Thread: Problems BSNL 3G prepaid recharge and conversion

Hi,

I have been using a BSNL prepaid connection on my 3G capable phone for some time. The SIM card originally issued to me was 3G capable, and a person at BSNL instructed someone over the phone to recharge it with a value of Rs. 6 to switch it to 3G service. I then began recharging it in denominations of Rs. 55/- based on my usage.

I discovered to my dismay that

- calls to BSNL numbers are Rs. 0.50/min to Rs. 0.90/min (expensive!)
- SMSes can sometimes be Rs. 2/message
- the depletion based on data usage is very steep, so a few web pages and email exchanges cost me Rs. 5-10 sometimes.

So, today I went to the BSNL office again, and an official there said I should opt for a '3G Data Recharge'. It was not possible to do it during the evening from the office, so he told me to visit 'any' recharge outlet to get it done.

I tried to use the BSNL portal to perform this recharge, but I get an error 'voucherGroupServiceClassErr' for any choice of recharge vouchers.

My question is: is it possible to purchase this voucher over the internet, i.e. online on some website other than the BSNL portal? I don't like the idea of going to recharge outlets from time to time...especially if I'm traveling..

Thanks in advance!

yes its possible to do online recharge.You can do it through many sites but most reliable option is Paytm Online Recharge- Recharge Prepaid Mobile Airtel Vodafone Reliance BSNL Idea Uninor Aircel MTS Tata Docomo Tata Indicom MTNL Loop Virgin & Online DTH Recharge

Thanks for your reply. I picked the 'Rs. 274.00 recharge plan' from PayTM which gives a validity of 30 days along with unlimited data usage. It seems that if I enter an amount which corresponds to a specific data plan, it will automatically charge my account for that data plan. Is this correct? I don't seem to have to make a specific choice of a data plan anywhere..

So, when I paid up, I got a success message, but soon after I got the message "Your order is still pending because there seems to be a technical error when we tried recharging with BSNL-UP West. However we will keep trying for the next 2 hours. If even after these 2 hours your recharge fails, we will refund your payment of Rs.274.0 into your Paytm Cash."

Then I got an SMS saying that the recharge failed. First of all, I am not in UP-WEST but rather in UP East. Secondly, money has been deducted from my account already, so I guess I have to keep using PayTM cah.

What do you think I should do?

Originally Posted by darkmav

I guess I have to keep using PayTM cah.

You can initiate refund, click on transfer to bank...amt will be refunded within 7 working days.....btw did you select special recharge only ?

Originally Posted by mdheeraj86

You can initiate refund, click on transfer to bank...amt will be refunded within 7 working days.....btw did you select special recharge only ?

Topup of Rs. 55/- works fine. No recharge amount close to Rs. 250 or Rs. 275 works. Yes, I chose the Recharge option. There is no special recharge option on PayTM. You either choose Topup or Recharge.

After many unsuccessful attempts, I tried recharging with an amount of Rs. 150/- and it seems to have generated no error message, but it is pending.

Is the fact that I am unable to purchase a 3G Data Voucher from PayTM connected to the error message I get from the BSNL Portal?

Is 274 recharge 2g data plan or 3g data plan? Here in Ap circle after activating 3g, you cannot activate any 2g data plan, 2g recharges won't be successful on 3g activated sim....

I did many 3g data recharges from paytm.com all were successful

http://i.imgur.com/Aqzz1.jpg

See this is the whole problem...I do not know. So let me give you a background:

1. I purchased a BSNL prepaid SIM several months ago.
2. One fine day, a BSNL official instructed a recharge guy to convert it to 3G.
3. Thereafter, I blissfully recharged my phone in denominations of Rs. 55/- and used 3G successfully.
4. A few weeks ago, I realized how expensive it was becoming. So yesterday I consulted the BSNL official and he told me to buy a '3G Recharge Plan' from anyone.

He said this would ensure that my data usage is not billed on my voice balance. I told him I need a package which gives me latitude with Data and SMS.

Now, as I understand, on the portal and on PayTM and similar sites, the choice of recharge/topup amount automatically puts you in the bracket of a specific plan or voucher. There is no option one gets to cite the voucher category.

So the bottom line is, how do I get a 3G Data Recharge plan, through topup/recharge (?) online?

Originally Posted by mdheeraj86

I did many 3g data recharges from paytm.com all were successful

Can you please walk me through all the steps (what you clicked, etc.) and the denomination of the recharge. Was it a recharge or a topup?

This is what I see when I try to make a payment through BSNL. Needless to say, it doesn't go ahead.

I selected SPECIAL RECHARGE and entered 103 rs in it , don't select TOPUP....earlier 103 recharge gave 250MB, val 30days, NOW 225MB val 15days....

You can check 3g prepaid data plans at bsnl portal

:: BSNL 3G ::

http://i.imgur.com/g5fh2.jpg


Note : Price may vary from Circle to Circle by Rs.3(+/-) considering local market conditions etc.

For AP circle it's +3 , so 100 + 3= 103rs recharge (225mb, val15days)...No idea about your UP-WEST circle....just call customer and ask exact denomination amount if you want to recharge with 100rs 3G pack

Originally Posted by darkmav

This is what I see when I try to make a payment through BSNL. Needless to say, it doesn't go ahead.

I think it's 100rs recharge for you circle, Select SPECIAL RECHARGE and enter 100rs and make payment...you will get 225MB , val 15days....


When i entered my number in bsnl portal, i got few plans...
http://i.imgur.com/l56CC.jpg
few plans are missing in it.

Thanks a ton Dheeraj! This seems to have worked with Rs. 100/-...phew, I didn't realize how exact these folks want you to be. The BSNL link you gave me does not open from here, so I'll just save the tariff plan you sent as an image, for my reference, use the Portal to figure out the exact amount for each plan in my circle, and finally use PayTM in the manner you suggested, to recharge. I'll post my experiences here, when I next recharge.

By the way, having recharged, how does one check internet usage and validity and STV balance? Also, now *123# should no longer show a depleted balance in case of internet usage, now that I'll be using the STV recharge balance, right?

I check my 3G data balance by *234#, i can also know by dialing 123 ( IVRS)

*234# may not work in your circle, it may have different code for your circle.....mention your circle, few members may tell exact code for checking data balance....also refer old threads

I am from UP East.

I called up the BSNL helpline number (1503) from my phone, and they gave me the following codes:

*123*2# to find out the validity of my 'GPRS pack'
*123*6# to find out how much MB I have left

When I dial *123*2#, I get the message "Your GPRS Pack will expire on - date" (no date is mentioned), and when I dial *123*6#, I get the message "You have 2302 MB free DATA DOWNLOAD left and expiry date for this Pack is Jan 02 2012".

Does this seem reasonable? I did two recharges, for Rs. 100/- and Rs. 300/- in quick succession, from PayTM.

A few more questions:

1. I have the following access points configured:

bsnllive
bsnlmobiltv
bsnlnet (default)
bsnlportal
bsnlstream
bsnlwap
bsnlmms

But I have never been able to send or receive MMS messages. Is there some special configuration required for MMS?

2. Do you know if there are any SMS packs, or vouchers which can bring down the cost per SMS or cost per call? The BSNL website is very difficult to make sense out of!

Use bsnlnet (default), i don't know about MMS & sms packs in bsnl

bsnl upeast portal
http://www.upe.bsnl.co.in/