mAadhaar App Setup 2026

Reviewed on 2026-06-20 by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak.

This guide walks you through the screens in the order they actually appear. Keep your phone in front of you. Each step below names the button or field you will see on screen, so you can match it tap by tap. The whole setup takes about five minutes if your mobile number is already linked to your Aadhaar.

mAadhaar will only register your profile if the OTP can reach the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar. So the single most important question is: does your current SIM still match the number in your Aadhaar record? If you have changed numbers and not updated it, the OTP screen will simply never let you through. Fix that first at an Aadhaar centre, then come back to this app.

You will also set a 4-digit PIN that locks the app. Pick something you can remember but a stranger cannot guess. This is different from your e-Aadhaar PDF password, which is the first four letters of your name in capitals plus your birth year, for example SURE1990.

Open the Play Store on Android or the App Store on iPhone and search for mAadhaar. The genuine listing shows the developer as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Look for that publisher name before you tap Install. Several copycat apps use a similar icon, so the publisher line is your proof you have the right one. The app is free; you never pay to install it or to download your Aadhaar.

When it opens the first time, choose your language. The app speaks English and about a dozen Indian languages, so pick the one you read most comfortably. You can change it later from the settings gear.

On first launch the app asks you to create a 4-digit PIN (some screens call it a password). Type it once, then type it again to confirm. This PIN unlocks the app every time you open it, so your Aadhaar stays private even if someone picks up your phone. Note it down somewhere safe that is not your phone.

From the main dashboard, tap Register Aadhaar at the top. Now you fill in three things on this screen:

1. Your 12-digit Aadhaar number (or scan your card QR if the option shows).
2. The captcha characters exactly as displayed.
3. Then tap Request OTP.

An OTP travels to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar. Enter it in the next box and tap Submit. If the code is correct, the app builds your profile and shows your name, photo and demographic details. That profile is now your digital Aadhaar and is accepted as valid ID proof. You can read more on what the card carries in our Aadhaar PVC card guide.

Wait a full minute and tap resend once. If it still does not come, your number is either out of network range or no longer linked to your Aadhaar. A weak signal is fixable by moving to better coverage. An unlinked number is not: you must update your mobile number at an Aadhaar enrolment centre and then register again.

Figure: step-by-step flow. If a step stalls, use the grievance or RTI route shown.

You do not need a separate phone for each person. From the dashboard you can add more than one profile on the same device, so a parent can hold the profiles of children or elders. Each profile still needs its own registered mobile number to receive its own OTP. The app may cap how many profiles sit on one phone, so verify the current limit on uidai.gov.in if you are adding several.

Once registered, your profile shows a secure QR code. A shop, hotel or office can scan it to verify your identity without you handing over a photocopy. The app can also generate Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC, a digitally signed XML that a service provider can read and confirm as genuine because it carries the UIDAI digital signature. This keeps your full Aadhaar number out of strangers' files.

Instead of sharing your real Aadhaar number, you can create a temporary 16-digit Virtual ID from the app and quote that for verification. Our Aadhaar Virtual ID guide explains when a VID is safer than the number itself.

The app lets you lock and unlock your fingerprints and iris. With biometrics locked, nobody can run a biometric authentication against your Aadhaar until you unlock it for a short window. This is the simplest defence against silent misuse, and our biometric lock and unlock guide shows the toggle step by step.

The app also shows a rotating TOTP, a time-based one-time password. When the UIDAI website asks for an OTP and your SMS is not arriving, read the TOTP from the app instead. It refreshes every few seconds, so use it quickly.

If registration fails again and again, the OTP loops forever, or the app crashes on a particular screen, do not keep retrying blindly. Note the exact error and reach UIDAI: call the toll free helpline 1947, which runs round the clock for self-service and has agents available daily during published hours, or email [email protected]. Keep your EID, URN or SRN handy so they can trace your record fast.

If the helpline does not resolve it, lodge a written grievance on the UIDAI web portal or through CPGRAMS, both available all day. And if a public authority is sitting on your Aadhaar update or refuses to act, you can file an RTI to ask the status of your request in writing. To check whether your details actually went through, our Aadhaar authentication history guide shows how to read every recent use of your number.

Yes. Installing the app and using it to download your Aadhaar, generate a VID or share your QR costs nothing. UIDAI never charges for these online services, so any app or person demanding a fee for them is not official.

Yes, and there is no way around it. The profile is created only after you enter the OTP sent to the mobile number in your Aadhaar record. If that number has changed, update it at an Aadhaar centre first, then register in the app.

The 4-digit app PIN is one you choose to unlock mAadhaar. The e-Aadhaar PDF password is fixed by UIDAI: the first four letters of your name in capitals followed by your year of birth, such as SURE1990.

Yes. You can add more than one profile on the same device, which helps a parent hold children's or elders' Aadhaar. Each profile needs its own registered mobile number for its OTP. Check the current profile limit on uidai.gov.in if you plan to add several.

A registered mAadhaar profile is accepted as a valid identity proof, the same as a printed Aadhaar. You can show the profile or let the verifier scan your secure QR code.

TOTP is a time-based one-time password the app generates on its own. Use it on the UIDAI website in place of an SMS OTP when your SMS is delayed or not arriving. It changes every few seconds, so enter it quickly.

First confirm the SIM in your phone is the number linked to your Aadhaar and that you have signal. If it still fails, call 1947 or email [email protected] with your EID handy, then escalate to the UIDAI web grievance portal or CPGRAMS if needed.

• https://uidai.gov.in/en/my-aadhaar/avail-aadhaar-services.html
• https://www.uidai.gov.in/en/283-faqs/aadhaar-online-services/e-aadhaar/1891-what-is-the-password-of-e-aadhaar.html
• https://uidai.gov.in/en/307-faqs/aadhaar-online-services/aadhaar-paperless-offline-e-kyc/10726-what-is-aadhaar-paperless-offline-e-kyc.html
• https://uidai.gov.in/en/contact-support/grievance-redressal.html
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.gov.uidai.mAadhaarPlus

The UMANG app guide covers another government app you can pair with mAadhaar for EPFO and other services.