Remote topup of prepaid SIM with data

[ipodmusicman]

Hi there

I have just installed an antenna and 3G router for Internet at the in-laws holiday home on the KZN south coast. MTN provided the best speeds compared to Vodacom (quite disappointed because I'm a Vodacom customer and expected Vodacom to come up tops) and so we have settled on MTN.

Since the SIM card is in the router, what is the easiest way for my father-in-law or even myself who lives 1500km away to top it up with data?

A few things:

My father-in-law is a MTN customer
He banks at FNB
I bank at ABSA but you can only buy airtime only, not once-off bundles like you can with Vodacom.

If you have any advise on how to do this easily, please let me know. I can imagine that this question has been asked many times on this forum, but I cannot find the answers.

Cheers

 

[ginggs]

Check out these guys:
http://www.flickswitch.co.za/

 

[qwertydudeza]

Hi there

I have just installed an antenna and 3G router for Internet at the in-laws holiday home on the KZN south coast. MTN provided the best speeds compared to Vodacom (quite disappointed because I'm a Vodacom customer and expected Vodacom to come up tops) and so we have settled on MTN.

Since the SIM card is in the router, what is the easiest way for my father-in-law or even myself who lives 1500km away to top it up with data?

A few things:

My father-in-law is a MTN customer
He banks at FNB
I bank at ABSA but you can only buy airtime only, not once-off bundles like you can with Vodacom.

If you have any advise on how to do this easily, please let me know. I can imagine that this question has been asked many times on this forum, but I cannot find the answers.

Cheers

FNB allows you to buy data. You can also use MTN web site to manage your sim

 

[kianm]

FNB allows you to buy data. You can also use MTN web site to manage your sim

^that

 

[ipodmusicman]

I wanted to register on the MTN website using Chrome or even Safari on my iPad and I could not even tick the checkboxes to accept the terms and conditions. Will try a different device.

But can you buy data bundles via the MTN. Site once you have loaded the SIM with airtime?

 

[cavedog]

Since MTN does not have a decent online portal like Telkom I think the best way to do it is by 'transferring' a data bundle.

*Get a prepaid sim.
*Load airtime on it equal to the data bundle you want to buy.
*Dial *141*3# Option 2 then Option 2 again.
*Select the bundle size you want
*Then enter the number in the modem you are buying the bundle for.

This is the same buying a bundle for that simcard and you will still get the extra data too. Pretty cool feature. I think it is the easiest and fastest way to do it.


*I just saw MTN has a new service called MTN data share. SO that can also be a option for you. Buy a prepaid simcard. Link the number that is in the modem to your prepaid simcard. Then buy your data bundles on the prepaid simcard. You manage everything on the prepaid simcard and it gets shared to the modem. Pretty cool feature.

 

[ipodmusicman]

Thanks very much.

As things currently stand, I have nothing good to say about MTN at the moment besides the data throughput which I am happy with down here on the south coast.

I cannot register on their online portals - they are as buggy as hell and the whole MTN online offering including the app is so disjointed from each other. I expected to download the app, register a user account which I could use on both the website and the app, but the two channels are completely different. When it comes to managing data and remote SIM cards, it is almost impossible! Vodacom gets that right hands down.

MTN relies so much on having the SIM card in an actual phone to authorize the app amongst others. I don't know who is responsible for their online side, but they need a wake up call!

I hope that before I go back to Cape Town on the 4th of Jan that I have sorted this all out by then.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Cheers

 

[whatwhat]

You need to put the sim in a phone to authorize the app. However, that is once off. You can then take the sim out and still log into the app with the sim sitting somewhere else.

 

[ipodmusicman]

That is what I thought which I did but once I clicked on other options on the login screen it forgot that I had authorized the app and is requesting access again.

On the Android app, if you disable the wifi on the device it detects that there is a SIM card in the device and attempts to log on with that SIM card. The funny thing is that the DIM card is not even MTN. Once I turn on the wifi it requests to authorize the app AGAIN!!

 

[GreGorGy]

Why not use afrihost Mtn sim so you can recharge and manage data via their portal

 

[ipodmusicman]

I'll investigate the Afrihost solution once I'm back home since I cannot get hold of a SIM at such short notice while I am here.

 

[Neo_X]

I'll investigate the Afrihost solution once I'm back home since I cannot get hold of a SIM at such short notice while I am here.

note that currently axxess is cheaper(double data)

if all else fails, a normal MTN sim, and topup via FNB online banking should be the easiest.

 

[whatwhat]

Careful with FNB, they don't have all the bundles and the last time I used it they took a % of the money as commission.