The past few months, I have been experiencing shocking, confusing, annoying, dragging, frustrating, waiting, happy moments, all at a stretch, because of Airtel. Hah. Funny eh? So let me start the story.
(Warning: This may be a long and boring post, so you might wanna skip. But could be informative for those interested in phones and sim card bookings and internet connections) :-)
It all began when my 15 month old Sony Ericsson phone failed me. It was a fine day in the hostel, when I took 2 bucket full of clothes to the washroom, along with my phone for the music to keep me company. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking what you might be thinking- No, I did not drop the phone in water (hehe). I was done with my washing and entered my room with the music still on. And then I got a call from one of my friend. I tried sliding the call receiver but it was not happening! I tried again, and again, and she kept calling again, and again. So I did what I know best- take out the battery and place it back. But this time, I guess I ran out of luck. I tried so many methods, but I could not fix it.
I’ve been using Bsnl prepaid on my phone ever since I joined IITG, because its roaming free all over North east India. And my previous Airtel postpaid was placed inside my mom’s old phone, unused. I had in mind to disconnect it so many times, but the thought of Bsnl service not good at my place made me cling to it, and Airtel would be a better option once I get home. I had the thought of getting a dual sim phone as I was a little fed up of my old phone anyway, due to history reasons (hihi), and the perfect time came to keep that thought into action. But I didn't want to give up on my old phone that easily either, even though I could not use the updated version of Instagram no more, and many applications that I could not install due to its lower Android OS version. So I took it to a Sony Ericsson servicing center, but to my luck/unluck, it could not be fixed.
After researching on all kinds of phone, I finally made up my mind on buying yet another Sony Ericsson phone – Xperia Tipo Dual. Its been almost two months now, and I have no regrets so far. Its cheaper compared to the same OS of Samsung, the battery’s lasting, internet is fast, its light and compact. There’s unavailability of torch, call blocker and sending contacts, but thanks to Android apps - Google Play, I could easily download and install them. I’m recommending it to anyone who asks me about my phone, even to my brother. Flipkart will be delivering his, within two days :-)
Having a new phone was fun, but that was when the trouble started. Placed both my sim cards into the new phone. Airtel automatically sent me the mobile internet settings, and Bsnl did not. I knew my Airtel is in roaming, but I never knew the price could be that high. There is no roaming charge as such for gprs, but the rate was 10 paise per 10 kb, that is 10000Rs per 1GB to be precise. Worst part is, I did not request for the internet pack, which is 98Rs per 1GB, because, I thought my Bsnl internet settings would be resolved soon. Don't ask me how shocked I was to see the unbilled amount of my airtel which came after 3 days. One word – OMG. Luckily, I convinced my brother no 3 to do the bill payment and I promised to repay him before forever (mehehe).
Finally I subscribed for the internet pack and its way way way faster than Bsnl. So now, Bsnl is for calls and messages, Airtel is for internet. That's the beauty of having a dual sim and that’s how I settled my problem. I thought that would be the end of it, but hello! more trouble more trouble..
I’ve been using Tata photon on my lappy, and I guess you all know that they've recently stopped their services in Northeast India. So my option was to use dongle from Reliance or yet again Airtel. Though I faced many problems with Airtel, I decided to go for it again. When I went home for winter vacation, I made a booking. They said the device would be available by the next day, but it was not. Days went on and I had to return to Guwahati. So I requested my friend A to enquire for me, and had it sent. After lots of poking and begging, my friend could manage to get the device and the sim card. Now all we have to do was wait for the sim to be activated. Seven days passed, and nothing happened. So I started calling them. They asked to call back. Called back the next day. And then, they found the problem. I made the booking with my Voter’s ID, and according to them, my Voter’s ID has already been used six times to book Airtel sim card, so it was rejected. My reaction – “Seriously??”. I wanted to find out all the numbers using my ID, I mean, is that even possible? I was so furious. They asked to call back the next day. I called back, AGAIN, the next day. And they asked me to send a xerox copy of my driving licence. They said they will try with that. Finally, I sent a scan copy, but then again they said, I have to attach four passport photos. I was like “What about the previous four that I’ve submitted?”. “We will have to do a fresh booking for a new sim card”. Huis. So my friend went again and asked If I could just buy an Assam sim card. They first said no, since I bought the dongle from them with a Tata photon device exchange offer. Then after reconsidering it, they finally said yes. Phew!
No, the trouble did not end there. Since it was risky to use my ID on Airtel with “What ifs” in my head, I had to request one of my friend, friend B to book one for me in his name. He filled up the form on a Saturday. He realized he made a mistake while filling. He filled up another on Monday. He made a mistake again while filling the address. He filled up another one on Tuesday (Dear Lord, please help him, free him from making mistakes! :P), and he did it! Yay! He gave me the sim card. Now we have to wait for the activation, yet again. I finally got a network on Thursday. But I had to go to my friend for identity proof. Any call I made was forwarded to a customer care for verification, so he had to do the talking. I walked half an hour to reach his hostel, he made the call, and verification was done. I was excited to try out my dongle, finally. But another trouble, shops were closed by then, and online recharge did not work. Aaaarghhhhh!! And so the next day, my friend A did a recharge for me from a shop. Finally, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, I could use my Airtel dongle and as always, even though the process was hard, with hundreds of calls made to customer care, Airtel did not disappoint me in the end. Blogging now from Airtel 3G dongle with currently a download speed of 2.7 mbps, and the connection speed is set to 3 mbps with the TCP Optimizer. Not bad, not bad at all.
Thanks to friends A and B for all the trouble that you've gone through, and to my brother no 3, for the bill payment, I promise to repay you guys before forever. *pinky promise* :P
(Warning: This may be a long and boring post, so you might wanna skip. But could be informative for those interested in phones and sim card bookings and internet connections) :-)
It all began when my 15 month old Sony Ericsson phone failed me. It was a fine day in the hostel, when I took 2 bucket full of clothes to the washroom, along with my phone for the music to keep me company. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking what you might be thinking- No, I did not drop the phone in water (hehe). I was done with my washing and entered my room with the music still on. And then I got a call from one of my friend. I tried sliding the call receiver but it was not happening! I tried again, and again, and she kept calling again, and again. So I did what I know best- take out the battery and place it back. But this time, I guess I ran out of luck. I tried so many methods, but I could not fix it. I’ve been using Bsnl prepaid on my phone ever since I joined IITG, because its roaming free all over North east India. And my previous Airtel postpaid was placed inside my mom’s old phone, unused. I had in mind to disconnect it so many times, but the thought of Bsnl service not good at my place made me cling to it, and Airtel would be a better option once I get home. I had the thought of getting a dual sim phone as I was a little fed up of my old phone anyway, due to history reasons (hihi), and the perfect time came to keep that thought into action. But I didn't want to give up on my old phone that easily either, even though I could not use the updated version of Instagram no more, and many applications that I could not install due to its lower Android OS version. So I took it to a Sony Ericsson servicing center, but to my luck/unluck, it could not be fixed.
Having a new phone was fun, but that was when the trouble started. Placed both my sim cards into the new phone. Airtel automatically sent me the mobile internet settings, and Bsnl did not. I knew my Airtel is in roaming, but I never knew the price could be that high. There is no roaming charge as such for gprs, but the rate was 10 paise per 10 kb, that is 10000Rs per 1GB to be precise. Worst part is, I did not request for the internet pack, which is 98Rs per 1GB, because, I thought my Bsnl internet settings would be resolved soon. Don't ask me how shocked I was to see the unbilled amount of my airtel which came after 3 days. One word – OMG. Luckily, I convinced my brother no 3 to do the bill payment and I promised to repay him before forever (mehehe).
Finally I subscribed for the internet pack and its way way way faster than Bsnl. So now, Bsnl is for calls and messages, Airtel is for internet. That's the beauty of having a dual sim and that’s how I settled my problem. I thought that would be the end of it, but hello! more trouble more trouble..
I’ve been using Tata photon on my lappy, and I guess you all know that they've recently stopped their services in Northeast India. So my option was to use dongle from Reliance or yet again Airtel. Though I faced many problems with Airtel, I decided to go for it again. When I went home for winter vacation, I made a booking. They said the device would be available by the next day, but it was not. Days went on and I had to return to Guwahati. So I requested my friend A to enquire for me, and had it sent. After lots of poking and begging, my friend could manage to get the device and the sim card. Now all we have to do was wait for the sim to be activated. Seven days passed, and nothing happened. So I started calling them. They asked to call back. Called back the next day. And then, they found the problem. I made the booking with my Voter’s ID, and according to them, my Voter’s ID has already been used six times to book Airtel sim card, so it was rejected. My reaction – “Seriously??”. I wanted to find out all the numbers using my ID, I mean, is that even possible? I was so furious. They asked to call back the next day. I called back, AGAIN, the next day. And they asked me to send a xerox copy of my driving licence. They said they will try with that. Finally, I sent a scan copy, but then again they said, I have to attach four passport photos. I was like “What about the previous four that I’ve submitted?”. “We will have to do a fresh booking for a new sim card”. Huis. So my friend went again and asked If I could just buy an Assam sim card. They first said no, since I bought the dongle from them with a Tata photon device exchange offer. Then after reconsidering it, they finally said yes. Phew!No, the trouble did not end there. Since it was risky to use my ID on Airtel with “What ifs” in my head, I had to request one of my friend, friend B to book one for me in his name. He filled up the form on a Saturday. He realized he made a mistake while filling. He filled up another on Monday. He made a mistake again while filling the address. He filled up another one on Tuesday (Dear Lord, please help him, free him from making mistakes! :P), and he did it! Yay! He gave me the sim card. Now we have to wait for the activation, yet again. I finally got a network on Thursday. But I had to go to my friend for identity proof. Any call I made was forwarded to a customer care for verification, so he had to do the talking. I walked half an hour to reach his hostel, he made the call, and verification was done. I was excited to try out my dongle, finally. But another trouble, shops were closed by then, and online recharge did not work. Aaaarghhhhh!! And so the next day, my friend A did a recharge for me from a shop. Finally, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, I could use my Airtel dongle and as always, even though the process was hard, with hundreds of calls made to customer care, Airtel did not disappoint me in the end. Blogging now from Airtel 3G dongle with currently a download speed of 2.7 mbps, and the connection speed is set to 3 mbps with the TCP Optimizer. Not bad, not bad at all.
Thanks to friends A and B for all the trouble that you've gone through, and to my brother no 3, for the bill payment, I promise to repay you guys before forever. *pinky promise* :P
