Jio Fiber is giving away a free Android-based set-top box to its paid subscribers.
Jio Fiber's free set-top box is an Android-based streaming media player
Jio Fiber has started migrating its existing Preview Offer subscribers to paid plans, months after announcing its tariff plans. As a part of the process, Jio Fiber is giving away a free set-top box to existing users of the broadband service. New subscribers who sign up also eligible for the complimentary set-top box. The rollout has kicked off in some circles and will be made available throughout the country in the coming weeks.
Jio Fiber Set-top box - Here's everything you need to know:
Jio Fiber promised a set-top box for its broadband service subscribers earlier this year while announcing its tariff plans. The free Jio Fiber set-top box is an Android-based streaming media player that subscribers can connect to their TVs using an HDMI connection. The set-top box comes with a Bluetooth-based remote control, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable, and a quick-start guide.
The set-top box can stream content from a small number of apps and services right now. It's not a conventional DTH set-top box and can only be used to stream content from the Internet. You'll need an active Internet connection to stream content, just like any other online streaming media player.
Jio Fiber's set-top box is powered by a fairly old version of Android, Android 7.0, and comes with the December 2018 security patch.
The Jio Fiber set-top box is available to existing and new subscribers of the company's broadband service. If you're a new subscriber, you'll get the set-top box installed as a part of the regular installation process.
Existing Jio Fiber Preview Offer users need to follow the following steps to avail a complimentary Jio Fiber set-top box:
1. Sign up for a paid plan of your choice via the MyJio app. You can pick a monthly, quarterly, or an annual plan.
2. Once you've made the payment, the MyJio app will display a banner on the main screen that will let you schedule an appointment for your set-top box installation.
3. You can also visit a nearby Reliance Jio retail store to pick up your free Jio Fiber set-top box. You should call them before heading out to check if they've got one in stock.
Reliance Jio Fiber will send over a technician to handle the installation process. The person will ask you to open the MyJio app to claim a voucher for the set-top box. The entire process takes about 10 minutes. Once the setup has been completed, you'll be able to hook up the Jio Fiber set-top box with your TV.
The set-top box will first install a few updates and reboot, even the remote control will receive a fresh software update the first time you use it.
As of now, the Jio Fiber set-top box comes with Hotstar, YouTube, Voot, JioSaavn, JioTV Plus, SonyLIV, and JioCinema. There's a custom app store, JioStore, that lets you download new apps on the set-top box. Apart from streaming services, you can also download and play select games on it.
As for subscriptions, you'll get complimentary access to Hotstar VIP plan, SonyLIV, Voot, and others based on the tariff plan you pick.
As we mentioned earlier, the Jio Fiber set-top box isn't a conventional DTH set-top box. However, the JioTV Plus app that comes pre-installed on the set-top box lets you access select live TV channels. These include a few entertainment, music, and news channels. Jio Fiber is expected to add support for more live channels soon.
As of now, there's no way you can play 4K content on this set-top box. For starters, the maximum resolution the set-top box seems to support right now is full-HD. Secondly, there's no app available on the platform that can stream 4K content.
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