This guideline is aimed at showing you how to check Telkom airtime balance at home or on the go using either the USSD, SMS, online methods and three other proven methods.
Let us dig in!!
Telkom Mobile SA remains the fastest growing telecom service provider in the country, it has long surpassed Cell C as the third largest mobile service provider in terms of both revenue generation and active number of subscribers.
I use Telkom, especially because of its cheap data which I am able to easily subscribe to using the reliable USSD code for cheaper Telkom data.
In case, you are a subscriber like me and you need to adequately make sure you have enough airtime to call friends and families, buy data using your airtime, load data and to always be able to convert your airtime as data, it is important you know how to check your available airtime balance all the time.
Apart from the ease to easily recharge your Telkom account, to safe measures to recover your lost number and the step by step guide to stop all Telkom subscriptions; these guideline to know your balance is as simple as A, B, C.
The proven six ways to check your airtime balance on Telkom are explained below:
1. Using SMS To Check Telkom Airtime Balance
This comes at no cost to you. It is essentially free i.e. Mahala. To check your balance using SMS, follow the guidelines below:
- Go to the message feature of your phone
- Send an empty message to 188 ( do not type anything in the message box)
- After a while, you will will get an SMS informing you of your available Telkom balance
- Sometimes, it may take a while to get the SMS, just be patient as it may be because of network congestion. However, within 30 seconds to 2 minutes, you should get an SMS message showing your balance.
2. Using the USSD code
The most convenient and easiest way to check and know your airtime balance is by dialing the USSD code. To do this, follow the guidelines below.
- Flip open your phone ( Android, iPhone or Huawei etc.)
- Go to the typing pad, and dial the USSD code *188#, press send or enter
- Within seconds, your available airtime balance will be displayed on your screen. Sometimes, depending on the network, it may take roughly 20-30second. If it fails, just dial the code again.
3. Using the Telkom App
The second most convenient way to check your balance is using the App i.e. the Telkom App. This is very useful especially if you are currently online i.e. having data because you will need your internet data to be able to use the App to check it.
To use the App, kindly follow the guidelines below:
- First, visit the app store; Google play, Apple play or Huawei store
- Look for Telkom App or type ‘Telkom” and download the App
- Install the App and register.
- After registering with your information, navigate to My accounts, go to your profile and click on balance check.
You can watch this video:
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4. Using IVR Service To Check Telkom Airtime Balance
This is one of the latest technology that Telkom deployed to make life easy for its numerous subscribers. To use IVR, you must first know and understand what IVR stands for and represents.
IVR means Interactive Voice Response; according to Wikipedia, IVR, also known as VRU ( voice response unit) is a modern technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice etc.
Follow the steps below to use IVR to check your airtime balance on Telkom:
- Flip open your phone and dial 188 ( without the * and # keys)
- Dialing this number prompts up the voice menu and this will take you to your balance enquiry
- Listen to the voice prompts and follow the instructions as stated.
5. Using WhatsApp To Check Telkom Balance
For most young people, the use of WhatsApp to check balances was a welcome development since about 3 years now.
While the use of WhatsApp is good, the only downside or disadvantage to it is that you need to have an active internet connection or at least WhatsApp data to be able to check your Telkom airtime balance.
The WhatsApp number to check airtime balance on Telkom mobile is 0811601700; Follow the guidelines to use WhatsApp.
- Install WhatsApp on your phone ( I am certain you have it installed it already)
- Add the WhatsApp number, 0811601700 to your contacts list ( You can save the number as Telkom WhatsApp customer number)
- Refresh your WhatsApp, locate the saved name and send ”AIRTIME BALANCE” to the number
6. Using Online ( Using Website To Check)
The last way to check Telkom airtime balance is by going online through the use of the Telkom official website.
To do this, follow the guidelines below:
- Go to https://www.telkomsa.net/
- Sign in or login with your details ( and if you have not registered, you can quickly register with your details)
- Go to My account and click on the available balance link.
Now that we are done with the steps to check the airtime balance on Telkom, I will now explain how you can check the data balance also.
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How To Check Data Balance on Telkom
Checking your data balance on Telkom follows nearly the same way and routine like the airtime balance I explained earlier.
It is highly important to always keep an eye on your data balance in order not be caught off guard, especially if you doing something that is extremely important.
For example, downloading a file, watching a movie or working online on an important project or even making a video call; all these factors is importance and hence the reason why you should always act smart by knowing your available balance at all times.
There are 5 ways to check your Data balance and I will explain them one by one in this guideline.
1. Checking Telkom Data Balance using SMS
This comes at no cost at all. You do not have to have airtime to send SMS checking your balance. To make sure of SMS to check your data balance on Telkom, follow the guidelines below
- Open the message box in your phone
- Go to send new message
- Just send a blank i.e empty message to 188
- Wait for about 30 seconds, then you will get a message showing your available data balance.
- The message contains all details and information about your data, including usage statistics, limits , balance etc.
2. Checking Telkom Data Balance Online
Using the online method to check your available data balance is not the best option to use. The reason is because you need to have data on your phone to access the online method.
So, if you have enough data, then follow this guideline:
- Go to https://www.telkomsa.net/ ( official website of Telkom Mobile South Africa)
- Login with your username and password if you have already registered on the platform. If you have not registered, just click on ‘register ‘and register with your Telkom number and your information. Keep the password safe
- In case you forgot your password, just click on ‘forget password’ and a remainder password will be sent to you
- When logged in, go to your profile, to balances, and then over to data balances
- Your full data balances will be displayed for you to see and view
3. Using USSD Code
The use of the USSD code to check your data balance on Telkom mobile is by far the easiest way to go. Secondly, it is also free and you do not even need a data to dial the code.
Guideline:
Dial *188# from your Telkom line or number
The available balance will be displayed. Please note that the balance will include both the available airtime and data balance.
4. Using Telkom App
To use the Telkom App, you need to have data available because you will need an active internet connection.
To use the App, kindly follow the guidelines below:
- First, visit the app store; Google play, Apple play or Huawei store
- Look for Telkom App or type ‘Telkom” and download the App
- Install the App and register.
- After registering with your information.
- Login with your username and then navigate to My accounts, go to your profile and click on balance check.
5. Using IVR to check Telkom Data balance
Using the IVR to know your balance is both free and also with no use of internet connectivity. It is also very easy.
To use the IVR, simply dial 188, listen to the activated voice menu and follow the instructions you will be told.
6. How To Check Telkom Data Balance on the Router
First, this depends on the type of router you are using. To check your data balance on the router can be done in using the router IP address.
Most routers are from Huawei and they tend to have common or similar IP address numbers I shared below.
Follow the guidelines below:
- Make sure that your router is on
- Open your browser e.g. Google chrome, safari, Mozilla, internet explorer, or Edge
- Type any of the following router IP address:
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.1.8
- 192.168.1.3
- Press enter
- You will be presented with username and password; default username and password for most router is admin.
- Type admin and tap enter
- When inside the dashboard, navigate to the SMS section and from there , you will get balances of your data.