How to Load Glo Recharge Card: Dial *311*PIN#, Not *123*

To load a Glo card, scratch the panel and dial *311*PIN# from your Glo line. The old code is gone.

Glo dropped its old *123*PIN# code once the NCC's harmonised short codes took full effect on 17 May 2023. Plenty of guides still print the old one, though, so if you've been searching how to load Glo recharge card airtime and keep getting different answers, go with *311*.

How to load Glo recharge card PINs with *311*

Under that change, the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) gave every network one shared set of short codes. So the same *311*PIN# loads a card on MTN, Airtel and T2 as well, and you won't have to relearn anything when you change SIMs.

1. Scratch the silver panel gently with a coin.
2. Open the dialler and pick your Glo SIM.
3. Type *311*, then the PIN, then #.
4. Press call and wait for the confirmation message.

Glo PINs are 15 digits long. Glo prints them on the card in small groups to help your eyes, but you type them as one unbroken run with no spaces or dashes, then finish with the #.

Got "invalid PIN"? Don't hammer redial.

Glo used *123*PIN# until May 2023

For years, *123*PIN# loaded a Glo card. Balance checks ran on *124#. Habits stuck. Older guides never updated them, which is why people who learnt the codes long ago still dial *123* and then wait for airtime that doesn't come.

Dialled the old code by mistake? Keep the card. The old code won't have credited anything, so load the same PIN again with *311*PIN# and count the card as unused until the airtime lands.

Old and new Glo codes, as at 8 November 2026:

What you want to do	Old Glo code	Code to use now
Load a recharge card	*123*PIN#	*311*PIN#
Check airtime balance	*124#	*310# or #124*1#
Call customer care from a Glo line	121	300

Data, sharing and borrowing codes are in our full list of Glo USSD codes.

Only scratch-card users need the new code

If you top up through bank apps, your bank's USSD menu or online airtime services, nothing changes for you. Nobody types a PIN there. Airtime goes straight to whatever number you pick, and the code change won't touch you at all if that's already how you usually top up. Physical cards are different, and a dual-SIM phone adds one more way to get it wrong.

Check which SIM is dialling

Most dual-SIM phones dial from whichever SIM is set as default. Look at the SIM label on the dial screen before you press call. A Glo PIN sent from your other network's SIM won't credit your Glo line, and your balance will sit exactly where it was while you wonder what went wrong.

Recharging someone else's Glo line

With a card, the simplest route is to text the PIN to the person whose line needs airtime, and let them dial *311*PIN# on their own Glo phone. Read it back first. One wrong digit means a long, patient call about stars and hashes that neither of you wanted, especially if their network is weak that evening. Sending airtime online straight to their number skips the whole thing.

A failed PIN is usually one small slip

Start with the digits. After a hard scratch, an eight can pass for a three, so hold the card under a light and read the PIN again slowly, digit by digit. Then make sure you typed the PIN and not the serial number. Easy mistake. The serial sits outside the scratch panel, and it won't load airtime however many times you dial it.

Each PIN works only once. Full stop. A card somebody already loaded, whether a sibling at home or the seller at the kiosk testing it, will fail every single time you dial it, however carefully you type the digits. A wrong SIM, a missing star or a dropped closing # will fail too.

If you scratched too hard and a digit is simply gone, don't guess at it. Keep the card, with the serial number still readable, and call Glo on 300 from a Glo line. Prepaid customers calling from another network can use +2348050020121. Have the card in your hand when the agent picks up, because they'll ask for the serial.

Once a recharge goes through, dial *310# or #124*1# on your Glo line. That's it.

What to do with your next card

Save *311*PIN# in your phone notes today.

Tell whoever at home still dials the old code. And hold on to each used card until the airtime shows on your balance, because a complaint needs the PIN or serial.

Or skip the card entirely. AidaPay lets you buy Glo airtime online without a scratch card for anything from ₦50 to ₦10,000. Every top-up earns 3.5% cashback. A ₦1,000 card gives you ₦1,000 of airtime and nothing more. The same ₦1,000 bought online sends ₦35 back to you, with no panel to scratch and no PIN to squint at under the bulb.

If a card is stuck right now, run the checks above, and call 300 only if the PIN still won't load.

Frequently asked questions

Published 8 November 2026. Prices and codes change - if you spot one that has moved, tell us and we will fix it.