Call Me...Maybe?

Before arriving to India, I had been warned to expect stunning bureaucracy and unexpected difficulties in accomplishing seemingly simple tasks.  I experienced this in my efforts to set up a local mobile phone number and get it fully operational.

First step was all the paperwork required to buy the SIM card.  I needed to provide a copy of my passport page and Indian visa, proof of residence in New Delhi, and a passport photo.  I mistakenly forget to bring a passport photo with me, but luckily the vendor agree to snap a photo of me with his own mobile phone camera.  The vendor also explained the SIM wouldn't work for several more hours and gave me instructions on calling in to activate it.

After activating the SIM and verifying my Apple ID, I discovered that FaceTime wasn't working.  I poked around online and discovered some trouble-shooting tips as well as a warning that the fix could take up to 24 hours.  The next day, I expectantly opened FaceTime only to discover it was still "waiting for activation."  Some of the trouble-shooting tips had mentioned that FaceTime activation requires a texting plan.  After trying some test texts, I discovered I did not, in fact, have a texting plan. So, I trudged back to the phone card kiosk, in the middle of a downpour, to purchase one.  Even though a one-month prepaid texting plan costs less then $1, it is not part of the standard SIM card purchase in India.  Who knew?

But even though I confirmed that I could now send texts, FaceTime was still not operational.  I contacted Apple Support, and after a long chat session where the rep suggested I try all the things I'd already done multiple times, he arranged for a supervisor to call me to discuss further.  I answered the call and barely suppressed a laugh when I heard a South Asian voice.  There was something ironic about being an American in India, calling an American company for assistance, and being connected to a call center back in India!  While the rep was polite, he was insistent the problem was not with Apple, but with my phone company.  This made zero sense to me, but after some more online searching, I discovered other prepaid customers had solved the problem by depositing a balance into their phone account.

The next day, as I was sharing my tale of woe with my colleague Sandeep and explaining I'd be heading back to the phone card kiosk after work, he offered to help me add the balance online and spare me the walk.  So, after 10 days, two trips to the phone card kiosk, multiple Google searches, a call to Apple, and some assistance from a local, I finally had a fully operational Indian phone number.  Whew!

Sandeep to the rescue!

Happily using my new number