If you tried to top up your Safaricom ‘No Expiry’ data bundles recently, you might have been met with an unpleasant surprise. Several reports have surfaced from users experiencing a drastic reduction in their data allocation and an unusual spending limit.
However, before you assume a silent and permanent change to your favorite bundles, Safaricom support has confirmed to me that the issue is merely a system glitch and not a planned modification to their popular offering.
Reduced allocation and KES 499 limit
The standard, advertised rate for Safaricom’s No Expiry bundles has typically been 1GB of data for KES 200. However, over the last few days, users attempting to purchase these bundles through both the My Safaricom app and the USSD code (*544#) have noticed two key differences.
First, there’s a lower data allocation. For instance, a purchase of KES 200 is now offering significantly less data. The screenshot below shows the USSD menu presenting option 2 as 400MB (NO EXPIRY DATE) for KES 200, instead of the expected 1GB.
There’s also a maximum spend cap, where users accustomed to buying large amounts of data at once are now being restricted. The screenshot below from the My Safaricom app shows an error preventing an input of KES 500 for the No Expiry bundles, stating: “Please enter an amount between 1 and 499.” This is an unprecedented and confusing cap on a service designed for flexible spending.
The issue seems inconsistent across different users and platforms, though the USSD structure itself also reflects the new, lower allocations:
- KES 20 now gives 40MB
- KES 50 now gives 100MB
- KES 100 now gives 200MB
- KES 250 now gives 500MB
Safaricom confirms it’s a system issue
Naturally, the community speculated that Safaricom had quietly scrapped the old 1GB for KES 200 rate. Upon reaching out to Safaricom support for clarification, we received good news that the core offering remains unchanged.
Safaricom confirmed that the allocation discrepancies and the KES 499 limit are both the result of a technical error they are working to fix.
A support representative confirmed to Techish Kenya:
"Sorry about this, we are looking into it. It's a system issue."This confirmation indicates that Safaricom has NOT permanently changed the no expiry data allocations, nor have they intentionally limited the maximum amount a customer can spend.
While the reports seemed to coincide with specific updates to the My Safaricom Android app, the fact that the USSD code is also affected and Safaricom’s confirmation that the problem is system-wide suggests the glitch is on the operator’s backend.
Kenyans who rely on the No Expiry bundles can rest assured that this is a temporary situation, and the standard, generous allocations are expected to return soon as the team addresses the backend malfunction.
Thanks for the tip, Victor!
