What do you do if you discover that your MTN free minutes are not working? It’s something that a lot of people have been grappling with. MTN is one of the biggest mobile network operators in South Africa. They currently have 35.9 million subscribers in the country. One of the things that draw people to MTN is the prospect of getting free minutes. MTN customers need to opt into Mahala calls, after which they get free minutes when they top up their phones, buy devices and sign up for contracts. You are here because you have these minutes, yet they are not working. What’s the solution to this issue?
Why can’t I use my MTN free minutes?
If you discover that your MTN free minutes are not working, the following are possible remedies;
- Before you can use your MTN free minutes, you first need to opt into Mahala Calls. You can do this by dialing *175*0#. Only then will you start earning free minutes as you top up your phone. If you have already done this, then proceed to the next step.
- Another thing to note is that MTN free minutes are not usable throughout the day. MTN has a timetable outlining when people in different provinces can use the minutes. The timetable is outlined below and it is always changing.
- MTN free minutes cannot be used to make calls to other networks. So, if that’s what you have been trying to do, you will not be able to do so.
When are these minutes usable
The following is an outline of when you can use free minutes;
| Provincial Groups | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Cape KZN Free State Eastern Cape | 12pm to 1pm | 4pm to 5pm | 10am to 11am | 2pm to 3pm | 9am to 10am | 8am to 9am | 3pm to 4pm |
| Mpumalanga Limpopo Gauteng North West | 8am to 9am | 11am to 12pm | 1pm to 2pm | 3pm to 4pm | 4pm to 5pm | 10am to 11am | 2pm to 3pm |
| Northern Cape | 4pm to 5pm | 8am to 9am | 3pm to 4pm | 11am to 12pm | 1pm to 2pm | 2pm to 3pm | 9am to 10am |
Summary
In this article, we outlined the MTN free minutes not working issue. It was noted that this issue occurs as a result of several issues. One is that you may not have opted into MTN Mahala calls. Another possible issue is that you are trying to make free calls outside the timetables prescribed by MTN. Each province in South Africa has it’s own assigned time for free calls.