How to Top Up Your Phone Balance and Extend (or Re-purchase) Your Internet Package
1. Phone Balance Top-Up
1) In any minimarket
Find a minimarket along the road from Minimart, Indomaret, Alfamart, Circle K. Tell the cashier that you want to top up your mobile balance (isi pulsa telpon). Provide your number, the amount to top up, and within a minute or two, you'll receive the funds and a confirmation via SMS. Once the funds arrive, you pay the top-up amount plus a small commission, usually around 2,000 - 5,000 rupiahs.
2) At a mobile phone store
Locate a shop on the street selling SIM cards and phones. The process is the same: provide your details, wait for the funds, and after receiving them, pay for the top-up.
3) In a random place
In the Gili Islands, you can sometimes ask a snack shop owner for a top-up. This is because the islands are small, and businesses are flexible in providing tourist services. For example, on Gili Air, there's a burger joint on the central street where the owner tops up tourists' balances from her mobile. The process is the same as in previous cases – provide your number, payment amount, wait for the funds, and pay afterward. The commission may be a bit higher, around 10,000 rupiahs.
4) Through your operator's mobile app with a bank card
Install your mobile operator's app and find the payment function within the app. For Telkomsel, you can pay either with a card or through the tcash e-wallet. Note that card payments are only available for top-up amounts of 50,000 rupiahs or more. Then, enter your card details and proceed with the payment.
5) From payment/transportation apps (OVO, Go-Jek, Grab) if you have them. Or through your bank's app (e.g., Permata).
2. Activating an Internet Package
Once your balance is topped up, you can use the funds to activate an internet package.
When topping up at a minimarket, you can ask the cashier to not only add money to your balance but also activate an internet package. However, it's better not to do this through the minimarket cashier because:
1) You might not understand exactly what kind of package it is.
2) Sometimes, buying an internet package this way can be more expensive than activating it independently through the app.
Open your mobile operator's app on your phone, choose the tariff (internet package) you need, and activate it.
You can add one right now!