Vi or Vodafone Idea is a renowned Indian telecommunications provider that, like any other, offers mobile services, making PUK (Personal Unlock Key) unavoidable. In case you need it, we’ll remind you what PUK, sometimes called PUC (Personal Unblocking Code), is. It’s usually an 8-digit number that can unblock and reset a 4 to 8 digit PIN (Personal Identification Number). This situation occurs frequently when SIM card users forget or lose their PIN. Thus, PUC is a pivotal part of being a mobile carrier user. It’s also unique to every mobile service provider, making it more significant. With that said, let’s demonstrate how to find PUK code for Vi.
Note. Be careful when calling supposed toll-free numbers. Requests like this attract impersonators that can use the PUK code to gain access to your Vi account and abuse your identity.
1. Look for PUK within the SIM card packet/email Vi provided
Our guides and common sense suggest you should check the package the Vi SIM card came in first. However, that’s a risk the carrier is not willing to take, especially on prepaid SIM. The package comes without PIN (Personal Identification Number) and PUK printed underneath silver foil you need to scratch. However, they might have emailed you or printed the PUK on the documents. Thus, check everything you got from a Vi representative, whether the one that delivered SIM to your doorstep or sold it at the store.
2. Find a PUK number for Vi using USSD
If your search for documents came up empty, don’t fret. For security purposes, Vi has two direct methods of acquiring a PUK. The first involves utilizing USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). This is great news since you don’t have to meet working hours, use the Internet, or talk to anyone. Follow these steps to find the PUK code for your Vi SIM card:
- Insert the SIM into your phone and boot it to the home screen.
- Open the calling app, dial *199#, and press Call.
- You’ll now see your MSISDN, main balance, and validity. Below that are several options. Choose the third option (“Manage Account”) by dialing 3 and pressing Done.
- Now you get a few more options. Select the sixth one (“PUK Number”) by entering 6 and selecting Done.
- Enter your Vi SIM card phone number.
- After a brief scan, Vi might ask you to enter the year of birth belonging to the registered user of the SIM card.
- You’ll now see an on-screen message stating, “Dear Customer PUK for your number is XXXXXXXX”.
Note. You can also skip all these steps to get to the message from step 5 by dialing *199*3*6#. Moreover, many users claim to have gotten their PUK by dialing *111# and choosing options 3, then 8. Alternatively, you can try calling *111*3*8#. We can’t vouch for the latter, since the former always worked perfectly.
3. Find the PUK Code Vi assigned to SIM card via IVR
The second official method of getting the PUK associated with your Vi SIM card involves using IVR (interactive voice response). This is ideal for those who are uncomfortable using USSD codes or run into an error. All you have to do is:
- Open your default dialing app and call 198 or 199.
- You’ll now hear the voice machine repeating several available options. Though these numbers change occasionally, we had to press 4 on our device to proceed.
- IVR then instructed us to dial 3.
- We now dialed 2 and were asked to enter our Vi phone number.
- We entered the birth year of the user corresponding with the phone number. Our 8-digit Vi PUK was shown on-screen.
4. Contact Vi Customer Support
As usual, so long as you can prove your identity, the Vi Customer Service representative can pull up your account information. This is ideal when your device malfunctions or you don’t feel tech-savvy enough. Here are three ways to reach out to Vi Customer Care:
- Live chat: Head over to the Vi Help and Support page and click the live chat icon in the bottom right corner. This feature is available 24×7.
- E-mail: Forward a message to [email protected]. Don’t provide any personal details until a representative asks. However, mention you can right off the bat.
- WhatsApp: Add “Vi Care” on WhatsApp via their number, 919654297000.