Reliance Jio Core Balance (Top Up) – What it is & How to Recharge?

Reliance Jio offers unlimited free calls under its prime as well as regular plans. This means that recharging for a plan is everything that the customer needs. That said, there’s the Core or top-up Balance which is separate from the plans. It is a new term because Jio did not offer any way to top-up and use the core balance during the free period.

However, now that the Jio services will be chargeable, the Core Balance comes into effect. You’d be wondering what exactly is this core balance and how will it be used? We’ll answer that for you right here.

What is Core Balance in Reliance Jio?

The core balance is the primary or main balance of your Reliance Jio SIM card. If you’ve accessed the MyJio app or the Jio website, you’d have noticed that it says Balance Rs. 0.00. This balance is what Jio terms as core balance.

Core balance is similar to the prepaid balance you have in the SIM cards from other operators. Starting 1st of April, you can top-up the core balance and pay for various Jio services.

Where is Top Up (Core Balance) Used?

The core balance is used to charge the customer at base tariff if a plan does not exist. So, the use of core balance is to cover for overages and the usage which is not free under the subscribed plan. Or if the customer does not have a plan at all.

Update: Jio has modified its policy and now a customer needs to have a plan in order to make calls. Users can no longer use the core balance to pay for calls and SMS under base tariff. I’m hopefull that this will change going forward when TRAI gets stricter on them.

Example of using core balance: Let’s suppose you subscribe to the Rs. 99 prime plan. You’ll get unlimited voice calls, 2 GB + unlimited slow data and 300 text messages (SMS) for 28 days. Now, if you  send more than 300 text messages then your free usage will be over. In order to send more text messages, you’ll be charged from your core balance.

Other than that, the core balance is used to make international calls and SMS, international roaming calls, premium short codes and calls or to recharge your hero pack (plan voucher). Basically anything which is not covered under your plan is charged from your core balance. Here’s a list of all items together:

Where to use the top-up balance?

1. Susbscribe to a plan voucher (monthly calling + data plans).
2. Call and text (SMS) international (non-Indian) phone numbers.
3. Calls and SMS to premium numbers.
4. Send SMS beyond the limit of 100 SMS per day in cae of unlimited plans; and also beyond total number of allowed SMS in case of plans with limited free SMS. Charges are Rs. 1 per SMS.

How to Recharge Jio Core Balance

Jio core balance can be topped up from Rs. 10 upto Rs. 5000. Recharges of denominations lower than Rs. 100 will attract service charges whereas recharges beyond Rs. 100 will provide full talktime. Here’s the detail:

You can recharge your core balance starting from 1st of April 2017. Recharges can be done using the MyJio app, Jio money app or the Jio website. You can also visit a retail store or 3rd party online recharge websites such as Paytm and Mobikwik.