Call Barring? How to restore your blocked MTN, Vodafone, etc SIM

By Shepherd Yaw Morttey Last updated Sep 9, 2022

Many Ghanaians have reported that they cannot make phone calls simply because their numbers have been blocked or barred from making calls. We explore the solutions available to enable such people to continue to enjoy call and data services.

If you have no network at all, you can just restart your phone and you should be able to receive phone calls.

First, this has to do with the ongoing SIM Registration exercise and is unrelated to phone settings or network problems.

If you cannot make phone calls because it does not connect or says “call barred,” your Network Provider, e.g., MTN, could have disabled your SIM from making calls. Some people could still receive calls and use data services when this happens.

This morning, 9th September 2022, a lot more people are complaining that their SIM cards are even now unable to connect to the internet. If you are one of such people with a blocked SIM, you most likely can not do the following:

Make and receive phone calls ( Update: Phone calls seem to come through now)
Send and receive SMS
Access Mobile Money and other USSD functions
Use Mobile Data
Use the MTN App (because you can’t receive SMS)

So how can you unblock your SIM Card under this circumstance? Let’s look at some options.

How to unblock MTN, Vodafone or AirtelTigo SIM

There are a few things you can do to unblock your SIM. MTN and the other Telcos will likely restore the SIM Cards and later block them again. But the best thing would be to make sure that it doesn’t happen to you again.

Here are steps you can take to unblock your Ghana SIM Card

Re-register your SIM Card with your Ghana Card

Registering your SIM Card is the most obvious solution. If you have not done the first part of the registration, now that your SIM Card is blocked, you will not be able to do it.

You can follow the registration steps when available to register your SIM Card fully. You can also try using the SIM Registration app, although it has not worked correctly for me since it launched.

Visit the Telco Office

There is some group of people who have successfully gone through the registration process but still have their calls barred. All those who have registered but still had their SIM cards blocked will have to visit their Telco’s office to solve the problem.

Conclusion

The blocking or call barring resulting from telcos blocking can only be solved if the Telcos and the NCA “relax” for those who are yet to register their SIM cards. Some Ghanaians are also planning a class action lawsuit, and if you have been affected and want to join them, you can fill out this form: https://forms.gle/TyMsAGSckcanQzmj8.