How to block irritating marketing spam calls, activate Do Not Disturb (DND) on Jio, Airtel, Vi

Are you fed up with repeated spam or pesky telemarketing calls that keep troubling throughout the day even during busy periods? Despite several measures by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in past few years, the problem of pesky telemarketing calls and messages has remained as it is.

Recently, the regulator asked telcos to block all unverified headers and message templates within 30 and 60 days respectively. It is also planning to launch a digital consent authorisation (DCA) platform in the next two-three months to accelerate the process of getting consumer consent to stem pesky calls and messages.

The effectiveness of the new measure will be tested in the near future, meanwhile you can yourself follow some easy steps to stop telemarketers disturbing you.


Activate Do Not Disturb (DND) on your number:
You can block all telemarketing, promotional or spam messages and calls by activating DND on your number. Here is the step by step process to activate DND on your number:

• Open default Messaging app on your phone.
• Create a new message
• Type FULLY BLOCK in capital letters
• Send it to toll-free number 1909.

This will block all the telemarketing spam calls and messages on your number.

Additionally, use the below-mentioned codes to restrict calls from a certain category, such as real estate, education, health, etc.

• FULLY BLOCK for All Categories
• BLOCK 1 for Banking/Insurance/Credit cards/Financial products
• BLOCK 2 for Real Estate
• BLOCK 3 for Education-Related Spams
• BLOCK 4 for Health
• BLOCK 5 for Consumer goods/automobiles/Entertainment/IT
• BLOCK 6 for Communication/Broadcasting
• BLOCK 7 for Tourism and Leisure
• BLOCK 8 for Food and Beverages

Send these codes to 1909 to block unwanted calls from these sectors.

Register DND on your service provide: Jio, Airtel, Vi

You can also register for DND on the dedicated service apps from your telecom operators.

How to activate DND on Jio:

• Open MyJio app on your phone.
• Tap on Menu.
• Select 'Profile & other Settings' option.
• Click on 'Do not Disturb'
• Tap 'Set Preference'
• Choose a preference
• Submit request to block marketing calls and messages.

How to activate DND on Airtel:

• Open Airtel Thanks app.
• Tap on 'More' bottom.
• Select Manage Services section
• Tap on 'Activate/Deactivate DND'.
• Select the spam categories you wish to block
• Click submit.

How to activate DND on Vodafone-Idea

• Open Vi app
• Tap on My Account.
• Open 'More Services' section.
• Tap on "Do Not Disturb (DND)".
• Select from the available options (Full DND, Block Promotions, Partial DND)
• Tap on Activate to block unwanted telemarketing calls and SMS.