How to Activate National Do Not Disturb (TRAI DND)

Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), commonly known as spam telemarketing calls and promotional SMS, is one of the biggest grievances of mobile users in India. To combat this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) established the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR), previously known as the DND registry.

Full DND vs. Partial DND

You can choose to block all commercial communications or selectively block certain categories:

Fully Blocked (Recommended): Stops ALL promotional calls and SMS across all categories.
Partially Blocked: Allows you to receive promotions from specific categories (like Banking, Real Estate, or Education) while blocking the rest.

Method 1: Universal SMS Activation (Works on All Networks)

The simplest way to activate DND is by sending a toll-free SMS to 1909 from the mobile number you wish to protect.

Open your phone's SMS app.
To activate Full DND, type: START 0 and send it to 1909.
If you want to activate Partial DND, use the corresponding category number (e.g., START 1 for Banking, START 2 for Real Estate).
You will receive a confirmation SMS with a unique registration number. Save this message for future reference.

Method 2: Using Carrier Apps

Managing DND preferences is much more intuitive through your specific operator's self-care application:

Airtel Thanks App

Open the Airtel Thanks app. Tap on the Profile icon at the top left > Settings > Network & Broadband > Do Not Disturb (DND). Select 'Block All' and submit.

MyJio App

Open MyJio and tap the Hamburger Menu (three lines). Go to Settings > Profile & Other Settings > Do Not Disturb. Toggle the switch to "Fully Blocked" and save.

Vi App

Open the Vi app and navigate to My Account. Scroll down and tap on Do Not Disturb (DND). Choose "Full DND" and confirm your request.

Important Note: Activating DND will NOT block transaction and service messages. You will still safely receive OTPs, bank alerts, flight updates, and delivery notifications. Please allow up to 7 days for the DND status to fully reflect across all registered telemarketer databases.

Reporting Spammers

If you continue to receive spam 7 days after activating DND, you can report the offending number. Send an SMS to 1909 in this exact format: "The Unsolicited Message or Call Description, XXXXXXXXXX, dd/mm/yy" where XXXXXXXXXX is the spammer's number.