Megafon: access to content - what is it. How to connect a content account to Megafon and Tele2 Content account to Tele2
Lately, I very often come across the fact that my friends suffer because of paid subscriptions to Megafon.
Here is one example:
Well, after pressing the “open” button, money should be debited. True, this doesn’t happen to me, I unsubscribed from all this and closed access to payments to short numbers. But other people suffer. Even my wife suffered; about 1,000 rubles were written off from her. Eldar Murtazin wrote a lot about these situations, and for some time I watched such stories from the sidelines.
But what happened over the weekend forced me to write this post. The fact is that my loved one is in the hospital. And so that he wouldn’t be bored there, I decided to bring him a 4G modem. I arrived at the Megafon salon, transferred one of my SIM cards to the “Internet only” tariff and decided to block access to short numbers. But it turned out that everything is not so simple. The manager said that recently they have been unable to do this themselves. I need to write an SMS with my own hand to a special number, and then I won’t have these unpleasant situations. True, only three months. Then access will be unblocked and you will need to send exactly the same SMS again. The manager could not explain why the company did this. It's inconvenient to say the least. And at most, it resembles the lifestyle of Ostap Bender. In my case, such manipulations are extremely difficult, because SMS must be sent from a modem.
And today a friend of mine found himself in a similar situation.
To be honest, I have a very warm relationship with the Megafon company and I sent them a link to this material immediately after publication, I want to receive a competent answer.. It’s really not clear to me why they make life so difficult for their clients.
Do you encounter this in MTS and Bi?
Received a response from Megafon
All content providers that provide access to subscriptions to various services on the Internet must necessarily publish information about the terms of provision, the cost of services, and the connection must be made only after clicking the consent button to subscribe. After this action, an SMS message is received with information about connecting to the service.
For the convenience of clients who do not want to use content services, it is possible to create a separate personal account (the so-called content account). It will be used to pay for reference and entertainment services, which are related to content services provided with the involvement of MegaFon partners. If there is a zero balance on the account, no payment for content services will be made. The operator’s own services (calls, SMS, Internet) will be paid from the main personal account. To create a content account (CA), you need to contact a Megafon communication salon to write an application or dial the USSD request *393*4#call. You can also connect the CS using the Service Guide
The services of mobile operators have long gone beyond ordinary communication services. However, when using some, users may experience inconvenience. And the main thing that irritates users is entertainment services, which are mainly provided not by telecom operators themselves, but by their partners.
Connecting content services and subscriptions can sometimes lead not only to unexpected costs for the client of any cellular operator, but also to a complete reset of the account. However, a client of any operator can connect a separate content account to his number in order to avoid such unpleasant moments, and today we will tell you about such a service on MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, and Tele2.
Why do you need a separate account?
There are various services from mobile operators that allow you to disable ordering services from content providers on Beeline, MTS, MegaFon, and Tele2 numbers. However, this will not allow you to completely limit yourself from unexpected write-offs.
This is due to the fact that not all content services are provided by the operators themselves, and prohibiting the use of such services and subscriptions, by setting a ban, usually implies a restriction only on services from third-party companies. But if the entertainment service is provided through the operator itself, then it is much more difficult to fight it.
In this case, it is a separate content personal account that will allow you to completely limit yourself from the fact that such write-offs will continue from the balance of the Tele2, MegaFon, Beeline, or MTS number.
There are also benefits to using this additional balance for those who use individual content services but want to limit themselves from the rest. So, for example, a Beeline subscriber uses entertainment content services with an order by number 5591, but in the list of connected ones he discovers that there are also paid services by number 7944 or 6513, and wants to disable them.
It is a separate personal account that will allow you to continue to use and pay for the ones you need, but not to use the connected ones accidentally. Having a separate balance, the user will be able to deposit money into it only if he needs to pay for content that is useful to him.
Those who have encountered random charges for entertainment services know that it is almost impossible to get your money back. So, if a MegaFon subscriber accidentally connected access to a content service, then in order to get the money back you will need to contact the company that provides paid content.
How to connect a separate balance
The service is provided by all mobile operators, but it is extremely difficult to find information about it on official websites. There is no way to connect it as quickly and easily as accidentally subscribing to a paid entertainment service.
A separate balance is provided by all operators free of charge, and you don’t have to worry about making additional payments for its use.
Depending on the cellular operator, the service may be called differently, but its meaning does not change. So, on MTS and Beeline it is a “Separate Personal Account”, on Tele2 it is a “Content Personal Account”, and on MegaFon it is simply a “Content Account”. To use it, you must contact the operator in person at the office and submit a written application.
After connecting a separate balance for content, the subscriber becomes available an additional virtual number used to pay for entertainment and information services.
If necessary, you can top up your additional account by transfer from your main account. For this purpose, operators have special commands available.
Please note that it is also possible to transfer money back from the content balance to the main balance. However, after such a transfer, the funds can only be used to pay for communication services, as when replenishing the balance from other regular cell numbers.
Conclusions
Using a separate account for content services allows the user to completely limit themselves from being charged for entertainment and information services. To do this, it is enough not to deposit money on it. Since the content ban available from any operator does not apply to all paid services, using a separate balance you can avoid accidental write-offs.
The service is also ideal for those who use some content services and do not want to completely block access to them. In this case, you can top up a separate balance if you need to pay for the necessary services, and avoid write-offs when activating others.
Many of us have come across so-called “content services” and various paid “subscriptions”. Basically, these are completely useless and very expensive entertainment services that no one will ever buy of their own free will. These services are provided by special companies - content providers; mobile operators act as intermediaries and take a percentage for this.
It turns out to be a very interesting scheme: the content provider fraudulently receives subscribers’ money, and the mobile operator receives its percentage from this and, as it were, is not to blame, since it was not he who provided the service.
Deceiving subscribers using content services is beneficial for mobile operators. Of course, they pretend that they are protecting their subscribers and fighting scammers, but things don’t go beyond statements and outright window dressing.
In 2014, a law was passed that allows any subscriber of any operator to open a special content account, after this, fees for any content services will be debited only from such an account, the main account remains inaccessible to fraudsters. Of course, telecom operators comply with the law, but they do it without much enthusiasm, because they lose income.
I tried to connect content account with all major operators and I will share my experience below.
Content account at Megafon
Theory
It was not possible to find any information about opening a content account on the Megafon website, this is not surprising. Of course, this information is there, but it is buried so deep that you can’t just find it. On the Internet we managed to find something we were interested in - a content account can be connected using USSD command *393*4*1#. To top up or To check the balance of the content account, use the USSD command *393*2#.
Practice
When sending the USSD command *393*4*1# I received the following error:
Next, I visited one of the Megafon salons in Podolsk near Moscow, where I was asked to present my passport and write a statement by hand. About a week later, I received an SMS about creating a content account, I was able to top it up via the command *393*2# and tried to buy a content service - everything works as it should.
Conclusions: Connecting a content account is especially difficult, but possible.
Content account in Tele2
Theory
To connect a content account in Tele2, you need to contact any Tele2 communication store with a passport; connection takes up to 10 working days. To work with a content account, you can use the following commands:
*160# - check the balance of the content account;
*160*200# - replenishment of the content balance by 200 rubles (you can specify any amount);
*160*200*0# - refund of 200 rubles from the content account to the regular account (you can specify any amount);
Practice
After 30 minutes of waiting in line (Tele2 saves on everything), I was asked to write a free-form application by hand; they don’t have any sample. After 2 weeks the account was connected, all USSD commands above work.
Conclusions: If you don’t take into account the terrible service and queues in Tele2 stores, everything works great.
If your family or friends have Megafon SIM cards, tell them.
Sometimes people suddenly discover that the money on their mobile phone begins to be spent much faster, and the phone suddenly “goes into the red.” This is usually due to the fact that your number is connected to paid services, the so-called paid (or mobile) content. There are people who use services such as, for example, “Set a beep,” mobile news, horoscopes, games, and so on. But it often happens that a person did not sign up for anything, but they still take money from him for the “service”. This short article was written for you if you are a Megafon subscriber and this happened to you.
How does this happen?
If you use a smartphone or tablet to access the Internet, even if you access the Internet not from the smartphone itself, but from a laptop using a smartphone, then when visiting the next site you may accidentally click on the “empty” area where you actually there is a hidden button. Nothing will be displayed on the screen, but you will be quietly transferred to the megafonpro website and signed up for a “service” that may cost 20 rubles/day, or maybe more. Perhaps after this you will receive an SMS with approximately the following content: “Access to the site ****: login - i1111, password - 1111. Help: 8 800 *** (free call)”, and then the next one - “Subscription *** * completed. Help: *505#.
Managing your subscription...", and perhaps even such a notification will not come, but at the same time money will begin to be debited from your account every day.
What can be done?
Firstly, you can find out what subscriptions you have by sending a request
*505#
in response you will receive an SMS with a list of paid services connected to you. But, if you do not use paid services and do not plan to use them, you should block the very possibility of someone “signing” you without your knowledge. To do this, you should create a so-called content account (CA). By default, payment for all services is made from your personal account - calls, SMS, Internet... and mobile content. If you have created a content account, then from your personal account you will pay for regular services, and from the CS - what is offered on megafonpro. If you have 0 rubles on the CS, then no one will sign you up for anything.
Note. If you have a push-button phone or for any other reason, then you can either create a content account through the Service Guide, or come to any Megafon office and ask to create a content account for you in addition to your existing personal account.
I will write below how to create a content account through the Service Guide.
Sequence of actions if you have a smartphone or tablet:
0. If you have had this phone number for several years, and during this time you have changed your passport, then first you need to go to the nearest Megafon office so that the manager enters the data of your new passport into the database.
1) to find out the balance on your CS, send a request
*393*1#
In response, you will receive the message “There is no account for content services.”
2) to create a CS, send a request
*393*4#
In response you will receive a message
1. Create a Content Account
2. Delete Content Account
and two buttons “Cancel” and “Call” (perhaps instead of “Call” your phone will show a “Submit” button or something similar)
You should press the “1” (one) button on the virtual keyboard, then the “Call” button (or the “Send” button on the virtual keyboard.
If you receive the message “Connection problems or incorrect MMI code” in response, you should repeat the request:
*393*4#
In response you will receive a message
1. Create a Content Account
2. Delete Content Account
You should receive a message “Content account created successfully.”
3) find out the balance on the CS again
*393*1#
If you receive an SMS in response: “Account balance for content services is 0.00 rubles”, it means that you did everything correctly, and scammers will not be able to unnoticed sign you up for their “services”.
Creating a content account through the Service Guide.
Actions are performed through the old Service Guide. After you have entered your personal account, you should follow the “Old Service Guide” link located in the upper right part of the monitor. After entering the old service guide, you should select the “Content services” menu item and the sub-item in this item - “Account management for content services”. You should see the following in the central part of the monitor screen: the heading “Account for content services”, the inscription “There is no account for content services”, below the description and even lower the inscription “Subscriber”, your phone number and the “Create account” button. Click on this button. After you return to the “Manage account for content services” sub-item, the text “There is no account for content services” should change to something like
"Account number: 000000
Balance: 0.00 rub.
Status: Active."
This means that you have successfully created a CS, and scammers will not be able to quietly sign you up for their “services”.
And lastly: be careful - do not transfer money from your personal account to the CS if you do not use paid content and do not plan to use it. If you use it, then do not keep a lot of money on the CS and regularly check the list of connected services using a request *505#.
Here are the necessary steps to protect Megafon subscribers from mobile scammers.
If anyone knows what subscribers of other mobile operators should do for this, please, formalize your knowledge in the form of short instructions and make it known to as many people as possible.
For people who do not have the opportunity or desire to look for information on disabling intrusive content services, such as mobile subscriptions or paid SMS from the Megafon operator, I have compiled a reminder of SMS and USSD commands. The list includes all available commands that limit, disable, or include a ban on connecting paid content services of the mobile operator PJSC Megafon. The information is relevant for mobile Internet users. Eliminate unexpected expenses now.
Creating a content account
Why do we create an account? Having created an additional content account, according to the communications law, all content services of Megafon partners will have to be paid from it. If you do not have this account, then expenses will be debited from the main account, so we create a content account and simply do not transfer money to it. Unfortunately, it does not apply to content services offered directly by the megaphone.Description of the content account service.
Quote from the Megafon website
A content account allows you to more flexibly manage costs for reference and entertainment services, which relate to content services provided with the involvement of MegaFon partners (hereinafter referred to as content services). By creating a Content Account, you will be able to more effectively control your expenses, which will increase your chances of not being left without communication at the most inopportune moment. After creating a Content account, funds to pay for content services will be debited only from this Content account. It is not possible to go negative on the Content account. At the same time, services provided without the involvement of MegaFon partners will continue to be paid using your main Personal Account. Funds will be debited from the Content Account only within the balance of this account and only for payment for content services, the list of which is indicated on the website www.megafon.ru. If you have created a Content account and when ordering a content service paid from the Content account, you do not have enough funds in your Content account, then such a service will not be provided.
To create content account send USSD command *393*4*1#
, or dial *393#
and following the instructions, select the commands to create an account, the command for all Megafon branches.
We set a ban on mobile subscriptions from Megafon
Why establish a ban, because there is a content account? Unfortunately, only the services of third-party content providers (megaphone partners) are paid from the content account, however, services offered directly by the megaphone will be paid from the main personal account, which is why an additional ban is needed.First, let's check for previously connected subscriptions by typing the command *505# , if there are subscriptions, then the response will also contain a command to disable them. Next, to set a ban on the service mobile subscriptions send SMS with the team USTZAPRET1 to the number 5051 , for all Megafon branches. Unfortunately, the ban is valid for 3 months and this procedure will have to be carried out regularly. There is also a long-term solution to installing a ban by blocking sites that connect subscriptions, but this is a topic for a separate article.
Enable a ban on mobile payments
Why are we establishing a ban? I admit that the service may seem useful to you, for example, to pay for some services, but unfortunately Megafon went to the trick and connects mobile subscriptions using mobile payments, bypassing the content account. Therefore, we turn it off without regret; we can pay for what we need through any other payment system, for example qiwi or Sberbank.Description of the mobile payments service.
Quote from the Megafon website
Using “Mobile Payments” you can pay for the Internet, utilities, TV, telephone, traffic police fines, loans from any banks, restaurant bills and much more, as well as make money transfers using funds from your mobile account.
In order to establish a ban on the service mobile payments enter *191*1# , or enter *191# and following the instructions of the system, we turn on the ban using response commands.
Let's stop ruining our mood
What kind of mood is it and how not to spoil it for yourself? According to the idea of the megaphone, every erroneous USSD command, SMS or call to most non-existent short numbers should lift our spirits, for the fact that 15 - 30 rubles are withdrawn from our account. Fortunately, we can disable this service.In order to stop spoiling yourself mood enter USSD request *105*380*3#8 for the Caucasian branch of Megafon. For other branches, you will need to independently clarify information about the availability of this service and the command to disable it.
Connecting stop content
Why do we include stop content? This service should theoretically block paid voice calls, USSD commands and sending SMS messages to content provider numbers. Unfortunately, the blocking does not apply to most services and blocking of paid numbers; moreover, it does not work when roaming in Russia. But since the service is free, it still won’t hurt to connect it.Description of the stop content service.
Quote from the Megafon website
The Stop Content service allows subscribers to block voice calls, USSD requests, as well as sending SMS messages to content provider numbers. This service will help mobile phone owners protect themselves and their loved ones from unexpected costs associated with calls to paid short numbers.
Connect the service stop content we will be typing the team *105*381*3# for the Caucasus branch or *105*801# for Moscow and the region. For other Megafon branches, you will need to independently clarify information about the availability of this service and the team to connect it.
We set a ban on sending entertaining SMS
Why we set the ban: it is logical to ban the sending of paid SMS.
Quote from the Megafon website
The “Banning entertainment SMS sending” service allows you to disable the ability to send SMS messages to paid entertainment SMS services provided by content providers. Sending SMS messages to service numbers of the MegaFon network is preserved.
To enable the service ban on sending entertaining SMS let's fulfill the request *526*3# for the Caucasian branch of Megafon. For other Megafon branches, you will need to independently clarify information about the availability of this service and the team to connect it.
Replacing the toll beep with a standard one
What is this information for? By default, the dial tone replacement service is activated on new numbers, including on SIM cards used in modems, which no one calls, but after a few days the service becomes paid, so you need to know how to quickly disable it.Description of the service: prohibition of sending entertaining SMS.
Quote from the Megafon website
Do you want your friends to not get bored while waiting for you to pick up the phone? Turn on the “Replace the dial tone” service! Instead of standard beeps, install your favorite melodies or new super-hits, cute jokes or funny gags, and your friends will call you more often! Make your communication varied, show your imagination - and then, when you answer an incoming call, you will always hear only happy voices and ringing laughter!
To disable the service replace the horn let's introduce *770*12# for all Megafon branches.
Let's not give the megaphone the benefit of the doubt
Why shouldn't you trust a megaphone? But doesn’t the list of restrictions described above indicate that Megafon is happy to " will clean up"get your hands on our money by connecting paid content services, even on credit! If you think you won’t pay off the debt, then Megafon will write off the money from your other account, so we’d better turn off this service.Description of the credit of trust service.
Quote from the Megafon website
The “Credit of Trust” service allows MegaFon network subscribers to communicate on credit: even with a negative balance, you will be able to use mobile communications without restrictions! The credit limit is calculated based on the amount you spend on mobile communications per month and the service period in the MegaFon network. The higher these indicators, the larger the credit limit. The credit limit is recalculated monthly.
To disable the service credit of confidence enter a request *138*2# for all Megafon branches.
Disable auto payment
Why is it preferable to disable auto payment? Megafon is constantly improving in the business of “selling air” and you can trust this company with complete control over all accounts only at your own peril and risk. Just google and remember the story about the allegedly erroneous debiting of money from accounts of 25 thousand. subscribers.Description of the auto payment service from your phone. Quote from the Megafon website
Owners of several MegaFon SIM cards do not need to monitor the balance of each number and top up them separately. Connect to the “Autopayment from phone” service and set up automatic replenishment of all your accounts from one number. Select one main number and set a threshold balance value for SIM cards in a modem, navigator, tablet, or on the phone of a child or other loved one. Now you will only pay for one number, and all others will be automatically topped up when the set threshold is reached. Automatic payments from the main number are commission-free.
Disconnect previously connected auto payment from phone you can complete the request *773*0# , this command does not disable automatic payment from a bank card.
As you know, in addition to SMS and USSD commands, you can connect or disconnect services by contacting a specialist - by calling the toll-free contact number 0500 from a mobile phone or using the self-service system - a web interface by logging into the subscriber’s personal account. However, these methods have a significant drawback - the time spent both searching for the required key combination to connect with an operator and waiting for a long time, as well as searching for the desired button in the subscriber’s personal account or service guide, so the compiled list for entering commands from the device is quick and a simple solution.
I also recommend not keeping large amounts of money in your Megafon mobile account, as this way you will notice the loss faster. I will be happy to add to the list with the options you know for restrictions on connecting mobile content services from Megafon.
