Rushing before the SIM is locked in one direction
In the early days of June 2026, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh's phone (Ha Dong ward, Hanoi) continuously received messages from the network operator with the content: "Urgent! Your *** subscriber will be temporarily suspended from one-way service from June 15, 2026 if the information is not verified according to Circular 01 of the Ministry of Science and Technology". The notice also guides him to access the VNeID application to confirm that the subscriber is using or downloading the network operator application.
Actually, I was also subjective - Mr. Thanh said - after checking, I discovered that this SIM was in my mother's own name, also the second SIM I used, so I rarely paid attention. Fortunately, it was a relative, so verification was also simple, but if it was someone else's, it would be worrying.
Cases like Mr. Thanh are not uncommon. Circular No. 08/2026/TT-BKHCN requires information verification from mid-April 2026, but up to now, there are still millions of unverified subscribers.
According to published information, as of June 13, VinaPhone still has 3 million unverified subscribers, this number for Viettel is 5 million, accounting for 10% of the network's subscribers. According to Viettel, the majority are elderly people and people in remote and isolated areas.
Before the time when unverified subscribers will be one-way locked, network operators continuously notify and organize information verification for people at transaction points.
According to Lao Dong reporters' records on Sunday, June 14, many people took advantage of going to network operator transaction points to carry out procedures, avoiding the risk of being locked subscribers.
At some transaction stores of network operators in Hanoi, for example, at Viettel's transaction office at No. 10 Nguyen Phong Sac street (Cau Giay ward, Hanoi), the number of customers coming to carry out subscriber information verification procedures has increased significantly. At Viettel's transaction point in Cau Giay ward, from the early morning, many customers were waiting for their turn to carry out procedures. Most of these came to verify biometrics or update subscriber information.
Transaction staff continuously guide, streamline customers and support cases that encounter difficulties when performing procedures on the phone application. Many customers said that they had tried online biometric authentication but failed because the application reported an error or the connection process was interrupted. Ms. Tran Hue living in Cau Giay shared that she had operated on the network operator's application many times, but the system continuously reported errors in the face authentication step. Concerned that slow completion of procedures could affect service use, she decided to go directly to the store for support. Less than 10 minutes later, all procedures were completed.
At VinaPhone's transaction point at 138 Trung Kinh street (Yen Hoa ward, Hanoi), customers who came to complete procedures on the morning of June 14 all had a common purpose of biometric authentication before the prescribed time limit. Ms. Nguyen My said that she came to the store with her daughter to carry out the procedure to convert subscriber information. "Previously, my daughter's phone number was registered with my citizen identification card. After receiving notification about standardizing subscriber information, I went to the store to carry out procedures to transfer ownership" - Ms. My said.
Ensuring customer rights
According to the Telecommunications Authority (Ministry of Science and Technology), in the process of reviewing subscribers in the past, many people were surprised to discover that the phone number they are actually using is in someone else's name. This is a fairly common situation for SIMs registered many years ago. There are cases where parents buy SIMs for their children to use, couples share registration information or relatives stand out to carry out procedures when buying SIMs. Due to stable use for a long time, many people almost forget who is the new subscriber owner on the system.
According to the Telecommunications Authority, users should check their subscriber information before paying attention to the next steps of processing.
If the phone number being used appears on your own VNeID and is confirmed as "Using", then basically no additional procedures related to confirming the subscriber status arise. Conversely, if the SIM is in someone else's name, users should proactively review it to avoid future problems.
Also according to the Telecommunications Authority, for phone numbers that are being used for a long time and attached to banks, e-wallets or important digital services, users can consider transferring usage rights to the right actual users. Synchronization between subscribers and users will help limit risks arising when information verification or related procedures are required in the future.
According to regulations, for regular subscribers, if they do not complete authentication before June 15, they will be one-way locked (call direction and sending message). After 60 days from the time of being one-way locked and still not authenticated, the subscriber will continue to be two-way locked.
Notably, for subscribers who change end-to-end devices, if they do not re-verify according to regulations, the subscriber will be one-way locked after 2 hours. After 30 days from the time of one-way locking but still not verified, the subscriber will be two-way locked.
For subscribers who are refused by their owners to use the VNeID application, users have 5 days to re-verify. If this period expires without verification, the subscriber will be one-way locked. After 60 days from the date of one-way locking, the subscriber will be two-way locked.
For all 3 cases, if authentication is not completed within 5 days from the time of two-way locking, the subscriber number will be revoked and the contract for providing and using telecommunications services will be terminated according to regulations.
Along with the efforts of network operators, consumers should also proactively grasp information and quickly implement authentication updates to protect their own rights, both protecting rights and contributing to cleaning up the information market.
