Kogan - Activate SIM without being online?

GregMonarch on 27/02/2019 - 12:42
Last edited 27/02/2019 - 12:43

In the past I recall activating SIM cards with another company without an internet connection. i.e. You could insert a new SIM card, and it would go online, but only to the company's own website to allow you to sign up/activate. (If you tried to go anywhere else online it wouldn't work.)

This meant you didn't need an internet connection to activate a new SIM/account.

I was wondering if Kogan was the same - so I tried it. i.e. I put a new, unactivated Kogan SIM into my modem - typed in www.koganmobile.com.au - and it opened the webpage… Ok, good so far… So then I clicked "Activate SIM", and it allows you to enter all the first lot of info to begin activation. But it stops working at the "Personal details" page - and you have to go online some other way to complete the activation. (And when you do go online using another method, the first lot of info you entered is still there ready.)

I got the same result with both Firefox and Chrome.

Question: So are you supposed to be able to activate Kogan SIMs 'without' (an already active/another) internet connection? i.e. Can you activate a new Kogan SIM using only the new SIM itself?

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Comments

  • HighAndDry on 27/02/2019 - 13:02
    +1

    Can you find a place with free wifi?

  • Gunther on 27/02/2019 - 14:27

    You would of needed the internet to purchase the SIM in the first place…

  • bazingaa on 27/02/2019 - 16:30

    use your mobile phone browser

  • GregMonarch on 03/03/2019 - 07:59

    Yeah, I do realise you can use a second internet connection to activate. But even if you track your usage, the most careful person can still make a mistake, forget to check how much data they have left - and of course - you immediately lose internet access when data runs out.

    Currently I also have an Optus data SIM. But I want to ditch that when the contract expires. Which means if a SIM runs out of data unexpectedly, I'll have to find a library/supermarket/etc. to activate the next SIM.

    But I don't want to have to get in the car and drive 20km, just to activate the next Kogan SIM. And if it happens at night I'd have to wait til the next morning.

    So I was wondering if we're MEANT to be able to activate only using the Kogan SIM.

    e.g. I knew last night I was about to run out of quota on a Kogan SIM. This morning I knew I had because no sites were working - BUT - the browser 'spins' like it's trying to connect, but doesn't display any 'no internet connection' info. So it acts like there's huge slowdown - not like there's no connection at all.

    And going to Koganmobile worked - again. At least at first. So like I said, I was wondering if we are meant to be able to activate the Kogan SIMs without other internet access. i.e. Does Kogan give new SIMs internet access ONLY to activate them, but maybe it's not working for me for some reason. (Maybe my browser is setup wrong, etc.)

    When the first couple of activation pages work, it can't just be because those those couple of pages are my browser cache - because there's also a "browser is thinking" delay, just like when you get a slow website.

  • GregMonarch on 03/03/2019 - 08:27

    Hm… I just used the Optus connection to activate the next Kogan SIM. And filled out the personal details page, and went to the next page. Then turned off the modem, removed the Optus SIM, cleared the browser cache/cookies, inserted the new Kogan SIM which was NOT 'fully' activated yet (I hadn't entered the voucher code yet). Then turned the modem on with the Kogan SIM inserted. THEN it allowed me to complete activation 'without' an internet connection. i.e. The Optus data SIM (my main internet connection) was not inserted - and - the Kogan SIM wasn't fully activated yet.

    BUT… Once activation was complete, I couldn't use the internet. I had to turn off/on the modem one more time.

    I think we ARE supposed to be able to activate new Kogan SIMs, using only the Kogan SIM itself (without needing other internet access to activate). I'll have to wait until I buy the next one, make sure I've cleared everything from all browsers, and try it from the beginning again without partially filling in the activation pages online.

  • RJK on 03/03/2019 - 09:57

    I've found most of them are like this, and Telstra is the worst.

    Essentially they're set up with the assumption that critical sections of their websites are whitelisted on an unactivated SIM e.g. activation, help, customer service. The issue is that every time their websites are updated, they don't update the whitelist. The result is a broken activation system that doesn't allow people to get necessary help when something goes wrong.

    They need to give their Q&A people an unactivated SIM and see exactly what tasks they can't do. It took me about 46 hours to get activated through Telstra when I was traveling in rural Australia, and that was with using free wifi to get my family to make multiple calls on my behalf.

    • GregMonarch on 05/03/2019 - 10:27

      Yeah, that's what it sounds like… it goes partway through then stops. They should just grant access to the entire kogammobile site - but they couldn't do that - someone might BUY something, LOL.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/06/2019 - 05:56

    Can't you just put the new kogan sim (unactivated) in your phone and call some number like 1511 or 1533 or something and talk to an o'seas kogan operator, who will activate your account there and then.
    I've done this the last 3 activations, as online doesn't ever succeed for me.
    It works, and no active isp needed.

    Ask and I'll try to get the number for you. But you can easily find it I believe.

    • GregMonarch on 21/06/2019 - 06:20

      Wasn't aware of this - thanks!

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