Sending STOP to 2442 from your phone switches on full Do-Not-Disturb (DND), which the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says blocks unsolicited SMS and calls on your line, and it costs nothing. The commission’s DND guide on its consumer portal, published in March 2026, says the service comes “at no additional cost”, so the promo messages and calls landing on your line are something you can switch off with one text.
The NCC told the networks to switch on 2442 back in 2016
According to the NCC, it directed mobile network operators to integrate the DND service effective from 1 July 2016, to protect subscribers from unsolicited messages. The commission ties it to the consumer’s right to choose under the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007, and it directed the operators to run the service on the short code 2442.
Under full DND, the NCC says a subscriber “should not receive any unsolicited message from the mobile network operators.” That’s the setting to pick if you’d rather not get any promotional texts or calls on that line at all.
Not ready to block everything? Partial DND lets you choose
If some of those messages are useful to you, text HELP to 2442 and reply with the number of the category you still want to receive. The NCC lists 11 categories, which are banking, insurance and financial products (1), real estate (2), education (3), health (4), consumer goods and automobiles (5), communication, broadcasting, entertainment and IT (6), tourism and leisure (7), sports (8), religion (9), information on new products and services from your network (10), and news alerts (11).
Text STATUS to 2442 whenever you want to see what’s currently active on your line. If you notice anything you still want going missing after you switch on DND, text ALLOW to 2442 to opt out completely, then try partial DND instead.
Airtime still disappearing? Look at *305# next
DND and value-added services (VAS) aren’t the same thing. The NCC describes *305# as the unified USSD code for managing VAS, and it lets you view the subscriptions on your line and deactivate the ones you don’t want. So if you’ve already blocked the promo texts but airtime is still going on services you don’t remember signing up for, dial *305# and check what you’re subscribed to.
It’s one of a handful of short codes that put control back in your hands, alongside the *315# device checker the NCC is now using and the *565*0# code for checking your BVN.
If the calls and texts keep coming, report your network first
The NCC says the first place to take a network-related complaint is your own service provider. If your network doesn’t resolve it to your satisfaction, you can escalate to the commission by calling its toll-free line, 622, using the NCC consumer portal, reaching out on its official social media handles or visiting any NCC zonal office. The Consumer Affairs Bureau can also be reached at [email protected] or on +234 209 461 7000.
DND is built to stop unsolicited marketing, and nothing on the NCC’s DND pages says it will filter out scammers. A stranger sending you a strange link or asking for a code is a different problem, so stay alert to tricks like the “I sent you a code by mistake” WhatsApp message, and never share an OTP with anyone.
Switching it on takes one text, and you can undo it just as easily. If promo messages are eating into your day, send STOP to 2442 now, then text STATUS to the same number to confirm what’s active on your line.
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