Those who have been following us on Twitter, would know that the Jio sim we get on this offer is unlocked, which means it works on other VoLTE enabled phones as well. So, we will cover that in detail as well. Let’s get started from the basics.
How to get a Jio Sim on Samsung phones
First of all, the Jio preview offer is valid on select Samsung phones only, which are listed below. Please note that the common feature across these smartphones is VoLTE. Yes, Reliance is restricting the Jio sim to work on VoLTE enabled phones only (for now), although 4G data would work just fine on other phones. Here’s the complete list of supported phones:
So the first step is to generate a coupon (with a barcode). To do this, download the MyJio app from the Play Store and look for “Get Jio Sim” button right on top. This would generate a unique barcode which you’re supposed to show at your nearest Reliance Digital or Digital Express (mini) store. Please note that the offer is valid for ALL customers of the phones listed above, and not just for new buyers. Also, you must have bought the phone in India for the coupon to be generated, as the app looks for IMEI number before generating the code. The next step is to go to the nearest Reliance Digital or Digital Express (mini) store with the required documentation. You need an ID proof and an address proof along with a passport sized photograph to get a Jio sim. The MyJio app lists out the valid documents. Thankfully, Reliance is being generous in the number of different types of documents they are ready to accept, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. At the store, you’re required to fill up the CAF (Customer Acquisition Form). Once done, you can choose the SIM with the desired number (amongst the available options). The store guys might insist that it’d take 24-48 hours for the SIM to get activated. Tip: See if you can convince them to scan the photocopy of the documents you provided (with their JioScan app) right away, so that activation is faster. In my case, it took over 24 hours and a couple of calls for them to acknowledge the receipt of the documents (which is first of three SMS you should look forward to). But for few others, it took less than 2 hours as the store guys scanned and uploaded the documents right away. Once you get the first SMS acknowledging the receipt of documents, you can snap in the Jio sim on your Samsung device and wait for the activation SMS to arrive. This message will ask you to tele-verify by calling 1977 from your Jio Sim. Please note that it might take 10-30 minutes for you to get registered on the Jio network after getting the second SMS.
Tele-verification is a simple automated process which asks you to type in the numbers of some part of the ID and address proof documents. Once you successfully verify, you’re good to go to start using the Jio sim, as you get 2GB of free data to start with. But there is another important step involved before you get the 3 months Free preview offer with unlimited data, calls and entertainment services.
You need to go to the MyJio app and download at least 4 other Jio apps listed out there. This is extremely important step. These are the 4 apps which you MUST install – Jio Play, Jio OnDemand, Jio Beats and Jio Money. We have a detailed review of all the Reliance Jio apps, so check it out. Of course, you can install other apps like Jio Join, Jio Mags, Jio Security etc., but these aren’t mandatory. Once you install the above listed 4 apps, you should wait for the third SMS confirming activation of the Preview Offer. This completes the process.
Using Jio Sim on non-Samsung phones
Ever since we got the Reliance Jio sim activated, we were able to use it on many other VoLTE enabled phones like iPhone 6s Plus, OnePlus 3, Xiaomi Mi Max and others. This started working as soon as we tele-verified and activated the SIM. So having the SIM inside the Samsung phone till activation is essential. But then, in order to get the unlimited preview offer, it’s better to download those 4 additional apps and have the SIM in your Samsung phone itself. We’ve seen some conflicting reports of both activation and preview offer happening on non-Samsung phones as well, but in our case, we had to switch back to our Samsung Galaxy S7 in order to get the preview offer activated.
— Raju (@rajupp) July 17, 2016 But yes, the SIM is unlocked and works absolutely fine in these VoLTE enabled phones. If you don’t have a VoLTE enabled phone, but a normal 4G LTE phone, the data should still work, and for calls you can probably use the Jio Join app. But then we haven’t checked that with a wide variety of phones, so take it with a pinch of salt. We hope we were able to clear your doubts on how to get a Jio Sim and activate the 3 month free preview offer. We expect similar offer to go live for iPhone users very soon, and another big news which we are waiting for some confirmation before posting.
