Buy Maxis Hotlink 365 Validity When You’re Out of Malaysia (2026)

If you are one of those Malaysians living abroad who still holds on to a Maxis Hotlink prepaid line, you would know the annual struggle of keeping it alive. Whether it is for banking OTPs, government portal logins, or just having a Malaysian number that people can reach you on, the last thing you want is for the SIM to expire while you are overseas. I have been through this myself every year and the process has changed quite a bit since I first wrote about it. So here is the updated guide for 2026.

2026 Update: Another year, another round of update. It’s now my turn to find out that the old *100# approach is no longer a viable option. Read on to find out what works now!

What Has Changed

For those of you who followed the original guide on this site, the method back then was to get onto the legacy Hotlink Bagus plan and use the *100# USSD Easy Menu to purchase a 365-day validity add-on for RM33. That approach has unfortunately hit a dead end for two reasons.

Firstly, the Bagus plan no longer offers the 365-day validity add-on at all. Maxis has quietly removed it and there is no way to purchase it through that route anymore, regardless of whether you are in Malaysia or overseas.

Secondly, even if it were still available, the *100# USSD menu does not work reliably when you are on a roaming network overseas. I tried this myself and ran into issues navigating the menu from Singapore. The roaming network interferes with the USSD session and it just does not behave the way it used to. So even if you were lucky enough to still be on the Bagus plan, trying to renew via *100# from abroad is going to be a frustrating experience.

The good news is that Maxis now has a proper app-based approach through the myHotlink app that works perfectly fine whether you are in Singapore, Japan, or anywhere else in the world. And honestly, it is a lot more straightforward once you know where to look.

What You Will Need

Before you get started, make sure you have the following ready:

• The myHotlink app downloaded and installed on your phone
• Your Hotlink number logged in on the app
• At least RM32 in prepaid credit on your account. That is RM2 for the plan change fee and RM30 for the 365-day SIM active pass
• The MyDigitalID app installed and ready, in case you have not verified your number yet

Switching to the Pantas Plan

The first thing you need to do is switch your line over to the Pantas Plan. This is the plan that gives you access to the 365-day SIM active pass, so you cannot skip this step if you are still on an older plan like Hotlink Red or the legacy Bagus plan.

Open the myHotlink app and head to the myHotlink tab at the bottom right of the screen.

Under the Account section, tap on Hotlink Red (or whatever your current plan is listed as). This will bring you to your plan details page.

From there, tap on Change Plan. You will see a screen showing all the available plans for your number.

Select the Pantas Plan, which is marked as Best Selling. It is a Pasti Mampu Uncapped Speed Plan and the key feature we care about here is that it comes with up to 365 days of internet validity and 30 SIM-active days with every reload of RM10 and above. That is exactly what we need to keep the line alive for another year.

Tap Get This Plan and a confirmation screen will pop up. Do take note of a couple of things here. There is a RM2.00 fee for the plan change. On top of that, any existing domestic internet passes you have will be terminated upon switching, and your active days will be reset to 30 days. It is a bit of a sting if you have active passes, but if your main goal is to extend the SIM validity, this is worth it. Tap Confirm to proceed.

You will get a confirmation screen saying the Pantas Plan purchase has been submitted.

Shortly after, you will receive an SMS from 80200 HLINK confirming that your Internet Pass is now active.

Purchasing the 365-Day SIM Active Pass

Now that you are on the Pantas Plan, it is time to buy the actual 365-day pass. Go back to the home screen of the myHotlink app.

Tap on Internet at the bottom navigation bar and then go to the Others tab. Scroll down and you will see a section called Hot Deals. In there, you will find the 365 days SIM active period pass priced at RM30. Go ahead and purchase that.

Once the purchase goes through, your credit balance will be updated with a new expiry date. In my case, my account is now valid until 10 March 2027. That is another full year sorted without needing to step foot in Malaysia.

Verifying Your Number with MyDigitalID

This is a step that some of you may have already done, but it is worth highlighting here. Maxis now requires all prepaid numbers to be verified through MyDigitalID, which is Malaysia’s national digital identity app. If your number is not yet verified, you may start running into restrictions on your account down the line.

To do this, go back to the myHotlink tab in the app and tap on Prepaid Verification with MyDigitalID. Follow the steps to link your IC number to your Hotlink line. Once it is done, your number will show as Verified and you will also be able to see that it is registered under the Hotlink Pantas plan.

That is It!

So to summarise, the *100# USSD method is no longer the way to go. The whole process is now done through the myHotlink app and it works fine from overseas. Here is a quick recap of what you need to do:

1. Switch to the Pantas Plan via the myHotlink app (RM2 plan change fee)
2. Purchase the 365-day SIM active pass under Internet > Others (RM30)
3. Verify your number with MyDigitalID if you have not done so already

Total cost is RM32 to keep your Malaysian number alive for another year. Not too bad considering what it would cost if you had to fly back just to sort this out.

If you found this helpful or if something has changed again since this was written, do let me know in the comments below!