How to Activate BSNL 4G SIM – Steps to Upgrade

BSNL 4G service is now gradually rolling out in various parts of the country. However, customers are still unknown about how to Activate BSNL 4G on their number. Therefore, the state-run telecom firm is issuing 4G SIM cards, and customers can activate BSNL 4G SIM by SMS from their existing 2G or 3G BSNL SIM.

The steps in 4G SIM activation are completely SMS-based activation. The 4G was first tested at the Idukki district in Kerala. However, because of the delay in issuing the license for the commercial operation, the telecom company went back into the 4G network.

Now BSNL is on its way to officially launch the service in all the circles. However, the date is not yet announced. But what BSNL is doing now is to launch the 4G network in each place for testing. So we are getting a 4G network in multiple places in Kerala. As per the reports, the company is going to launch it officially soon.

Prior to the launch, BSNL is providing 4G SIM cards to its users. The company started to issue 4G SIM cards in Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka circle, etc. To use the 4G service, customers need to upgrade their existing 2G/3G sim card to the new 4G sim. Unlike the other operator, BSNL didn’t provide their customers with 4 G-enabled SIM cards before. Hence, every customer needs to upgrade their SIM with a new 4G SIM.

Read: How to Activate International Roaming Facility On BSNL Prepaid Mobile Number ?

How to get BSNL 4G SIM

To get the new BSNL 4G SIM, you need to visit the nearest Customer Care Center and pay Rs. 50 or can get a sim card free from BSNL Mela. Now BSNL is conducting Mela in different places, and you can grab your free SIM from there. But, before doing this, you should know that the new 4G SIM will not work for International Roaming. So, if you are using your number for IR service, , please check the issues that BSNL 4G have with it.

Steps to Activate BSNL 4G SIM

If you got the sim card, you could complete the BSNL 4G SIM Upgrade process in less than 5 minutes. Follow the below steps to upgrade your BSNL sim card.

Step 1: First, you need to note down the 19 digit SIM number printed on your new SIM card.

Step 2: Then from your BSNL number (the one you are going to upgrade) send an SMS to 53734 in the following format.

RE4G < space > last 6 digit of the new 4G sim card < space > KL

Eg: RE4G 123456 KL, where the final 2 characters KL is for Kerala circle, replace it with your circle code, TN for Tamil Nadu, UP for Uttar Pradesh etc.

Once you sent the message, a confirmation SMS will be received in the below format.

“Dear Customer. This connection will stop working within 15 mins of SMS RE4G < space > YES to 53734. Please send ‘YES’ only if you have received a new SIM card:8991876890123456789 and it is with you”

The number “8991876890123456789” is a sample only and what you need to do is, verify the SIM number you received in the SMS is the same as that of the one printed on the new SIM card.

If it is correct, then you can go ahead with the next step. It is also noted that currently, BSNL users are experiencing issues in receiving the acknowledgment message. If you are not receiving the message, then you can check the solution so that you can proceed with the next step. On the other hand, if you received the acknowledgment message, proceed with the next step.

Step 3: Again user need to send an SMS to 53734 in the below format

RE4G < space > YES

Eg: RE4G YES

After sending that, you will receive an acknowledgment message like the one below.

“Dear Customer, your request for 4G SIM swap registered successfully. Please check after 1 hour to get the services on new SIM issued ”

Step 5: Just before your old SIM card gets disconnected and the new SIM card is ready, and you will get another SMS like below.

“Dear Customer, your request for SIM swap has been registered in Sancharsoft with …… (CSC or franchise details from where you got the new SIM). Suppose you do not submit the request. Pls, report to them immediately to stop it.”

Note: The above message was usually received, but sometimes you may not receive it. If you received the 1st two messages and not the 3rd one, don’t think that your sim will not get activated. In that case, also your SIM will get registered at the earliest. In that case, check for the mobile network on your phone. Once you lose the network signal on your old SIM, replace it with a new SIM card, done.

The time mentioned in the second message is 1 hour and in the first message is 15 mins. Don’t get confused with that. The service will get activated at any time after 15 minutes. But it is not guaranteed that it will get activated within 1 hour. Due to the server load and network issues, time may vary. For example, we did a 3 SIM upgrade at the same time. The first one got activated after 6 hours, the second one after 15 hours, and the 3rd one took almost 24 hours.

So no need to worry; whether it takes 15 minutes or 24 hours, your old SIM card will only get disconnected once the new SIM is activated. So whenever your network gets disappears on your mobile (old sim card inserted), replace it with a new SIM card and continue using the BSNL 4G SIM. In this way, you can upgrade BSNL 3G sim to 4G by SMS

All the SMS to the number 53734 is free.

Here are a few other articles that you may read next

• BSNL 4G SIM Upgrade Not Working ? Here is the Possible Solutions
• Outgoing Service Stopped For Idea Users – Next Vodafone and Airtel
• What is BSNL Wings and How Much it Cost to get a New Connection?