Currently, no other operators are offering true unlimited high-speed data services and calls in a single pack, most of them are having limited information on the offer. So we decided to bring a detailed report on Jio preview offer with some frequently asked questions to help those people who are interested in Jio services.
Under early access preview offer, Jio is offering free sim cards with LYF smartphone purchase through its sister unit Reliance Digital, Digital mini & partner LYF smartphone dealers. When the offer was launched two months back, it required an invite from Jio employees, but now the process is invite free & you can easily purchase a LYF smartphone without an invite to get early access to Jio networks with Unlimited 4G benefits.
Reliance Jio has also extended JPO to some high-end & mid-range Samsung smartphones as well to tap high ARPU & 4G customers before their commercial launch. The step would also help the operator to gain more beta testers. The offer which comes with LYF devices credits automatically but you have to follow some steps if you have generated a code using a Samsung device.
PART A – Jio SIM Verification
- Download the MyJio app on your Samsung device
- If using an eligible handset, you will see a banner with “Get Jio SIM” button
- You can generate a barcode after clicking the above said button.
- You will have to visit a Reliance digital store to show the barcode and collect a Jio 4G SIM
- Now insert your Jio 4G SIM in an eligible phone and complete tele-verification to activate Jio SIM
- Post tele-verification, you will get 2 GB data by default
PART B – Jio unlimited 4G Offer Activation
- Open MyJio app
- Click on “Avail offer” Banner
- Click on Submit to install 4 Jio apps and activate Unlimited plan for 90 days.
3. What are the actual benefits & are there any data caps or limits?
Any Jio SIM, which comes with Preview offer, offers Unlimited voice, video calls & true unlimited 4G data. Also, there are many Jio apps from Jio app store where you can enjoy services like HD live TV from popular English, Hindi & regional channels through Jio play; On-demand movies for popular chart busters from Jio On Demand; music streaming to enjoy unlimited music on the go with Jio Beats. All these benefits come along with the unlimited data plan so you can enjoy limitless entertainment on the go.
4. What’s the validity of Jio Unlimited benefits?
Under the preview access offer, Jio is offering all those contents & free 4G data, unlimited voice calls within the country for 90 days.
5. What will happen once preview offer expires?
After the unlimited offer expiration, your SIM would be active & till Jio launches commercially, you can top up your account with data & calling min from My Jio app or by visiting Reliance Digital stores with zero charges. So literally, Jio services & data, calls are free until they announce commercial roll out of services.
6. What would be the market data rates for Jio?
Jio can handle much more data through its all-IP networks than other operators present in the market & as Jio is a new operator which has a target to achieve 10 crore customers in next two years so to achieve that they would offer data & voice packs at comparatively cheap rates & could bundle complimentary access to Jio apps. So we can assume that Jio would be the most value for money 4G operator.
7. Is the Jio SIM card locked to a single handset?
Yes, the SIM cards which are available through LYF smartphone purchase are locked to the device. So you have to use the SIM card in the device to get unlimited data, calling & Jio app contents. If you put that SIM into another different 4G phone, you wouldn’t be able to use the unlimited benefits. However, the same does not apply to sims which are under partner preview offer with devices like Samsung, these sims can be used with any 4G handset after the preview offer is credited.
8. How could we use the LYF SIM card on other 4G devices?
Once the offer expires after 90 days of activation, you can use the SIM card on any 4G device which supports Band 40, Band 5 & Band 3 LTE.
9. Why are Jio SIM cards now locked to LYF devices?
Jio SIM card which are available under preview offer come as a part of Jio’s extensive beta program to test the network, so the company can improve the network ahead of their official launch. LYF devices support all three 4G bands used by JIO & also support VoLTE so that users can get the best of Jio services. And the valuable feedback & passive monitoring would help Jio’s network team to improve & fill white spots before public rollout. So, Jio has locked those SIM cards with those phones so they can monitor their network through real-time usage of the operator.
10. How the SIM gets locked to a particular handset?
Jio has been using IMEI locking feature to lock SIM cards offered to customers through LYF Jio preview offer. Jio is using a special monitoring tool which recognizes IMEI code where the Jio SIM is installed & restricts the data access if a customer uses the SIM to another device. As most of the LYF devices comes with double SIM, so Jio is using IMEI code of first SIM slot of the purchased handset to lock the SIM with the phone.
12. When will the unlimited benefits get credited on the Jio SIM?
After successful verification, the customer needs to put the Jio SIM to newly purchased LYF smartphone’s SIM slot 1, if he doesn’t do that unlimited offer benefits wouldn’t be credited to the number, instead, his account will show that he has 2 GB of free data & 100 minutes of calling access. If the person puts the new SIM in another LYF device where already SIM is locked with IMEI and offer benefits are credited to that pre-activated SIM, it might happen that old SIM’s benefits can be discarded by Jio & new SIM can be get locked to the old device.
However, this happens in very rare cases. So we would suggest you to put the Jio SIM to activate in the newly purchased LYF devices & change the SIM to any LYF devices when the offer gets credited into new Jio SIM cards account. Jio has kept the procedure same for Samsung customers also who would opt for a Jio SIM.
13. What to do if an Jio offer doesn’t get credited?
You need to visit the store or can call Jio customer care to request them to raise a ticket mentioning SIM number & two IMEI codes. After verification of your details if you put your SIM in slot 1 of the device, your benefits will get credited within 24 hours.
14. Could I check the Jio coverage before buying LYF devices to get preview offer?
Currently, there aren’t any options left to check network coverage other than checking for signal availability from an existing 4G device but that too can vary as most of the 4G devices don’t support all three Jio 4G bands. But if you can manage to get contact details of Jio Centre Offices which are available in most of the big cities. You can request their network team to check Jio coverage quality in your area by providing pin code.
15. What to do if Jio SIM doesn’t connect to the internet?
In many cases, we have seen that many Jio users reported such issue about not connecting to the Internet, even while he has full or good signal on his LYF phone. Actually, as the company is upgrading their systems every week, so there might be issues. But you can use two different APN settings to fix it, one is APN settings name Jio & another APN settings name is Internet; use ‘jionet’ as Access Point Name for both settings. Do change the APN settings if you’re facing the issue with internet access. If your problem still exists speak with Jio Care.
Also read: Jio Happy New Year Offer
17. Does every LYF phone support all three 4G bands?
Yes! Most of the LYF devices support all three Jio bands & VoLTE which is required to make calls as Jio doesn’t have fall back option like Airtel or Vodafone for voice calls on 4G services.
18. How can we check 4G bands from the device where Jio SIM is working?
Any Jio users who have ‘NetVelocity’ app installed on his 4G phone, can get the details of 4G band on which he is getting signal. He needs to tap option > RF information to get the info. NetVelocity is Jio’s network & speed testing app which is only available through Jio Appstore.
19. How 4G bands switch to another one?
On Jio network, 4G bands switch automatically depending on various factors like coverage, network strength, availability of bands like B3 or B5. Most of the time, one can notice Band 40 is active but due to Band 40’s smaller indoor penetration capability, you will notice lower frequency bands like B3 or B5 would be available.
Jio has set different parameters in different locations like in Kolkata, if a customer on Band 40 gets more than (-106 dBm ) signal strength which means lower strength on Band 40, his phone will switch to lower frequency bands ( B3 or B5 ) automatically improving the network quality. It takes a fraction of seconds time to switch automatically.
20. Which band offers better indoor coverage & which one is perfect for data?
Lower frequency bands provide better indoor coverage than higher frequency one. So in terms of Jio’s network, we can say 850 Mhz or Band 5 is much better to offer better indoor coverage than Band 40 or 2300 Mhz band which in turn is better suited for data services.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author’s own and based on his personal experience.
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