Reliance Jio has taken the Indian telecom market by storm. What began as a 45-minute speech by Mukesh Ambani ended up making the Indian telecom space highly competitive. Taken aback by Reliance Jio’s soaring popularity, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular began to slash prices for data plans. BSNL was quick to follow too. Once the Jio floodgates opened, people began to throng Jio SIM outlets – sometimes waiting in queue for hours together just to get their hands on Jio SIM. The Jio 4G Preview Offer offers unlimited SMS, unlimited voice calls and unlimited high-speed internet and everybody wants to get their hands on as many Jio SIMs as possible. All said and done, one obvious question is “Why in the world do I need a barcode to get the SIM?”
Why do I need to have a barcode to get Jio SIM?
The answer is that Reliance Jio wants to stop blatant misuse of free Jio SIMs. There have been cases where the same person has got access to more than 3 Jio SIMs. With demand greatly exceeding supply and internet speeds dropping drastically with the increase in the number of users, Reliance has taken the route of bar codes to have a control over how many Jio SIMs a single person can possess. Basically, barcodes ensure that there’s only “One Jio 4G SIM for One Device.”
To get a Jio 4G SIM, you will now need to have a barcode. The barcode can be generated once you install MyJio App and is dependent directly on your device IMEI number. That effectively means you can only get one SIM per device.
Let’s start with the steps to generate Jio Barcode on 4G devices, since VoLTE supported 4G devices are the ones you can use to fully enjoy the free services offered by Reliance Jio.
Steps to Generate Jim Barcode on 4G Devices – iPhone / Android
Generating barcode on 4G devices is really simple. All you need to do is follow these simple steps –
- Download the latest version of MyJio App from the Google Play store for Android smartphone and from App Store for iPhone. If you have the app already installed, update it.
- After installing or updating the app, open the App. You should now see a list of 10 apps.
- Open only the MyJio app from the list. Do not break your head about the other apps.
- After you select State and City (check whether the service is available in your area or not), just follow the on-screen instructions and enter your name and phone number.
- The above step generates an OTP. Once you submit this OTP, you will be able to generate the barcode.
You can generate the barcode only once. All barcodes have a time limit. You must buy the Jio SIM before this time limit expires. So once you have generated the bar code, visit a Jio SIM outlet as soon as possible, show the bar code and get the Jio SIM.
Note that Apple iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and iPhone SE are only eligible and compatible devices for Jio 4G SIM. If you are using iPhone 5 or iPhone 5s, sadly there is no way to use the Jio SIM on your iPhone.
Steps to Generate Jio Barcode on 2G and 3G Android Devices
Turns out that generating barcodes in 3G and 2G devices is not as straightforward as in 4G devices. To generate barcodes in 3G and 2G devices, you will need the older version of MyJio APK. Just google for the old version of MyJio APK and you should get many links that are hosting the old version. Download the old version at your own risk. MobiPicker has chosen to not post the links for these APKs, since the authenticity and security of older versions of APKs not available on Play store cannot be verified. That said, here are the steps to generate Jio barcodes for 2G and 3G Android phones –
- After installing the older version, open the MyJio app.
- You will now see a list of about 10 Jio Apps. Download all these apps.
- Once you have downloaded all these apps, disconnect your device from WiFi and/or data.
- Now, click on Get Free Jio SIM.
- Switch on Wi-Fi or data. The app should automatically show you the availability in the location.
- All you have to do now is to tap on “Agree and Get Jio Offer“.
Once you agree, you will get the barcode in your 2G or 3G device. And remember, the barcode has a time limit and so you need to visit the Jio SIM outlet as soon as possible to get your free Jio SIM.
That’s it folks! We hope this post clears all doubts that you may have had about generating barcodes on iPhone and 4G/3G/2G Android devices. Should you encounter any issues, feel free to post in the comments section!