Reliance Jio, a $15 billion gamble taken by Mukesh Ambani with their earth shattering tariffs and promises is off to a shaky, unstable start. On one hand Jio preview users have been suddenly, unceremoniously migrated to the welcome offer, there has been massive queues reported for getting a new SIM card and activation of new accounts is taking forever.
Customer expectations are clearly broken here, but that’s not the end of the story. An unconfirmed report states that a user of LYF handset, provided by Reliance Jio has exploded in his hands, injuring him.
Has Reliance Jio bit off more than it can chew? Has all security measures been incorporated before it launched their handsets (which are clearly substandard Chinese old 4G compatible handsets, which no one is buying in China?)
Has Reliance enough man-power to provide services and after-sales services? Lots of questions and little answers.
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Long Queues For New SIM; Long Delay In SIM Activation
First of all, the accessibility to purchase or activate a new Reliance Jio SIM card is pretty troublesome.
A small personal experience: Right now my leg is broken, and I can’t venture out often. I tried to get an online delivery of a new SIM Card and a new Reliance Jio WiFi hubspot by paying the necessary charges, but there is no such facility right now.
Somehow, when I went to the nearest Reliance Digital outlet, in a wheelchair, I was informed that only 50 SIM cards are being given in a day; and even for that, one has to come at morning 11, stand in a queue, and take a token. If you are lucky, you can get the SIM, informed the sales-guy, who was clearly uninterested to even consider helping me.
I ditched the idea of taking one SIM or a WiFi hubspot then and there.
And it seems I am not alone.
A recent Indian Express report stated that there is a three-week delay in procuring a new SIM Card of Jio, as the author discovered that the SIM card is the most wanted commodity in Indian market right now.
Another report in BloombergQuint said that customers are clearly disappointed over long delays in SIM activation, even after standing in queue and getting a new SIM card. Some dealers in Mumbai stated that the biometric machines purchased by them from Reliance for fast activation of SIM cards remains inactive most of the time. This means the load of new customers is not being handled optimally and Jio has failed to deliver, what they promised.
JIO PREVIEW Customers Are Being Migrated To Welcome Offer
Jio preview users, who were promised unlimited 4G internet along with unlimited voice were shocked to discover that they have been migrated to the new Welcome Offer, without any prior intimation.
Unlike Preview Offer, which was rolled out weeks before September 5th, the official launch date of Jio services, Welcome Offer puts a cap of 4GB daily usage, after which speed slows to even less than 2G level.
Especially feeling cheated are those customers, who bought a new LYF handset, despite knowing that the hardware is of poor quality.
One of the Reddit users shared his disappointment:
“i payed 3600 rs for the phone only because they promised unlimited now they are capping speed at 4gb .
4gb would be great if i got for free but i payed money just for 3 months unlimited and the phone is trash when they say unlimited 4g they should have been ready for 10tb + usage i use around 20 to 30 gb a day and i dont think its abuse because i payed for unlimited
i still have 60 days of preview offer left jio is a scam..”
Users are now skeptic about what lies beyond December 31, 2016, when the period of Welcome Offer terminates, and the real scene emerges out. In case Jio revises their data charges, then a massive exodus can be witnessed.
LYF Handset Explodes, Injures User
In a freak incident shared on Facebook (hence unconfirmed), it was reported that a user’s hand was injured when a LYF handset provided by Reliance Jio exploded. Reportedly, he was browsing Facebook when the incident happened.
The handset in question here is Reliance Jio LYF Water 1 handset.
There has been no comments from Reliance Jio as of now regarding the incident, neither there has been any denial. The case is itself unconfirmed, but we will keep you updated as more details come in.
If you are a Reliance Jio customer, then we would love to hear your feedback.