MTN SIM Swap Offer Is Genuine

MTN customers, like me, who received a call from a courier company offering to deliver a new SIM card can rest assured that this is a genuine offer from the mobile phone operator and not a scam. By Gugu Lourie

Initially, I thought was being scammed by a fake courier company asking to deliver a new LTE free SIM card. “I informed the courier consultant that I was not interested in a free new LTE sim card as I was already using one and didn’t see a need to change it.”

But, I decided to call MTN to verify the call from the courier company.

MTN confirmed that the offer is genuine.

The mobile phone operator in an emailed statement told TechFinancials.co.za that the SIM card upgrade is part of its drive to upgrade subscribers to a free MTN LTE SIM card that they can use on their LTE devices.

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is the latest network technology in the realm of mobile Internet. The biggest benefit of LTE is data speeds, the speed at which your device connects to the Internet and the speed at which it can download and upload data. You will experience faster upload speeds which will enable you to upload photos or videos in a flash.

LTE opens up the capabilities to stream clearer videos with less buffering. It makes browsing the internet significantly faster, with most pages loading in less than a few seconds. Video calling is another benefit that LTE enables. With LTE, video calls on Skype are clearer and crisper.

Enjoy faster downloads with an LTE SIM card

MTN LTE Sim Swap

The evolution of mobile technology has seen networks improve in many areas including the speeds at which consumers can upload and download data, voice clarity, and how seamlessly consumers can surf the web.

Correspondingly, smartphones have also improved significantly in line with the networks, and many of today’s handsets are compatible to new generation networks such as otherwise known as 4G or Long Term Evolution.

LTE is a new generation network that boasts improved speeds for data. What this means is that consumers using LTE compatible smartphones can surf the internet at faster speeds, download and upload pictures and videos quicker, stream and watch video content without any buffering.

MTN is aware that some of its customers have LTE devices e.g. mobile phones or modems. For their convenience, MTN is giving its customers a free MTN LTE SIM card that they can use on their LTE devices.

These are being delivered door to door to customers.

What to do once you receive your SIM card:

SMS “Swap” from your current SIM to 44770
You will then receive a One Time Pin (OTP) to your current MTN SIM. You are encouraged to save the OTP or write it down. The pin is valid for 15 minutes.
Then, SMS Swap plus your new MTN LTE SIM Number and the OTP to 44770. E.g. SMS: Swap 1234567890*1234#. (Please note that your SIM Number can be located on your new LTE SIM Card).
Wait until your existing SIM stops working and then proceed to insert your new 128k MTN LTE SIM card into your LTE capable handset and power it on
You will receive a Welcome SMS from MTN
You can now enjoy super-fast speeds with MTN LTE.

What to be aware of:

You will only have access to the LTE network once the SIM Swap has been successfully activated
When you complete your LTE SIM swap, please ensure it’s from your LTE device and your first LTE SIM swap to receive a free data bundle (Reward offer is only available for a limited period).
You will know that you are in an area with LTE coverage when you see the letters “LTE” on your handset’s network bar either in the top right or left corner of your device. MTN is continuously improving its LTE network footprint. We will keep you informed of this update to our coverage via SMS as and when the footprint increases. You may also check if you are in an area with LTE coverage by visiting the Coverage Map Tab on mtn.co.za
There will be a seamless and an automatic switchover from LTE to 3G or 2G network, which means that your data connection will not be disrupted. This will also be dependent on the area in which you are in.
MTN Internet Bundles can be purchased by dialling *141*2# and selecting Internet Bundles. Below are some of the best bundles suited for LTE are:
1GB @ R160 & get 1GB Free*
2GB @ R260 & get 2GB Free*
3GB @ R330 & get 3GB Free*
5GB @ R430 & get 5GB Free*

Who to contact in the event of a problem

You may visit an MTN store or contact the call centre by dialling 808 from your MTN handset.

How to back-up your contacts

Here are some helpful guidelines to assist you in syncing your contacts to your new SIM:
How to sync your contacts with an Android phone and a Gmail account
Make sure that you have Gmail installed on your device.
Open the App Drawer and go to Settings, then go to ‘Accounts and Sync’.
Enable the Accounts and syncing service.
Select your Gmail account from the e-mail accounts setup.
Make sure that you’ve enabled ‘Sync Contacts’ option.
Press ‘Sync now’ button and wait until all the phone contacts have been successfully synchronized with your Gmail account.
Now open Gmail in your computer’s web browser and click the Gmail text link that is listed on the upper left side of the Gmail profile.
Select Contacts and then you should see a page where all the contacts from your Android smartphone have been stored.

How to sync your contacts with an Apple device

Make sure that iCloud Contacts is on
Tap Settings > iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and make sure that Contacts is on.
Update your iOS device

Make sure that you’re using iOS 5 or later. To see your version, Go to Settings > General > About > Version.

Check your Internet connection
Go to apple.com in Safari. If you can’t connect to the Internet, your iCloud contacts won’t update in the Contacts app. You can get help with your Internet connection.
Refresh your contacts
In iOS 7, open Contacts, tap Groups in the upper-left corner, then swipe down to refresh the list of groups.
In iOS 6 and iOS 5, open Contacts, tap Groups in the upper-left corner, then tap the Refresh button in the upper-left corner.

See if iCloud is your default account:

Tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
In the Contacts section, tap Default Account.
Make sure iCloud is selected.

How to sync your contacts with a Windows device

A Microsoft Live account is required
Swipe to the left from your Start screen. Click on Settings, click on Backup
Click on Apps+Settings, toggle the switch on Settings Backup. An option for App and Contacts backup will show up. Set it to On, then hit the Back button.

How to sync your contacts with a Blackberry device

On your computer, open BlackBerry Link.
Connect your device to your computer using a USB cable.
At the bottom of the screen, click your device.
Click the settings icon.
In the Settings view, in the left pane, click Back Up Now.

“We trust that you will have a richer and more rewarding experience with your new LTE enabled SIM card and hope that you enjoy super-fast speeds with your MTN LTE SIM card,” said MTN in a statement.