Jio revolutionized the Indian telecom industry with its economical plans, and its International Roaming (IR) services are no exception. Launched with great enthusiasm, Jio’s IR package quickly gained popularity among travelers and NRIs. However, its initial performance raised concerns about its reliability.
This article highlights my firsthand experience with Jio International Roaming during its early days and examines how the service has evolved by 2024. With a broader network reach and improved reliability, Jio IR is now a viable choice for global travelers. Let’s dive deeper into the details.
Jio International Roaming: Global Availability
By 2024, Jio International Roaming is available in major global destinations such as:
- North America: USA, Canada
- Europe: UK, France, Germany, and more
- Asia: UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.
- Australia and New Zealand
This expansion ensures Jio users can stay connected seamlessly in many parts of the world.
My Experience with Jio International Roaming in 2018-19
In 2018, I activated Jio’s International Roaming Service using their Rs. 1101 Global Pack. The pack offered Rs. 1211 of IR talk-time balance with a 28-day validity. Initial activation was smooth, and the service worked flawlessly during the first week of my stay in Dubai. Calls, SMS, and data worked at standard rates—Rs. 2 per unit for all services.
The Issue That Arose
However, the smooth experience was short-lived. After one week, my Jio SIM lost connectivity. Despite several troubleshooting attempts, including restarting the phone, re-inserting the SIM, and manual network selection, the issue persisted.
Customer Support Challenges:
- Repeated basic troubleshooting steps with no resolution.
- Multiple follow-ups via ISD calls and emails only yielded generic responses.
- Customer support became unresponsive after 48 hours, leaving my issue unresolved.
Ultimately, I was left with an unusable IR service and an unspent talk-time balance that expired with the pack.
What I Learned
Based on my experience, here are some key takeaways:
- Jio’s Early-Stage IR Services Were Unreliable: During its initial phase, Jio struggled to provide consistent international roaming service.
- Poor Customer Support: While connecting to a representative was quick, their technical expertise and ability to resolve issues were limited.
- Better Alternatives Exist: Operators like Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) offered more reliable IR services, allowing activation directly from abroad.
Jio International Roaming in 2024: What’s Changed?
Fast forward to 2024, Jio has significantly improved its international roaming services. Here’s how:
- Wider Global Coverage: Jio now supports roaming in almost all major destinations worldwide.
- Enhanced Plans:
- Plan 1101 (Without WiFi Calling): Rs. 933.05 available for IR usage, with standard “Pay As You Go” rates.
- Plan 1102 (With WiFi Calling): Rs. 933.09 for IR usage; incoming and outgoing calls to India cost just Rs. 1 when connected via WiFi.
- WiFi Calling: A standout feature allowing users to make seamless calls to India using any WiFi connection abroad.
Jio International Roaming: FAQs
1. Does Jio SIM Require Regular Recharge to Stay Active?
No, Jio SIMs do not mandate minimum recharges for receiving incoming calls. As long as the SIM is used for incoming calls at least once every 90 days, it remains active.
2. Is There a Dedicated SMS Pack for International Roaming?
Jio doesn’t offer a specific SMS pack for IR. International SMS can be sent using your talk-time balance.
3. Can Jio Be Trusted for International Roaming in 2024?
Yes, Jio has made significant improvements, and most users report a smooth experience now. However, occasional issues might still arise, so it’s wise to verify compatibility with your destination beforehand.
4. How Does Jio Compare to Other Networks?
While Jio is the most cost-effective option for international roaming, operators like Airtel provide more stable and reliable services. Choose based on your priority—cost vs. service quality.
Our Recommendations for Travelers
- Check Network Compatibility: Before traveling, ensure your destination country is listed in Jio’s IR destinations.
- Use Jio as a Secondary Option: While Jio’s costs are attractive, keep a more reliable SIM, such as Airtel or Vi, as your primary international SIM.
- Activate Roaming in Advance: Jio requires IR activation from within India. Confirm that the service works before departing.
Final Thoughts
Jio has come a long way since its initial IR service launch. By 2024, it has established itself as an economical and practical option for international travelers. While challenges still exist in certain regions, the overall service quality has improved significantly.
For cost-conscious travelers, Jio is a reliable choice. However, if uninterrupted connectivity is a priority, explore alternatives like Airtel or Vi.
Jio seems to be using chatbots for customer care as they have some standard lines that they instruct. I went to China and Hong Kong from 25th June to 1st July 2018. The roaming simply didn’t work. Thankfully I has opted pay as you go in postpaid. Customer care as usual was very pathetic. There was simply no resolution. They asked my to mail the query to which they would reply withing 48 hours. I replied to the same mail that their instructions didn’t work but there was no reply after that. If you want JIO while roaming for SMS etc, take a pay as you go plan. It may or may not work. For all other roaming take some other sim
Its true.. Reliance Jio does not work in Hong Kong and USA. The plans shows recently for prepaid international roaming is just fraud to stole Money.
Never go with Jio. It can be use for local only.
It is true Jio don’t work in USA
The situation is very tru with jio on roaming. It never worked with me Dubai. Snd customer care have mo clue. I must gave wasted over 2000 just buying roaming packs based in customer care advise… but never detectected betwork in UAE
Did you try calling the IR priority customer care?
vodofone-idea works very well in USA with AT&T. Jio don’t work in USA, the Jio team is helpless
Correct, i also faced the same issue and the team is not understanding my issue.
I am also facing same issue. I paid Rs/-1101 for IR activation. But after reaching destination, I am not getting any signal. Customer care is just avoiding me. My SIM card is still inactive.
Can you tell me which country you are using the service ?
Does anyone have a US experience of Jio IR?
got messages from india between nov’21 and mar’22, but then NO SERVICE all of sudden. Came to know, they changed local partner (earlier it was T-mobile, now AT&T)
Did you call customer care about this issue?
Hi,
I am worried, I ported to RJIO recently and planning to visit France, Japan, China & USA in coming 2 months.
I Bought Vodafone 2875 pack during June for Japan, it did not worked in Bankgog in my transit, When I arrived Tokyo, it was still not working. After making complaints it started working with DATA only. NO Call outgoing calls. Only incoming calls but I was being charged Rs 70 for each minute. I called up Vodafone customer care, wrote emails, tweeted as well they kept on saying we will get back to you,but no one did during my stay of 5 days.
That’s why thought to choose JIO 2-2-2 plan.
Jio’s 2-2-2 plan is good. i think there issues with IR service is now sorted.
I am Still facing this issue with my JIO number in UAE.
Can you please mention, what issue you are facing with the sim card.
Hi Vipin,
I am relieved to hear that. A senior executive, Premium relationship manager did visited me 2 weeks before to process my 5 porting and he was very confident that it will work.
I must keep my fingers crossed and will post my experience here positive / negative. I’ll have to buy IR for 4 numbers.
Hi Anil,
No need to worry, i think they made the network more stable now, so it will work smoothly now.
Hi Viking,
I have been using Jio 2-2-2 plan from June while I am in Belgium it perfectly worked where my Vodafone connection did not work. However on 13th when I put it on flight mode for 1/2 hour, it is not connecting to network. Tried all the steps possible, awaiting feedback from the service team.
Hi Vipin,
I used Jio sim in last 2 weeks. I travelled to Tokyo via Bangkok and returned to Kolkata. Again traveled to Shanghai via Bangkok and back to Kolkata.
Jio worked perfectly. in Thailand & Japan rate was 2-2-2 and in China it was 10-10-10 as they mentioned on website.
So I think it is quite reliable service provider and reasonable price.
yes, correct i am also using their IR service and its working perfectly. (previously there where some issue, but they sorted it out now. However on customer care part, they still far behind)
Hi Vipin
I am in Dubai. I am also in trouble, not getting jio roaming. How did u correct ur problem?
Hi Aneesh,
The problem with Jio IR is now resolved, can you tell me exact issue you are facing with ?
Hi Vipin,
Further to update you and other users / readers of this forum, my brother traveled to USA Via Dubai in transit. JIO worked excellent on 2-2-2 plan both in Dubai and USA. He was able to spend only couple of hundred Rs out of IR pack Rs 1211.
Do you have any idea, that if I travel again overseas, do i need to buy IR pack again or just my IR will work as per destination specific rates and deduct money from my main account balance? (Jio says it is necessary to buy IR pack of Rs 1101 to activate IR for the first time when in India and mobile must be connected to Jio network)
Hi Anil,
Since your brother activated the IR pack on his travel to Dubai/USA last time, no need to do the recharge again. IR pack need to be recharged only once per SIM Card. If you have balance in your main account, you can make and receive calls. The only thing needed is, one active plan needed all the time (by default, jio need one active plan all the time to make and receive call ie. Rs. 149 plan, Rs.399 plan, etc) ie in India or broad.
If your brother going with the same sim next time, no need to do the recharge of IR pack, you only need any plan active on the sim (Rs.98, Rs.149… etc) plus balance in your main account.
Also, if you do the recharge of IR pack 1101 again, it will not make any problem. You can do it again if needed (to get more talk time), but not necessary.
I am travelling to China tonight and i need a proper advice whether i should use a Jio sim or A vodafone. Please advice
Both should work in the location, you should check with the plans available in both network to know, which one giving you better option.
JIO is not working in USA
Are you getting signal there?
Dear Vipin & To Other Knowledgeable Users,
Lets Assume I’m Going To Recharge With Rs. 1699 On January 1, 2019 – Which Is Valid For 365 Days. Until December 31, 2019.
And I’m Going To Recharge With Rs. 1101 (28 Days) On January 1.
Here Are My Questions #
1. Assuming If I’m Still On International Roaming On The 29th Day And If I Don’t Recharge Rs. 1101 Again, Will I Still Receive SMS / Calls – If Yes, On What Rate?
2. Assuming If I’m Still On International Roaming On The 29th Day And If I Recharge Rs. 1101 Again, Will It Accept The Recharge Or While Recharging Rs. 1101, Should I Be On Jio Network?
3. Is There Any Minimum Balance That I Should Have For Even To Receive SMS While On International Roaming? (Assuming I Dont Recharge Rs. 1101)
4. While Working On International Roaming, Should I Specifically Choose A Specific Operator Or Like AIrtel, I Can Automatically Be Latched On To Any Operator?
5. When It’s Said High Speed Data – Does It Mean 3G Or 4G – While In International Roaming?
Thanks In Advance.
1. Assuming If I’m Still On International Roaming On The 29th Day And If I Don’t Recharge Rs. 1101 Again, Will I Still Receive SMS / Calls – If Yes, On What Rate?
Ans. Since you have a 1 year plan (Rs. 1699) active, you dnt have to recharge again with Rs. 1101. You can do any topup of 10 and above as per your need only. If you need more talktime, ie Rs. 1211 for Rs. 1101 then you can also recharge for Rs. 1101. But remember your 1211 talktime will be valid for 28 days only. Rs. 1101 only needed for the 1st time. 2nd onwards is optional.
2. Assuming If I’m Still On International Roaming On The 29th Day And If I Recharge Rs. 1101 Again, Will It Accept The Recharge Or While Recharging Rs. 1101, Should I Be On Jio Network?
Ans. As per jio’s guidlines, 1st recharge only to be done while in jio network. The purpose is to activate the International roaming on your mobile. Once its activated it is permanent, so 2nd recharge onwards no need to be under jio’s network.
3. Is There Any Minimum Balance That I Should Have For Even To Receive SMS While On International Roaming? (Assuming I Dont Recharge Rs. 1101)
Ans. incoming sms always free, no minimum balance needed. For outgoing sms, outgoing calls, incoming calls, you need to keep the minimum balance (as per the rate in the country)
4. While Working On International Roaming, Should I Specifically Choose A Specific Operator Or Like AIrtel, I Can Automatically Be Latched On To Any Operator?
Ans. It will be automatically connected to the partner network in the corresponding country. You cannot connect any network, if the specific network is partnered with Jio, then you can.
5. When It’s Said High Speed Data – Does It Mean 3G Or 4G – While In International Roaming?
Ans. Speed will be based on the 4G speed available in the visiting country. The speed is not based on the Jio network, you will be connected to the partner network in the visiting country and the max speed will be the available maximum speed of that network.
Will Jio sim get network without IR and can I receive sms
has any one validated these answer?
I used Jio SIM while abroad and it was from my experience.
Same issue with me even in Dec 2022. I came to Singapore with Jio International Roaming pack activated. Worked for first 1 week and all of a sudden I stopped received incoming messages which Jio claims that all incoming messages are free when you activate International roaming pack. Issue is weird, I am still receiving incoming calls but not receiving sms at all.
Seriously Jio services are pathetic when it comes to international roaming.
When it comes to network stability, Jio is still having issues.
Is any IR internet booster available for roming ..i know packages available as combo like 5875.i just want to know that is any internet booster package available in international roaming…pls help
currently all the company providing combo pack only with call, data and sms.
Hi … I am currently in indonesia and wondering if i can use international roaming for my jio number. I moved here in hurry and couldn’t activate it while i was in india…. any solution guys.
is the network is working for you now. if yes, then you can do online recharge for Rs. 1101/-
Hi Vipin,
I am travelling to US with Jio prepaid SIM, I want to keep Jio only to get the OTP for the transaction. I don’t have any plans to make any calls while in US. Please let me know if I need to add any IR pack or its not needed as I am using to get only SMS. Last year i was using Airtel prepaid and without any IR activation, I was able to receive SMS in US. Is this the same with Jio? I plan to stay in US for more than 1 year and I need Jio only to get OTP.
before you go please do a recharge of Rs. 1101 on your Jio number. Please do it at least 4 or 5 hours before your travel. You will get your IR service activated and Rs. 1200 as talk time (talk time can only be used while you are in US).
This plan is valid for 28 days only. What will happen after 28 days?
After that, you need to do any normal recharge like Rs. 98, Rs 149 (both with validity 28 days) or any other plan with more validity. So your sim will be active in India and outside. To make and receive calls from outside India, you also need to have some talk-time balance in your account.
If you are on postpaid plan then to receive sms/OTPs on the India Sim while overseas i dont think you will have to do anything. I am on Idea post paid plan, when overseas i do not use india sim to make calls or send sms. It works perfectly to receive OTPs. Only thing is they charge Rs 99 per month charges. I guess this is same for all companies.
For idea, airtel, vodafone, now bsnl too in case of prepaid also, international roaming is pre-activated. So you will receive incoming sms, including OTP etc. for free. Balance only needed to make and receive calls.
Hi . I am going to visit Thailand will Jio sim work without IR package. Any problem in Thailand with Jio sim?I have not activated any IR till now. I read somewhere that red colour jio sim doesn’t work in IR is it true?
It will work in Thailand, the issue with IR roaming service is now fixed in almost all the countries. You can do any unlimited pack or the normal pack of Rs 1101/- before you go.
In the case of receiving sms, it sometimes works without IR pack. But, as per Jio, you have to do any IR pack to make and receive call and same in the case of sms.
Hi Vipin,
First of all thanks for the information.
I a will be travelling to Japan from January 7, 2017 so I wanted to know reliably that Jio sim with Global Pack Rs 1101 will work in Japan?
Another thing, do I have to do anything else then recharging in India like sim exchange and all that?
Hi Rathod,
You only needs to do a recharge for Rs. 1101 and it should be done before 4 hours before leaving India.
Wonderful guide and honest updates.
I believe Jio IR is not always necessary to be activated, however it’s useful to get extra balance. This is what I understood from different users experiences over the web.
We will be travelling abroad and will recharge with IR pack on the primary mobile with me, for family members will try to just keep 100/200 ₹ balance. If Jio does not work, I will at least have the option to switch to local country’s SIM.
Now, Jio seems to be working fine in almost all the area, but for an extra care, keep any other sim also with you and just keep balance of 100 or 200. So that you can use, in case jio have any issue.
Hi , I am travelling to Dubai for 10 days , is it safe to activate Jio Ir package on my postpaid number , immediate reply
Will be appreciated .
sure, jio is working fine now, you can do it.
Hi,
I have a jio postpaid primary number , I am travelling to Dubai comming Friday , for 10 days .
Does jio IR work properly in the uae , Cause I have to be in constant touch with my patients .
Hi,
Jio works fine, i am using prepaid here and its working fine now. Since you have to keep in touch with your patients, i recommend you to keep a backup SIM too (for safety, i recommend airtel and do not do any IR pack on that SIM, just keep some balance, at least Rs. 100 or Rs 200 in that. If jio causes any problem you can use that SIM)
Hi
I am planning to go oman for employment purpose and I planning to bring my jio number with me. Customer care person told me to recharge 1101 pack. This pack available for every month.
Pack 1101 you can use every month or only once. It depend on your usage. But you have to do recharge at least 1 time before you leave India for the IR activation. once you done, the service will be active on your number and you will get 1211 rs talk time for the next 28 days. After 28 day, you can use Rs 1101 pack again if you need 1211 talk time again. otherwise, simply do a recharge for Rs 98 plan along with topup of 100, 200, 500 depends on your usage.
I am not done the first IR activation on the Jio SIM and travelled to Japan.
I dont get the network.
An option available to active it overseas with the network.
Hi Shyam,
As per Jio.com there are some countries, where you can activate the IR service after reaching there. However Japan was not included in that. So, you can only activate it once your are back in India. If you are ready to give a wild test, then you can do an online recharge for Rs. 575 (the cheapest IR pack with validity 1 day) on your number. If you are lucky IR will be activated on your number. If not you may lose the money. So please do it only to test your luck.
WILL JIO RED SIM WORK IN THAILAND AFTER ACTIVATING IR PLAN OF 1101 AND WHAT IS THIS 2-2-2- PLAN
Yes, in Thailand you can use Jio sim with Rs.1101 pack. The charge will be 2-2-2. It means, Voice calls at 2/min, Data at 2/MB and SMS at 2/sms
Such a horrible experience With Jio international roaming.I had the exact same problem where things worked fine for the first week in America and after that no signals and no service continuously. I faced tremendous problems throughout my trip and this is my second bad experience. I faced the same problem in Saudi on jio international roaming and now I am immediately is migrating to Airtel as it is the best best provider for international roaming.
Hi Rizwan,
Sorry to hear that, as time passed, we are thinking that all the issues with jio got solved. Sorry to hear that it is still happening.
Hi Vipin,
For Me on my number there is no network on Jio and when I do search all network coming disabled, What should I do,Directly do the recharge or go to India & activate from there.
Hi Pritam,
If you are in one of the country where you can do the activation from outside india, you can do it by online recharge. Otherwise you have to be in India for the same. Yo can check whether you are in one of those country. Please check it in the list https://www.techrounder.com/telecom/list-of-countries-where-jio-international-roaming-service-is-available/
I am currently in India on Jio network and moving to USA for long-term (like 9-10 months). Can you advise on how can I keep my number active for receiving messages (OTPs etc.)
first you have to do a recharge for rs. 1101 for international roaming activation. Then you will get sms free all the time. for 28 days you will get Rs. 1211 that can be used for calls and sms. After that, you can do 98 recharge very 28 days to keep calling (balance needed in main account, you can use topup recharge for that)
if you dnt want to make and receive calls. Only incoming sms needed, the you can keep recharge rs. 98 in 2 or 3 months gaps. but for the fist time you have to do recharge of Rs. 1101
Hi Vipin,
I’m moving to Abu Dhabi on 2-year work visa. Do I need to get a recharge of 1101 after every 28 days or is it just a one-time recharge to activate international roaming. Thanks much and I appreciate your response.
it is a one time recharge for activation. After 28 days u can rs.98 recharge (every 28 days) plus topup (based on your usage). You can also do Rs. 1101 again after 28 days, if your usage for 28 days is more than Rs. 1000.
But Rs. 1101 is not mandatory, it is only needed for the first time.
Now I’m in uae. i have a jio sim my question
1) In uae how i recharge 1101 pack?
2)Then after recharge my jio sim receive otp sms na?
you can recharge via jio.com website or from myjio application. Also you can choose any payment application like phonepe or paytm etc. Alternatively you can ask anyone in india to do a recharge on your number from any store or retail shop.
You can receive all the sms including otp. You can also make and receive calls with your jio number with Rs. 2 per minute rate.
OK bro thanks for ur valuable reply
This 1101 pack valid only one month?
Now i need only otp msg receive option in uae
Rs. 1101 pack will be valid only for 28 days. This pack will activate your International Roaming and you will get Rs. 1211 talktime. Talktime will be valid for 28 days and you can use it only while you are in UAE (Outside India). You will get otp, also you can make and receive call with this talktime. Once the validity finishes, i recommend you to do recharge with Rs. 98 plan. If you don’t want to make and receive call. No need to recharge for 98. however, once every 90 days, please recharge for at least 98 to avoid disconnection.
This is jio terms and conditions (If you are activating the IR pack for the first time, kindly ensure your number is connected to Jio network.)
So my sim in uae .any one recharge my number in india. 1101 pack activating? This is possible?
Yes, they recommend that way. However later in some countries including UAE, they provide option to recharge after reaching the destination. Please read this https://www.techrounder.com/telecom/list-of-countries-where-jio-international-roaming-service-is-available/
I SELECT THE ETISALAT NETWORK BUT JIO IS NOT CONNECT TO ETISALAT NETWORK
Hi, Jio is currently partnered with Du network in UAE, you can select Du network now and not Etisalat.
Also du network not connected
Hi, Try to manually search and connect to Du. If its not working, please contact the support center [email protected]
I have a jio postpaid connection after coming to Germany , network gone and wasn’t able to registered with any network, mobile always showing no network connection any suggestions
Please call to the IR support number (+91-70188-99999) from any mobile and log your complaint with them. The support number is dedicated for IR service.
I am also not getting the network.
I raised a companion for this but nothing happened.
I got the network in Dubai only for 5 min.
And I called to India as week and used 6 rs INR from my IR pack.
After cut the call again I am not getting the network.
I raised the complain from all the communication channel Email, call centre, whatsapp.
Every time I am getting the same response your issue is important we are working on it. Sorry for delay.
Now they are not replying also.
Very bad experience with JIO
Hi Gaurav,
Sad to know that you also faced the issue. The main issue is that, the Level 1 support team with Jio only knows the basic things. They will repeat the same process again and again. In our case also, same thing happened. We continuously contacted them and finally upper level support team contacted us back. Then only the issue was sorted.
I suggest you to email them continuously ([email protected]) until it has been fixed.
Which is the network partner for Jio in Thailand?
Hi,
It is ‘True Move’ in Thailand.
i m travelling to Shanghai, China and activated 1101/- plan for IR hopefuly it works. is anything i need to do once i land in Shanghai to get the network
Nothing more, your sim will work for incoming and outgoing there. But since you are travelling to china, the call rates will be Rs. 10 per minute.
Hi i recharged with 5751 and using in UAE. Before Etisalat used to provide network here. But now DU is providing. Only concern is when we are in desert the DU signal is very bad. Is there any possibility to switch to Etisalat dat time.
Hi Sourav,
Unfortunately you cannot switch it now. Now Jio is partnered with Du in UAE and not Etisalat. If by any chance, you got connected to Etisalat, then you will not get the unlimited benefits of 5751 pack.
I am going to visit UAE and Egypt during the period from March 27 to April 10.I will have a transit at Abu Dhabi on my way to Cairo. After visiting Egypt I will be back to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for staying there for a week. Can I use my JIO prepaid SIM for IR in both countries? To get a trouble free calling (I am not interested in networking) facility what advice you would like to give me? Your advice will help me a lot.
Hi,
Jio will work on both locations, so you can take your number along with you. But one thing to be noted. Unlimited pack will be available in UAE only and not in Egypt. So while in Egypt, you will be in pay as you go plan. Call charge will be Rs 10 for incoming and outgoing. When you reach UAE, the call charge will be Rs 2 for outgoing and incoming. Since you have to travel both locations, i recommend you to recharge with global IR pack of Rs. 1101 and use your sim in pay as you go plan in both location (Rs. 10 for egypt and Rs 2 for uae). You will get Rs. 1211 as talktime with the recharge.
And if you wish to do unlimited pack, then you can do the same when you back in UAE, since the unlimited pack will work in UAE.
Worst network, do not believe in this shit. Its simply sucks your money and keeps quiet for your issues. I followed all their instructions and recharged 1101 rs, it said activated in mail and service was gone not activated till today even though I activated pack 24 hours before to travel from India. Those who does not activated any pack were got Signal in international roaming, So I suggest not to activate any ir pack just simply buy and keep additonal sim. DO NOT RELY OVER JIO EVER.
This IR service from Reliance JIO is to cheat people with INR 1101. You can’t make a single call. Forget about the calls, u don’t even get network for your JIO number.
Hi Arunabh,
Can you please let us know in which country you experienced this problem
UAE
Same here all networks are forbidden in UAE and France for Jio repared.my wife’s idea Number is working fine even without any IR recharge.
What the hell jio is doing.
Anybody using Jio Prepaid card in Singapore? I want to use it in Singapore just to receive SMS, mostly Bank OTP.
I visited Belgium last week and travel via Dubai airport. I got Jio network everywhere. Only once I faced issue, I searched for network and restarted my mobile, that happens while we are in India too. I have had a very good experience and call rates are too low, internet connection is also very good.
Thank you Subhasish for sharing your experience.
Yes the same pathetic situation was faced by me. This is very bad that customer has to logged in complaints for so many times. I will definitely changed my carrier after reaching India.
The level 1 support of Jio is not so good as other operators.
I rather had an excellent experience with Jio Global Pack 1101 during my visit to Egypt and UAE (27.03 to 08.04.2019). I had a bit hesitation before activating Jio IR, but I got very good connection with nice voice call quality even in remote areas of Egypt (excepting Abu Simbel) and Cruises. At 10-10-10 it was excellent. My mobile connected automatically to the authorised local networks (MobiNil (Orange) in Egypt and Du in UAE) and made smooth calls to India, received calls and SMS. In fact, I could make little difference from the quality I normally receive in my homeland. In UAE, my Airtel IR Pack (I also activated it due to my doubt about Jio arose in my mind from going through the comments I got from network sites) was awful and the call quality was pathetic. But, Jio was excellent. In my opinion Jio has changed a lot and provides similar, if not better, international roaming services. It is far cheaper than other Indian operators (Rs. 10-10-10 in Egypt and Rs. 2-2-2 in UAE per minute) and you get Rs. 1209 talktime value with your recharge, which I think enough for short trips to 170 countries. Mention may be that I was interested only on voice calls and for networking I had free WiFi facilities in Hotels, Airports and many Shopping Malls.
Hi Tark,
Good to hear your experience and thank you for sharing with us.
Right now I am in UAE. My jio sim is not working.. How can I activate the same for receiving otp purpose only
Sure, you can recharge for Rs. 1101 to activate the service.
I wish I could have read this article before taking Jio IR on my existing Jio prepaid connection. The problems I faced were:
1)During activation: I activated the 1101 pack 2 days before I left for 10 days trip to UK. They have clearly mentioned that during the activation process the mobile has to be within Jio network in India and so,so…. But, I lost complete connectivity to Jio network during that 4 hour period. When i contacted the CC person she was telling that it is part of the game- but then why jio has not mentioned it with their instructions.
2) In UK, jio IR is useless. I stayed in the heart of Glasgow and London- 95% of the time I was out of the network. Vodafone(UK sim) connection I took their was giving good coverage. Because of this, out of the 1200 rupees talk time they offer i could use hardly 100 rupees !
3) After i finished the roaming and came back to India, I find that my existing prepaid jio pack is non-existent (though i had a few more days left as per the date given by JIO app before activating the ID pack !). Same thing happened to my wife’s jio connection also. (Most pathetically, she could use only 5-10 rupees of the 1200 rs talktime offered because of poor connectivity !! )
So, I also strongly recommend against taking JOi IR pack.
Last two times I had used Airtel IR packs, though more expensive, they were more reliable.
I was using jio in UAE for Three weeks without any issue and suddenly stop working without any reason. how to fix it?
You can call their IR support team in India +91-7018899999
I am Jio user. Yesterday I was in Abu Dhabi, UAE and now in Paris,France. I tried almost everything but no luck to get any network on my mobile. For all manual network searched are shown as forbidden.
I never experienced this when I was Idea user.
One first thing I am going to do is switched back to Idea from Jio.
Today realize I had made mistake by switching to Jio. It’s big mistake as all my bank accounts will be suspended without receiving sms for any transaction OTP.
Very sad, did you contacted the customer care for any help ?
Jio works in US, you have to select AT&T as the network. I recharged 2 days ago and the IR just won’t activate. but you have to manually setup the APN to “jionet” incase of an android device or search and select AT&T in case of iOS
Please help
I have a jio number and i have got a job offer from abroad. As for banking purpose i have to retain my number all the time. Do i have to have international roaming pack to have a network and receive otp sms or recharge is not required or i just need to have validity? Please guide.
Yes, Just recharge your number for Rs. 1101 and you can take your Jio SIM aborad. After that, do recharge with Rs. 98 plan every 28 days. Your SIM will be active all the time. You can also make outgoing calls to India and receive incoming calls on the SIM too.
Dear Vipin,
What happen if we not recharge 98 plan every 28 days?
Is recharge is necessary to receive incoming calls / SMS?
Currently, the 98 pack is not available. The next minimum pack is Rs. 149. But in the case of Jio, even if you are not doing regular recharge, the Incoming Call and SMS facility will be active. The outgoing facility only get stopped and you will get all the incoming facility without any issue.
I have activated Jio IR pack of 1101 before coming to china. For the first 1 and half day the Jio Supported China Unicom Network was there with Good Connectivity and Also sms service was also very good.
Today afternoon around 2 o clock suddenly the network disappeared and i did all the things( restarting the phone, putting it on flight mode, searching for network operators, everything) but still i am helpless.
I cant find any solution and now i am frustated.
Can u give me any solution.
Though i have lodged a complaint but i am still to receive any whattsapp reply from Jioteam.
Hope my issue get resolved.
Please call their priority customer care for International Roaming service +91-70188-99999.
Before going to the US in June, I bought Jio’s 28-day, pre-paid IR packs for my phone and my wife’s phone, expecting it to enable us to make local calls in America. We activated the packs in India, as instructed by Jio. After arriving in the US, we were unable to make local calls to US numbers, but we could call and message India. Since I needed to be able to make local calls to American numbers, I removed my Jio sim and bought a one-month AT&T sim for $35. So the Rs. 2,202 we spent for IR packs was wasted.
When we returned to India, my wife’s Jio number doesn’t work, even though she has sufficient balance in her account, but my Jio number is working in India upon our return.
Jio customer care is absolutely useless. They are unable to provide any solution to make my wife’s Jio number work in India after our return.
This has been my experience.
Hi
I have come back from 15 days of Europe tour (6Nov 2019), I had activated JIO international roaming (Rs. 1101 for 28 days) and Vodafone international roaming (Rs 3999 for 10 days) on my two numbers.
The JIO was working fantastic in Europe, However Vodafone was a complete disappointment while everybody said Vodafone is seamless in Europe.
I was not able to make any call from Vodafone number, only SMS was active, no data and no calls were made through Vodafone.
I had a fantastic experience with jio it was seamless.
Thanks
Thank you Prasoon for sharing your experience.
Hi Vipin,
I am carrying Jio Sim with me to Hong Kong as well in mainland China..I haven’t activated International roaming at Jio Network…But I still want that my number should keep working whenever I visit to India every 6 months. I am not receiving any signals here because of non activation of IR pack. But still I would like to keep this number active. Can I just keep recharging my Jio number with Rs100 every month presuming that balance will store in my account and when I will visit India, the number will still stays active?
Your connection will be active if you are keep recharging them. But as per the mobile connection rule in India. If there is no call/sms/data activity for the continuous 90 days, the number can be deactivated by the operator. you need to make or receive a call, sent and sms, use mobile data, at least once in the 90 day time. If there is no activity, then the operator have the right to disconnect the number. But normally, Jio is not disconnecting the number even after the non-usage. But it cannot be guaranteed. Better to do IR recharge with Rs. 1101 pack and just make a call to india once in 90 days.
i activated jio IR daily pack after reaching UAE,after the recharge pack was activated under 30 mins,calls are pretty clear and data speed is good.
all i did was opened jio app after reaching dubai,recharged for daily ir pack,opened jio sim settings from apps screen,selected home imsi,got msg from phone ->network settings were change phone will reset and then i got signal on jio 🙂
highly recommend jio while travelling abroad
Thanks Arun for sharing your valuable feedback.
Hi,
i am currently in UK and trying to activate IR on my dads phone he purchased online paying Rs.1101 however it hasn’t got activated yet after 2 days of purchase. Can you help how to proceed when i ringed Jio customer care they said it can only be activated in India which doesn’t match with what they mentioned on their website for UK. Can someone please help?
Hi Vishnu,
Even the support team doesn’t have much knowledge about everyting. We experiernced the same multiple times. As per their website they are saying that the IR can be activated even after reaching the international location and it is available in multiple location. But it is not happening for all the users. For some users it does and for other it doesn’t. We know that it is practically not easy to come back India for the activation. Just contact the customer care continuously. At some time your issue will be handed over to higher level and will be sorted out. At lower lever it will not happen.
I will be moving to UK for my studies this September. i have a jio number and I haven’t recharged with any ISD pack till yet. Would you suggest moving to airtel because i have read their customer service and connectivity is quite good in terms of international roaming. Also, I believe that Airtel has no condition like jio which asks for a one time recharge to activate the international roaming. I belive intl roaming is pre-activated for all the airtel users. Am i right?
Yes, for Airtel it is pre-activated and for Jio you need to do the same by recharging with an IR pack.
Hi Vipin,
Perfectly explained. Thanks a lot for sharing this. I also experienced the same issue (as your’s) with Jio. Me and my wife ported the network to Jio and travelled to Europe. My Sim was giving issues but my wife sim is working absolutely fine. Not sure what’s the issue, i tried all basic things whatever i can. I googled a lot to find the cause of the issue but in vein. Hope this becomes a caution for the people who wants to port to Jio.
Hi Rammohan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. As you said, it will be helpful to others.
Dear Mr. Vipin,
I would like to know few details on JIO IR roaming. I had inquired with JIO customer service unfortunately their reply was not having much clarity. I saw some excellent and very informative reply from your end here .
Currently I am using an BSNL postpaid connection with an IR facility.
Now I am interested in porting to JIO Prepaid connection by using an e-sim. If I port to JIO prepaid, will I be able to use the IR facility in Oman? Do I need to activate with a International Roaming in every 29th day?
I am planning to do a recharge with a 1 year pack in JIO. And before travelling to Oman I will do a IR pack of Rs 1201 “Value Pack without WIFI calling” for 28 days. I am ready to keep a balance of “X” amount in my Jio number? what happen to IR roaming facility after the IR pack? How many days will I get the network without the IR pack or the IR network is it constant? I need to get only OTP and few SMS only. Will I able to get SMS / OTP after the IR PACK with out doing IR pack again???
also What is the difference between “Value Pack without WIFI calling” and “Value pack with WIFI” which is the best pack should I recharge before I travel Oman
Hope you will be able to to clarify my doubts
Hi Arul,
Since you are looking for an IR facility and to use your Jio SIM in Oman, I think the WiFi calling and WiFi calling pack will not work for you. Normally the WiFI calling facility will work only if you are under the home network. Once you are outside and using a third party network, that feature will not work.
As you mentioned, your requirement is to receive SMS, so you don’t need much balance in your account. The only thing you need to do is before leaving India, do a recharge for Rs. 1201 (IR Pack), then your International Roaming will be activated permanently. It is a one time recharge. Once done, the feature will be active on your number forever. You don’t need to recharge every month.
With the IR pack, you will get Rs.1017 talk time (valid for 28 days) you can use that balance for outgoing/incoming calls and outgoing SMS. Incoming SMS will be free forever.
You can do recharge with any talk time plans once the balance gets low (to make/receive calls and for outgoing SMS).
Simply, if you only want incoming SMS, then do one time recharge worth 1201, then keep your SIM on your phone and leave it there. No more recharge needed.
Thank you very much Mr. Vipin for the information
Hi Vipin,
I recently moved to Japan and have activated IR on my Jio SIM. Initially it didn’t register the local network, but the Jio Care provided help on what’s app and it was done…!! I read all your answers, still have few questions about the IR plan. Hope to get the answers…!!
1. I got from the above answers that we need to do the IR activation only once and later on any regular top up plan will do. So by top up plan you mean the plans in which we get the shear talktime value, right?
2. The balance will be used for incoming and outgoing calls, outgoing SMS and any data usage depending on the respective country’s rates. Right?
3. As the IR service is already active on my SIM and if I recharge with the top up plan said abouve, do I still need to recharge my number with the local popular plans I used to have while I was in India… The one’s we used for 1 or 1.5 GB of data per day?
If yes, will I be able use this data and on my current network?
Answers to your queries
1. Yes, available from Rs. 10 onwards. (But you should have one active plan on your number all the time)
2. Yes, correct
3. Yes, as mentioned above, your number should have one active plan all the time (any plan that is available to Indian users)
The benefits with the plan, say 1.5GB data, unlimited calls, and free SMS won’t work for International Roaming. That can only be used while in India.
While in IR all service including data, call, SMS are using the main account balance (talktime balance)
Thank you so much for the information…!! I really appreciate your efforts.
Thank you, Jyothi
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Thank you for sharing your experience. I used jio IR pack in UAE twice i did not face any issue. I was planning to buy jioFi to use over there but if I face something like this then I will also be in the hell loop.
can you suggest which connection should i buy for wifi services?
Hi Shweta,
JioFi will not work there. JioFi will work only within the Home Network and it is not available in any International Location now.
Hi,
I have a jio prepaid and bsnl postpaid, I want to visit Bangladesh which IR will be preferable for me. Is there any difference in caller tune……. or simply to say, a caller, if calling from India, can identify my location, if I want to hide him, of my abroad visit
The better option is Jio Prepaid. And regarding the caller tune, it won’t be available while you are outside India. The calling person can’t identify your location while you are in International Roaming.
Hi,
I read your all reply. But those are old.
My doubt is every month i need to recharge IR pack or only first time and for this can i chose 1day pkg. What is latest changes(traveling to UAE)
IR pack only for one-time recharge. Definitely, you can recharge with the 1-day pack, and your IR service gets activated. Then you can use any normal validity plan and Talktime recharge.
Hi Vipin,
I gone through all your responses. Those are realy helpful.
I have jio prepaid without any IR pack active and now I am in UAE, my sim is not getting registered on any network including DU.
1. Will it work without any IR pack rechage?
2. Do I need to recharge for 1101Rs?
3. Will it work after IR pack recharge as Currently my sim is not registered to any network in UAE?
You need to recharge once with pack 1101, and your sim gets activated with IR service. After one month, you can recharge using any normal recharge pack you used before in India. IR pack is one-time recharge only.
Yes, thank you its working after 1101 recharge.
Great to know that.
Hi Vipin,
Thank you for your information and this effort.
I am planning to switch my number from vi to jio.
I want to know that if I activated ir plan once and use sim for 6 months in foreign countries then back to India, will I have to recharge with ir pack again before leaving india next time?
Thanks in advance.
No need. IR Activation is a one-time recharge. Later you only need to recharge with any validity plan along with a talk time plan to make and receive calls during your International roaming period.
This is do true. I used vodafone services in Japan for 3 years & never faced any issues. Here I ported to Jio & it left me frustrated in US. Even sms stopped coming now. JIo customer care support & IR service are really bad.
Thank you for article. At least now I know the reality now.
Hi Geet, Thank you for sharing your feedback.
I am facing exact same issue with Jio in Poland. IR activated before traveling, worked well for few days and now it is showing no service. Contacted customer care numerous time, repeated all setting changes automatic/manual, international roaming on/off etc. multiple times and still no resolution. Impacting my work, transactions as all OTPs are stopped.. customer care not helping. Please do let me know if anyone knows solution to this issue
Hi Dhiraj,
Unfortunately, only with the help of support can you fix the issue. Therefore, I recommend you keep contacting them daily until it gets fixed.
I know it is hard, but that is what we can do.
Hi Vipin, my Jio sim that I had in India does not work in Malaysia. It says “Emergency Calls Only.” Now from what I have been made to understand, I can buy the 1101 pack in Malaysia and it will start working. Is that the case? Or do I have a bigger problem that that?
Also, from what I have noticed, even if I am able to purchase the roaming pack in Malaysia, it seems that Jio is blocking all Malaysian cards for transactions. Does it mean that I need to get someone from India to recharge for me, or is there any other way?
Hi Gokul, the best option is to do the recharge from India. You can ask your friends or family for a quick recharge.
Hi Vipin, I managed to get someone to help me get the 1101 pack, and it worked after I restarted my phone.
I have a second question. Now I am back in India, but I am going for a business trip to Europe. Does incoming SMS continue freely upon leaving India, or do I need another roaming pack?
Great to know that. You don’t have to recharge again with a roaming pack. IR pack is a one-time recharge. You will get incoming SMS for free.
Recent experience activating 2 JIO SIMs in the USA. I bought the SIMs in India. I bought the IR plans while in India. I went thru 2 scenarios:
1. Activate IR in India – To activate IR while in India, you need to make an international call once you activate IR in India. Technically it signals to JIO that your SIM is now enabled for IR calls. After you visit USA (or any other country) the SIM should register with Jio’s partner which in USA is AT&T.
2. Activate IR in USA – As I did not make an international call with the 2nd Jio SIM I had to activate it while in the USA. When you purchase an IR Plan it gets queued for activation along with your main plan recharge. They don’t tell you this, instead they will tell you that the plan will be activated automatically abroad. If you have an annual plan for main service it makes no sense to wait until end of that plan to activate IR. You have to call customer service to activate the IR plan while in USA (or other country). Jio customer service helped, but it is a pain to do it over text chat. Best thing is get your IR plan activated while in India itself.
One tip, don’t purchase the Rs.1500 IR plan, they have a value plan for Rs.500 which usually is hidden and won’t show up in the plan list obviously. If you look closely in their app you can find it if you search for value plans.
All of this pain is because of Jio’s policies, Airtel is way better for IR, no such hassles.
One more point, the SIM will register with AT&T only if you have an active IR plan, otherwise, it will default to T-Mobile. Incoming OTP/SMS will work phone while registered with T-Mobile but you cannot send outgoing SMS or make calls. You can do those only when the IR plan is active and on ATT network. I plan to switch to Airtel or Vodafone during my next trip due to these complications.
*** LATEST experience (Dec 2022)
Good article and blog. I recently went through this issue after coming back to USA with a new JIO SIM, which I wanted to keep for OTP purposes like many others. I would like to share my experience on how I got my JIO SIM working for just incoming SMS for free (again, as long as you manage to not lose the number by making some charges every 90 days, as of this writing).
– Activate IR (International Roaming) setting on your JIO number. You can do this India easily since OTP works while in India . However, I did not do it in India. I used MyJIO, which I had installed from day one I got the new JIO sim. Another tip is that you should use MyJIO app on the same device that has your JIO SIM (for security and seamless functionality). See https://www.jio.com/selfcare/plans/mobility/jio-international-roaming-plans/.
– After I activated IR using MyJIO app, the app said it took the request successfully and will notify me when my ph is activated. Immediately I got a WhatsApp message saying my number is activated for IR, with a link to the above page for IR packs. But, wait…you don’t need to purchase any IR!
– Looking at the above JIO support page for IR, it says incoming SMS (text) messages on IR are free. However, my ph is still not able to receive SMS, which I was sending from my USA ph (note that I am in USA at this time). Part of me kept saying go purchase the IR pack. But I resisted my thoughts and did more investigation and landed on this blog.
– I started going through my phone/device settings and noticed that my “WIFI calling” was not active. Once I turned it one, VOILA, sms messages started coming in. Testing from both my USA ph and an India ph (from a friend in India) worked! I also saw “Vo)) WIFI” symbol come on my phone upper right corner, next to regular wifi symbol.
– Notice that I did not have to purchase any IR pack! which is needed only when you want to make calls/SMS and receive calls. Receiving SMS is free per above JIO support page.
– My conclusions with this experience is that JIO may not have proper tie up with local carriers in USA for stated functionality using air waves. Once I enabled WIFI calling, the device switched to using WIFI for all ph/sms functionality and able to communicate with JIO servers (wherever they are, most likely in India).
– Also, getting prompt customer support on IR is found to be difficult.
Hi Srinivas, Thank you for sharing your experience. Highly valuable for other readers.
Hi vipin,
Next week, I am going to China to resume my work and want to keep my Jio SIM active. I will activate IR before going. How can I keep the SIM going after IR validity period of 28 expires?
Just recharge the SIM with any plan (normal plan)
Jio not working in china completely.
No network. Any IR package is waste of paying. It had no problem in HK, but since landing ins Mainland there is no network. Customer care reply with no help.
Really stuck and regret for keeping Jio as my number.. any possibility for network access.. please help.