How to Check My MTN Number in Nigeria: Codes and Steps
*123*1*1# and *663# are the codes most sites give. Neither is on MTN Nigeria's website, which points you to the myMTN NG app and customer care on 300.
Start with *123#, MTN’s self-service menu, and read the options on the screen. It is the one number-check route we could find in MTN’s own words: a page on its old website said to reply 1 for My Tools, then 5 for Your Number. MTN Nigeria’s current website has no page on checking your number at all, so the menu may not look the same today.
We went through every page in MTN Nigeria’s sitemap, including all 67 Help Centre topics, looking for the codes websites commonly give for this. None of them is there, and we list them below so you know which ones you are taking on trust.
The *123# menu
MTN’s page on the menu, saved by the Internet Archive from 2011 until 2017, used fetching your phone number as its worked example:
- Dial *123# on the MTN line.
- Reply 1 for My Tools.
- Reply 5 for Your Number.
The same page said using the menu is free, that it works on prepaid and postpaid lines, and that a session closes after 90 seconds.
That page is gone. MTN’s current pages still send you into *123# for other jobs: *123*2# changes your tariff plan, and *123*7# followed by option 4 blocks a lost or stolen line. None of them says what sits under option 1 today. So read what is on your screen and do not trust anybody’s digits for the later steps, ours included.
*123# is a USSD menu, so it works on a button phone as well as a smartphone and needs no data connection. On an iPhone or an Android phone, type it into the Phone app’s keypad and press call.
If you are in the menu to change plan anyway, our guide to the best MTN tariff plan for calls covers which one to move to.
Codes that are not on MTN’s website
| Code | On MTN Nigeria’s website? |
|---|---|
| *123*1*1# | No. Other branches of *123# are there, such as *123*2# and *123*7#, but not this one |
| *663# | No |
| *123#, then “Account Info”, then “My Number” | The menu is MTN’s, but no current page names those options. MTN’s old page said 1 for My Tools, then 5 |
| 180, for customer care | No. MTN gives 300 |
| *133#, to send a call-me-back | No. It was on MTN’s old website |
| *785#, to link a NIN | No. MTN’s page gives *996*1# |
An earlier version of this page gave *123*1*1#, *663# and 180 and said you would not be charged. Some of these may still respond on your line. MTN does not publish them, so we make no promise either way. If one fails, or opens a menu you did not expect, go back to *123# or use the app.
The myMTN NG app
This is the self-service route MTN’s website does describe. MTN’s page for the app says you can check your SIM profile details in it, along with your airtime and data balance. The steps it gives:
- Download myMTN NG from Google Play or the App Store. It is free. MTN also says you can text myMTN to 5018 to get the link.
- Open the app and tap “Let’s get started”.
- Choose how to sign in: Apple, Google, Facebook or phone number.
- If you choose phone number, enter your MTN number, tap Continue, and type in the 6-digit code MTN sends to the line.
The phone number option asks for the very thing you are looking for, so pick one of the other three. MTN’s pages do not say on which screen the number appears, so look under your profile once you are in.
One more line from MTN helps here. Its page on wrong profile details says the app takes its information from the SIM that is set as the default for mobile data. Switch off Wi-Fi and use the MTN line’s own data when you open the app.
Customer care and a second phone
Call 300. That is the customer care number on MTN’s contact page, and the Nigerian Communications Commission made 300 the helpline code on every network. Call from the line you are asking about. MTN’s assistant, Zigi, is on WhatsApp at +234 903 300 0001 if you would sooner type.
Call a phone beside you. Your number shows on the screen of whoever you call, unless you have hidden it. MTN’s own Missed Call Alert page describes the alert as showing the caller’s number. A text message to that phone shows it as well. Either needs a little airtime. With none on the line, a call-me-back request is the free way to reach that second phone, though MTN’s current website no longer lists the code for it. We cover what its older pages said in call me back codes in Nigeria.
If you also carry an Airtel SIM, Airtel is the network that does publish a code for this. It is on our page about how to check your Airtel number.
On a new SIM
Do not look for the number on the pack. MTN’s prepaid terms say your phone number is only generated after the SIM is put into a phone. What MTN says is printed on the starter pack is the PUK, the eight-digit code that unlocks a SIM after three wrong PIN attempts.
So put the SIM in, register it at an MTN outlet with your NIN, and then use the menu or the app as above.
NIN codes and numbers linked to your NIN
MTN documents three codes, all on *996, which the NCC set as the shared NIN code for every network:
- *996*1#, then enter your NIN, to link it to the line you are dialling from. This is on MTN’s NIN linking page, which adds that any MTN store can do it for you.
- *996# to confirm that the SIM is linked.
- *996*3# to retrieve your NIN.
The NCC’s own FAQ also gives *996*NIN# as a direct way to submit the number. It still lists *785# for MTN. MTN’s website does not.
To see which MTN numbers are linked to your NIN, MTN points to the app again. Its guide to adding numbers in myMTN NG gives these steps:
- Log in and tap the floating action button.
- Select “Manage numbers”.
- Tap the plus icon.
MTN says phone numbers linked to the same NIN pop up there automatically, ready to add, and that you can add up to five other MTN numbers. This shows MTN lines only. Neither MTN’s website nor the NCC’s FAQ describes a code that lists every line registered to a NIN across all networks.
MTN also has a NIN Status Portal. Its help page describes three steps: enter your phone number, receive a one-time code, and read the result. MTN says it is free and that you can check as many of your own numbers as you can receive codes on.
Quick answers
What is the code to check my MTN number?
MTN Nigeria’s website gives none. *123# is its self-service menu, and MTN’s old page on it said to reply 1 for My Tools, then 5 for Your Number.
Does *123*1*1# or *663# show my MTN number?
Both are widely quoted, and neither is on MTN Nigeria’s website. They may work on your line, but MTN does not say so.
How do I check MTN numbers linked to my NIN?
In the myMTN NG app, tap the floating action button, choose “Manage numbers” and tap the plus icon. MTN says numbers linked to the same NIN appear there.
What is the MTN code for NIN?
*996*1# to link your NIN, *996# to confirm the link and *996*3# to retrieve your NIN. All three are on MTN’s own pages.
Can I find out who owns an MTN number?
MTN’s website offers no lookup by number. What it does have is WhoDeyCall, a paid service that shows the name of whoever is calling you. You join by dialling *4800#.
