Jio Phone Bookings Begin Online and Offline: All Your Questions Answered

Jio Phone booking process has commenced for the public after a wait for more than a month. However, you will have to wait at least a week before the Jio Phone you booked reaches you as the company will not start deliveries till September. Reliance Jio reportedly aims to sell as many as 100 million units of the phone in the first year, and roughly the same number the next year. However, the Jio servers crashed and users were unable to book Jio Phone from MyJio app and the Jio.com website when Jio started taking the pre-orders. If you have questions about the Jio Phone booking process, price, features, etc., just scroll down for all the answers.

How do I book Jio Phone?

To book JioPhone you have three options – the Jio.com website, the MyJio app, and authorised offline Jio retailers. All you need to do make the Jio Phone booking is to give your phone number and the pincode delivery address, and pay a sum of Rs. 500. Once the booking has been made, you will receive a voucher number that you can refer to while picking up the handset. When the JioPhone you booked is up for delivery, you will receive an SMS mentioning the store from which it can be picked up. Even the units booked online will have to be picked up offline.

Can I book the Jio Phone for a friend?

Yes, you can book multiple JioPhone units, for your friends and family. All you need is their respective phone numbers and delivery pincodes. You will have to make a Rs. 500 payment for each unit you pre-order at the time of booking itself.

When do I make the full payment?

The refundable security amount for Jio Phone is Rs. 1,500, of which Rs. 500 is, as mentioned above, paid at the time of booking. The remaining Rs. 1,000 has to be paid when you pick up the handset from the offline store.

How many units can I book?

On the MyJio app and Jio.com website, there seems to be no cap on how many units of the handset can be booked (we went up to 30 units). Multiple units can be booked against the same number and pincode as well, and you just need to make the Rs. 500 partial deposit per unit at the time of booking.

Can I transfer my booking to someone else?

After ordering the Jio 4G phone, if you decide against buying it, you can transfer the booking to someone else using the Transfer option in the MyJio app, under Manage Bookings. After entering your number and OTP, you will see an overview of your JioPhone bookings, with information such as orders placed and number of units for each order. Now, tap on the Transfer button above the JioPhone banner, and the screen will switch to a new interface with the option to reassign your booking to someone else. All you will have to do is to provide the new user’s phone number, the new delivery pincode, and number of units to be transferred (in case you booked more than one). The recipient will instantaneously receive a SMS from Jio mentioning their new booking.

JioPhone bookings can be transferred to others using Manage Booking in MyJio app

When will my Jio Phone unit be delivered?

JioPhone delivery schedule is not yet known, though the company does say it will start deliveries in September. Each user will receive the delivery schedule and details of the offline store their unit can be picked up from via SMS. Reliance Jio aims to deliver 5 million (50 lakh) units of the handset per week.

How much data will I get with the phone?

The phone comes with two primary recharge packs, priced at Rs. 153 and Rs. 309. The Rs. 153 JioPhone pack provides 500MB data at 4G speeds, and the speed goes down to 128kbps after the high-speed data cap is exhausted. You will also get 300 free SMSs, access to compatible Jio apps, such as JioTV, JioCinema, JioXpressNews, and JioMusic. Voice calls are free on the Jio network as well.

With the Rs. 309 Jio Phone recharge pack, you will get the same benefits as the Rs. 153 pack, but 1GB of data per day. If you plan to use the Jio Phone-TV Cable, called the JioMediaCable, that lets you mirror content playing on the phone directly on the big screen then you must buy the Rs. 309 recharge pack. This recharge pack will become available for purchase only when the cable hits the market. There are also two sachet packs of Rs. 24 and Rs. 54, with validities of 2 days and 7 days, respectively.

Is the Jio Phone-TV Cable free? Where and when can I buy it?

The JioMediaCable will not be available free, though it is not yet clear how much it will cost. Similarly, there is no clarity at the moment regarding its launch date. However, it is confirmed that the accessory will be available to purchase both online and offline for JioPhone buyers.

Which apps will work on Jio Phone?

Jio says apart from its own apps, users will get popular instant messaging and social networking apps on the handset. However, WhatsApp – inarguably the most popular messaging app in India – is not present on the KAI OS-based platform at the moment, though it may be added later on. We did catch a glimpse of Facebook on the phone at the launch event, along with PM Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat app. With a VGA camera in front, you can expect video calling apps – JioVideoCall at least – to work on the handset too. Other Jio apps that will be preloaded on the phone are JioShare, JioGames, and a Web browser.

If we are talking about the phone’s software, the device’s HelloJio voice recognition system that supports 22 Indian languages needs to be mentioned as well. According to the demo at the launch event, the voice recognition system will allow users to control certain functions on the phone by saying commands aloud in their vernacular languages. The website says it can make calls, send SMSs, launch the browser and camera apps, and open JioTV, JioCinema, JioMusic etc.

Which languages are supported on the Jio Phone? 

The JioPhone supports 22 Indian languages that should cover most of the regional languages in the country. The full list of languages supported by the JioPhone (in alphabetical order) is Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

What are the key Jio Phone features and specifications?

Jio Phone has a 2.4-inch display with 320x240 pixel resolution, dual-core 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SPRD 9820A/QC9805 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal with expansion support up to 128GB, 2-megapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, 2000mAh battery with talk time of 12 hours, NFC for digital payments (software support to be added later), Bluetooth 4.1, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, and USB 2.0 support.

You will get a flashlight, alphanumeric keypad with 4-way navigation button in the middle, FM radio, and headphone jack on the phone. It will also have Microsoft Exchange email support, and allow you to import contacts synced with your Google account. The company says some of these features will be released later via software updates.

When will I get my refundable money back?

To reclaim the refundable security deposit of Rs. 1,500, you have to wait for three years from the date of purchase. You will get the full amount back when you hand over the device to the company, Jio says.