TRAI regulations has issued mandatory guidelines on 22nd March 2013 according to which if a Prepaid or Postpaid Airtel SIM is not used for 90 days or more it will be deactivated and made available to another potential user in the market. However, Airtel users get a 2-week grace period after 90 days to reactivate an Airtel SIM if they’re the existing owner. Currently, there are 3 simple ways to reactivate your deactivated Airtel number about which we have explained in this article. Precisely go through the information to renew your old Airtel number.

Easy Steps To Reactivate Your Deactivated Airtel Number

Before initiating the procedure of reactivating your Airtel SIM card make sure to carry all the essential identity and address proof for verification. Follow the steps below to reactivate your deactivated Airtel number through Airtel store executive assistance.

• Step 1: Search for nearest Airtel Store and reach the spot
• Step 2: Explain your issue to the customer care representative and ask them to assist you
• Step 3: A form will be provided to you to reactivate your deactivated Airtel number . Fill the form with details like full name, number, address, identify details, etc correctly. Also, cross-verify if you have filled out all the right information
• Step 4: To begin the verification process submit your Address and ID Proof and wait for sometime at the store
• Step 5: In a few minutes you’ll receive a confirmation call from Airtel. Answer the call and follow the instructions to finish the tele-verification process. Your SIM will soon get activated in 60-120 minutes after verification is done

Alternative Option 1: Seek Customer Care Help

Otherwise, you can also reach out to Airtel Customer Care on 121 and get your SIM card deactivated through their assistance. Ensure that you have an alternate Airtel number when reaching out to them via call. Upon confirming your identity, the customer support staff will guide you through the procedure to reactivate your old Airtel number.

Alternative Option 2: Drop An Email To Airtel

You can request the Airtel support to activate your old Airtel SIM by sending an email on 121@in.airtel to them. Make sure that you have entered a valid subject, mentioned everything in the body section in detail, provided an alternate contact number and attached all the documents for identification. You will receive a response soon once this email reaches them and they’ll contact you to help you out.

Also Read: Airtel Message Center Number Of States – SMSC Numbers

Charges To Renew & Maintain Reactivated SIM Card

You need to pay a price to re-activate your Airtel SIM whether it’s Prepaid or Postpaid. A minimum amount of Rs 20 will be deducted to activate your old Airtel Prepaid SIM. You also need to recharge your SIM monthly, quarterly, or yearly plan so that it’s active. If you’re a Postpaid user, then a recharge of Rs 150 is needed to be done every quarter.

Use Airtel Locker To Keep Your SIM Activated

This method is apt for those who frequently travel abroad for work or personal reasons. Although, there’s no restriction and those who want an affordable recharge plan to keep their secondary sim active can also use this plan. By recharging with the “Smart Recharge Plan” offered by Airtel, one can store their SIM in the Airtel locker until their next usage or keep it within the alternate SIM slot if an Android user. This Airtel Prepaid Plan is currently available for Rs 99 and the benefits included are Rs 99 Talktime, 200 MB Internet, Local Tariff Calls @ 1 p/sec, and SMS at Rs 1 (Local) and Rs 1.5 (STD) respectively.

Procedure To Re-activate Your Blocked SIM Card

Losing a SIM card & phone is disturbing as it contains crucial information within it starting including your contacts, payment details, etc. The first thing you should do after losing a SIM card is block your Airtel SIM purchase for a duplicate SIM on the same number. After you’ve bought a replacement SIM you need to activate it to access the services. Simply follow the same procedure listed above and Airtel will activate your new SIM. Lastly, while sending an email to Airtel do remember to mention that you had lost or misplaced your SIM and that’s the reason for blocking your old SIM card and getting a duplicate one.

Also Read: Get Airtel 3G/4G GPRS Internet And APN Settings (Offline/ Online)

Popular Technique To Check SIM Card Status

If you’re an Android user, you can check through your Device Settings whether your Airtel SIM is deactivated or not. For this, follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Step 1: Quickly tap on the Settings icon and open it
• Step 2: Enter SIM Card Status in the search bar. The option can vary in a few Android devices so check accordingly
• Step 3: Tap on it and you’ll be directed to Status Page
• Step 4: Click on SIM Card Status again and see if there’s any information visible under Network and Signal Strength or not

If it shows No Services under Network and 0 under Signal Strength then your SIM card is barred from further usage. If not then your SIM card is active, maybe under a grace period, and can be reactivated once more. For iOS users, there’s no accurate method to check if a SIM Card is working or not; however, one can remove the current SIM card and insert the old one to check its status. Presence of a strong network bar means SIM is active.

Conclusion

Sometimes, it happens that you’re so prone to using one SIM card that you completely forget about the existence of another SIM and it gets deactivated by the telecom company. If the SIM which got deactivated belongs to Airtel then you can easily to reactivate your deactivated Airtel number and use it again within 4 hours. However, make sure that after reactivating your Airtel SIM Card you’re recharging it continuously in the future to access voice calls, data, value-added, and internet connection services.