on weekdays.
Do not remove the MTN sim card from your phone, leave it inside, wait till you discover that you are not able to check your MTN balance or even call ( network will disappear); at that point, it means you have been moved to the Vodacom network.
Then, remove the MTN from your phone and insert the Vodacom sim card.
9. Dial 136
After inserting the vodacom sim card in the phone, wait for about 5 minutes, then dial 136 to get it activated. Listen to the voice prompts and your balance will be communicated to you. Once this is done, dial *111*555# to see your number.
Your old MTN number will now be displayed as the new Vodacom number!!
Once you try out the steps written in this article on how to Port From MTN To Vodacom, let me know how this article has helped you in the comment box. I look forward to hearing from you.
Do you know anyone trying to understand.