Code for Loading Airtel Card: *311*PIN# Replaced *126*PIN#

If *126*PIN# keeps failing on your Airtel line, switch to *311*PIN#. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave every network until 17 May 2023 to move to one shared set of short codes. Since then, *311# has been the code for loading Airtel card PINs, and MTN, Glo and T2 use it too.

Any guide still giving *126* is out of date.

The code for loading Airtel card changed in May 2023

Card in one hand, phone in the other. Then:

1. Scratch the silver panel gently with a coin, or pick up the printed e-PIN slip.
2. Count the digits. There should be 16.
3. Open the dialler on the Airtel line you're topping up.
4. Type *311*, then the PIN with no spaces, then #. Like this: *311*1234567890123456#
5. Press call and wait for the confirmation message.
6. Dial *310# to see your new balance.

Type the PIN four digits at a time, glancing back at the card after each block. Slow? A bit. But one slow, careful dial still beats two quick wrong ones, especially at night when the kiosk that sold you the card has shut and there's nobody left to ask.

Airtel cards used to load with *126*PIN#

For years, *126*PIN# was simply how Airtel users topped up. Then the switch came. Old and new codes ran side by side during the move, and the old ones were meant to stop once each network had finished changing over. Airtel was slowest on recharge. A day after the deadline, every new Airtel code worked except *311#, so *126* hung on longer there than anywhere else, and that lag is why both codes still float around online today.

Does *126* still go through on your line? Treat it as a leftover. Leftovers get switched off without warning.

Your other Airtel codes moved too. Because these are the NCC's shared codes, anyone carrying a second SIM on MTN or Glo can dial the very same numbers there.

What you want to do	Code on Airtel now
Load a recharge card	*311*PIN#
Check airtime balance	*310#
Buy data	*312#
Check data balance	*323#
Share airtime or data	*321#
Borrow airtime or data	*303#
Stop a subscription	*305#

MiFi SIMs and other people's lines need an extra step

Any Airtel SIM can take a card, including the one inside your MiFi or home router. Routers can't dial, though. Pop the SIM into a phone, load the card there, and put it back once the airtime lands. Check the balance with *310# while the SIM is still in the phone, so you know the load worked before the router goes back on the shelf and starts eating data again.

Loading for someone else is trickier. *311*PIN# only tops up the line you dial from, so send the PIN to the other person and let them dial it on their own phone. Your sister stuck at a bus stop with zero airtime doesn't need the card itself, just the digits on WhatsApp. Another option is moving airtime from your own line with Airtel's share service on *321#, and the full list of Airtel USSD codes covers those transfer steps.

Bank and app top-ups skip the card entirely

None of this touches bank apps, your bank's USSD menu or bill-payment apps. Nothing to scratch. Nothing to mistype. On AidaPay, one Airtel top-up can be anything from ₦50 to ₦10,000. Every purchase earns 0.9% cashback. Topping up another person's line this way needs nothing more than their Airtel number, typed once and checked once before you pay.

Prices as at 25 October 2026

Airtel airtime	You pay	Cashback back to you
Airtel ₦500 top-up	₦500	₦4.50
Airtel ₦1,000 top-up	₦1,000	₦9
Airtel ₦5,000 top-up	₦5,000	₦45
Airtel ₦10,000 top-up (the maximum)	₦10,000	₦90

A card that won't load usually tells you why

Read the reply on your screen before you redial, because the exact wording of that message tells you whether the fault sits with the card, with your phone or with the network signal. "Invalid PIN" almost always means a typo, so go through the digits again in blocks of four and try once more. "PIN already used" is different. Your phone is fine. The card is the problem, so keep it with the receipt and take both back to the seller who sold it to you. "Connection problem or invalid MMI code" points to signal or typing rather than the card, which means restarting the phone, waiting a few minutes and dialling again with no spaces anywhere usually sorts it out.

Same error twice? Don't keep redialling.

Airtel customer care, on the number listed at airtel.com.ng, can check whether the PIN was ever valid, and so can the seller with the card and receipt in hand.

Next time, save *311* as a contact so the prefix is ready to go. Or drop scratch cards altogether and buy Airtel airtime online from ₦50, for your own line or anyone else's.

Frequently asked questions

Published 25 October 2026. Prices and codes change - if you spot one that has moved, tell us and we will fix it.