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Why Yota is an inconvenient operator, and what can be done better

Very often, when discussing jambs of some operators, I see that Yota is always praised. Basically, all the praise is limited to about one - the operator does not have paid subscriptions, and the pros end there ... My post is not a complaint (I know that Habr is not a mournful book), but a discussion of how good ideas can be implemented is not too well. I draw your attention to the fact that here I am considering tariffs for a smartphone, and not for a tablet or modem.



1. Yota - virtual operator


This means that they use the base stations of the “main” operator, and there is a high probability that the priority of the traffic of the virtual operator (both voice and data) will be lower than that of the main. I have not heard about any problems with Russian operators, but in the USA very often users of virtual operators complain that the connection is "not very" compared to the main operator.

Solution: build your networks, for example, in large cities with a large subscriber base.

2. The choice of number at Yota is not arranged as usual


When you issue a SIM card, you get a blank, and its activation and number selection must be done independently through the application. That is, you cannot select a number during registration, but you need to do this after installing the SIM card and application. Here, by the way, there is another bonus - after activating the SIM card, Yota gives 2 hours of Internet access to download the application from the market. If you do not have time - look for Wi-Fi to do this.

Solution: to give the opportunity to choose a number when buying a SIM-card without having to perform any action on the part of the subscriber after that.

3. Yota does not have a personal account, like all other operators


Only the application is used to manage the number, that is, it will not be possible to perform any operations through the browser (for example, if you want to be able to remotely monitor the balance of a loved one). There is a small set of USSD commands, but I don’t know who will use them now.



Solution: create a personal account that will be available through the Yota website from any browser.

4. Authorization in the application is possible only with an inserted SIM card


Authorization in the application occurs automatically if a Yota SIM card is installed in the device. On the one hand, this is convenient, but on the other, it brings a bunch of additional problems:
  • You cannot log in from another device, only from the one into which the SIM card is inserted;
  • if you have several SIM cards in different smartphones or tablets, then you can’t log into several accounts at once;
  • Wi-Fi, ( ), . SMS ;
  • , . , -, Yota . , , 490 .;
  • if for any reason your SIM card is in a foreign smartphone, and authorization was made in the Yota application, then somehow you can’t log out this input later. Some time after removing the SIM card, the application logs off by itself, but before that, on such a device, you can do anything with a number, for example, change the tariff or change the number to another.

Solution: add the ability to log in using a password or code from SMS to the current autologin option.

5. Any support at Yota is carried out only through chat or SMS to a specific number


There are no other ways (I don’t consider the option of stomping my feet in the operator’s office), therefore, if other operators can call and talk to a live person after a while, then you will only have to communicate with Yota via chat and solve problems by typing on the keyboard. I do not argue that this option of support for someone may be more convenient than live communication, but in my opinion it should be an addition to the opportunity to talk, and not the only option.

Solution: make phone support one of the communication methods.

6. The price for any tariff at Yota is indicated for 30 days, and not for a calendar month


This is inconvenient in that once every 2 months the payment day is shifted back. That is, if you are used to paying for the connection every first (or any other) date, then in a year the payment date will shift 6 days ago. In addition, for the year you will have to pay for 5 extra days against the case when the operator charges a month. For the user, paying for these 5 days almost does not matter, but for an operator with a base of many millions of subscribers, a good increase in the salary of marketers is already being obtained.

Solution: make a monthly payment rate without shifting the payment date.

7. In the Yota application there is no way to get call details


In general, it’s impossible at all, therefore, if you want to see where the minutes have gone, you can write in a chat and ask for support to send the details to the mail. However, a surprise awaits you here: technical support does not deal with this and offers to go to the office to perform this simple operation.

Solution: make the details in the application with the ability to see immediately or send by mail.

8. Yota Rates - Perfectionist Hell


Everyone has long been accustomed to packet tariffs: for a certain amount of money you get minutes, gigabytes and SMS. Yota decided to go further, suggesting the user to choose the rate of filling himself, while you can specify any number of minutes in increments of 1 minute and traffic in increments of 1 GB. Moreover, in all cases (with very rare exceptions) the monthly fee will be a very "crooked" number, for example 399.57 rubles. in 300 minutes and 20 GB.



I don’t know why this was done, and why it was impossible to take at least 10 steps in minutes (maybe even 50 or 100), but, as it seems to me, this is very inconvenient. So I imagine that a crowd of Yota users are trying to decide whether to buy 326 or 327 minutes in a package.

Decision: take the step of choosing minutes and gigabytes more than 1, maybe not even linear, and round off the cost of services to the whole ruble (and preferably up to 10 rubles).

9. If you insert a SIM card into a tablet, modem or router, then the speed will be reduced to 64 kbps


Roughly speaking, there will be no Internet. I understand (although not completely) when operators put such a restriction on tariffs with unlimited Internet, but Yota always has this restriction, including packages with limited traffic.

Solution: If traffic is limited, then the subscriber can decide for himself where to insert the SIM card.

In general, I consider the main drawback to be the inability to conveniently use the services in the absence of a smartphone and the need to install the application.

From the advantages, I want to note that minutes from the package are spent on all numbers of the Russian Federation, and not just on the numbers of your region, calls within the network are not charged, there is no roaming in the Russian Federation, a “beautiful” area code of 999 is issued.

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