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Your 3G smartphone can connect to Jio networkIBTimes India/Sami Khan

There has been a lot of confusion over whether Reliance Jio SIM cards will work with 3G smartphones or not, but as it turns out there is no such possibility. But luckily, users with 3G phones are not completely out of options.

Envying your friends who have a 4G smartphone and free Jio 4G data till March 31? We have a few options that can help you join the bandwagon without having to buy a new phone.

As long as you have Wi-Fi feature on your phone, there are two ways you can take advantage of Jio's unlimited free 4G data and free HD voice calls. Firstly, you can buy a JioFi hotspot device, which is available for Rs. 1,999, and connect up to 10 devices simultaneously regardless of their 4G integration.

We reviewed JioFi 2 back in October and found it extremely useful on-the-go. It gives you the same 4G coverage as a Jio SIM card on a 4G smartphone. But the added advantage is that you are not limited to just one device. While the company says it can connect up to 30 and recommends 10 devices, we suggest using it for 5 at a time to get optimum browsing speeds on all devices.

Connecting to JioFi 2 is as simple as turning the device on with an active Jio SIM card in it and searching for the network using your phone's Wi-Fi. Once you connect to JioFi using your password, which can be changed easily, you are good to go.

Read: Reliance JioFi 2 setup guide

Now for the free voice calls, as long as you are on a JioFi network, you can download JioVoice4G and start making free calls to any number.

Well, that's one way to do it. Another way is that if you have at least one 4G smartphone with a Jio SIM in your circle (friend or family), you can turn that into a hotspot device. So you do not have to spend a dime here, but you might want to brush up your people's skills.

Any 4G smartphone has the option to turn on hotspot tethering under "Settings". If the network is password protected, you can get it from the portable Wi-Fi hotspot menu from the host's phone. Once connected, both phones are on the same network.

This will also work if you have two smartphones and one of them is a 3G one without a Jio SIM. These tricks will get you share the free 4G data with other devices easily. There is a 1GB FUP limit on Jio's new Happy New Year plan, so watch out for any binge streaming which might exhaust your daily limit.

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