Recharging and subscribing for add-on packages on Sun Direct DTH has come through a long way. Since I bought Sun Direct almost an year back, for add on packages I have been using their phone service and it wasn’t so convenient. More over it was time consuming in addition to a kind of painful n traditional recharge process. 
Now that Sun Direct has introduced mobile recharge and add on subscription services, it is fairly the best among the other existing DTH service providers in India.
Soon after recharging through their website, an OSD confirmation was on my TV in no time! I decided to test out their mobile platform too. Selected one of the package as add-on and sent a message in the appropriate format through my mobile. In next 30 seconds, I got the confirmation about the service activation. Within next 5 minutes, my subscription was accessible! Viola… great service. I am so glad that the human intervention has been isolated completely for recharge and add-on packages activation.
I still have a couple of concerns and hope Sun Direct listens to them and fixes these two as well.
1. Forgot password reset workflow needs to be re-visted and should be made simpler.
2. There should be a mechanism to de-activate an add-on package through online and mobile modes.
The quality of video and audio using MPEG-4 has certainly been good so far and I may try out Sun Direct’s HDTV services provided their prices come down to earth from sky. Currently HDTV prices are damn too high.. around 12K for the instrument and service to start with. It is not my cup of tea as of now 
{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
12 k is too high, what are the features provided as part of HDTV services.
hi, i have recharged my account for 25 rupee.. how do i activate set max for one month..
@vicky
It is very simple. All you need to do is follow these steps :
For Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Reliance and BSNL users, type
ADDON<space><smartcard no><space><add-on package code>send to 58585. For Spice users (only karnataka) send to 55858 from your mobile. Add-on package code for set max is 025 if I am not wrong. Check their site for more details.i can not re-charge fromm phone it is giving irretate to me.. so please tell how can i re-charge from internet.. and please make an easy way to all the people for re-charging their account.. Through SMS is not possible for some people becoz an sms cost rs.3…. so make an very easy way for all the people..
@mahaboob
I can only hope your concerns are heard by Sun-Direct and they take appropriate actions to address those.
I HAVE SUBSCRIBED FOR SET MAX AND DISCOVERY CHANNEL TO DAY AT YOUR CHIKMAGALUR
BRANCH AT 1600 HOURS BUT NOT ACTIVATED SO FAR
hi’ please recharge our set max channel for 2 mts.my smart card number is XXXXXXXXXXX. and my phone number is 9XXXXXXXXXX .i calling form dayanandanagar
@vijaya kumar
Please refrain from quoting your personal info. I have edited by replacing some number with ‘x’. Please call up Sun DTH customer care. This blog has no association with them to recharge your subscription.
Please refrassociation with them to recharge your subscription.ain from quoting your pe Please call up Sun DTH customer carersonal info
Very Poor Service because of Evev one Recharge card will activated some days very bad
your service is not provided when i recharge through customer login in self recharge on your website
@godwin,
sorry, I couldn’t comprehend your sentence.
@Venkateswarlu
Not sure why, but my activation was done in no time for recharges. I don’t call them up for sure, like I have mentioned use SMS option to recharge in no time.
@sajjan
Yeah, even I have observed that. Their customer login web page is not opening offlate.
hai actually i decided to activate star cricket. i followed the option of recharge through sms. i typed [ADDON smartcard number addon code] and sent it to 58585.
for that i received a blank msg as response from 58585. wat shall i do now?
@prakash
Looks like some technical glitch. Better call up their customer care.
Pls inform me how to activate Mercury+ the code is 06… I don’t know what to type in SMS… Pls inform me the detailed procedure…
@Sankar
Please use the following format to compose your message and send it to 58585:
For more information, please visit the sundirect site at http://sundir.....charge.php
Dear Mohan,
Thanks for your immediate reply…
I did the same thing.. but some error message (Like Font / Arial) is coming continuously….. more than 10 message I received…
@Sankar
I think their recharge processing system must be down. Better call up their customer service and get it done properly.
Dear Sir,
I like to add on star cricket channel but internet search web busy what i do
dear mohan sir,
am trying customer care of sun direct, for the past 3 days, (044-39407575)the line is busy……. i even tried toll free number 18002007575, it is also busy………. i tried sms option to 58585 and i hav sent three times sms to 58585 , still no response…………….. i think everyone is facing this problem…………… pls anyone inform sun direct head office………… in a cricket crazy nation, all cricket lovers(who has sun direct connectn)finding it very difficult to activate star cricket channel………………
I just spoke to customer care in bangalore (080-39407575) and got my query addressed! Probably, you must have called them during the peak hours. That is why you couldn’t get connected.
please can u tell me, how can i recharge star cricket via internet….., becoz i am trying last 2 days i cant, login page still not opening.. .. , wht a most awful service…????
their big disaster
@md
their online recharge is working but activation through customer login is not working. Read my post carefully, I have mentioned about it already.
this is bloody worst service.
i lost 100rs balance waiting to talk with blooddy sundirect customer care.
no one ll attend the cal asking us to wait
i was trying to activate star cricket for past 3days
its bloddy nonsense
mohan sir pls tell me how to recharge the basic pack & star cricket through online.
@sundar
I have been getting a number of comments since past couple of days where in people are reporting that they are not able to recharge online and not able subscribe for addon packages via sms. So, I suggest you to contact Sun Direct customer care on phone and get your things done.
Sir,I have purchased my SUN DTH at Salem (Tamil Nadu) when it was not available in Rajasthan and it is with me at Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).Since three days I am trying to purchase addon pack.Your customer login service for purchasing addon is not available since 08 days.SMS is not going to the number 58585.Four times I approached your customer care service (Toll Free No)North India and all the time they turned down my request saying that I purchased my DTH at Tamil Nadu and I can purchase addon pack only at my home state and they cannot activate any addon pack for me.One Mr.Manas literaly used frivolus language.Is it true?At the time of my DTH purchase I was told that any where in India I can purchase addon packs.When I tried Chennai customer care nodoby attened my call once and twice they asked me to wait, for more than ten minutes each time,finally without any reply,which resulted me a lose of Rs20/-This is the state of affairs going in your SUN DTH.You please tell how I can purchase addon pack?
* personal info removed *For your act of kindness I will be grateful to you.
very bad to customer service by Sun Direct DTH
@Dr.K.Rajendran Sir, please note – this is not an official site for Sun Direct. I am no where affiliated or partnered with them. Please contact their customer care over phone during non peak hours. Probably that could be an easy way to get your queries addressed.
@santhosh
I presume this is due to the cricketing season and annual subscription renewal of Sun Direct DTH service. It is a little over 1 year since their service was launched. Looks like they haven’t geared up to handle this kind of volume hence they are miserably failing wrt customer service. Also, their online and sms systems have gone for a toss adding more irritations to end user.
what is the add on package code of star cricket & cartoon network?
@hari
For Star Cricket the code is 056. Cartoon network is not available as a single package and hence you need to opt for that channel along with pogo, which costs Rs 27/- pm as of now. Activation code for that package (Pluto) is 09. For more details see this page – http://sundir.....d-ons.html
I have been for the past one week.I couldnot get any response. Now I was told that the last alphapet in the smart card should not be SMSed.I dont understand what is going in sunconnect.Very very poor service.
verry bad sirvice
@daljit
I agree with you. They are really getting to worst from bad. If they don’t address the customer service part right now, they will certainly lose customer base.
@balasubramanian
It was very clear on their website that you should not send the alphabet in the smart card number. Then again, their sms activation and recharge aren’t working anymore. They seem to have stopped and the only way to reach out to them is call up their customer service – which is a marathon task right now. This is really annoying.
I am really fed up with sun direct customer care number,
i have doubt whether that numbers are working or simply kept in engage condition.
We never get that number. its worst service among DTH service providers.
What is online recharge? even after online recharge,
we need to call customer care centre? what a FUN!!!
Very bad experience
After following Mohan’s suggestion to contact Sun Direct DTH customer care in the early morning/non peak hours I was able to get Star cricket activated on my account. Now I have a different problem altogether. Star Cricket signal is too scrambled and I feel lot of jitter in that channel reception alone. If I tune to other channels, the picture is clear without any jitter. I see this happening on STAR CRICKET only.
Is it only me who is experiencing this kind of problem or is there anyone else with this problem? I greatly appreciate any help to overcome this jittery reception of Star Cricket.
Dear Sh.Mohan,
It was so nice to see your reply to a unknown person. I express my sincere thanks and gratitude for your reply. I am indeed overwhelmed by your benevolent gesture. With warm regards and wishes,
Dr.K.Rajendran
Dear sir
I lost my signal as my due date was over . I again want to subscribe the 5 month plan. And i’ve recharged my account for 500 rs. How should i do it?
@Hari
Please call up the customer service and get your service re-activated. That seem to be the only option as of now.
@Dr.K.Rajendran
You are most welcome
@Satya
You are right wrt customer care at this moment. They are really bad. Most of the times their numbers are clogged and always get to hear the lines are busy, try after sometime. They certainly should look for a revamp of their support line.
@Chirantan
Yes, even I have experienced the jittery signals for Star Cricket channel alone while other channels are proper. Any suggestions/tips to overcome or solve this jitterness for star cricket channel alone?
Whenever I approach the customer care of SUN DTH the attitude of the staff makes appaling.Most of their staff need counselling and SUN DTH should appoint some Psychiatrists also in their customer care for time to time counselling of their staff.
Hello sir,can you pls tell me the code for discovery channel alone.Thank you!
@lakshmipathy
For Discovery channel the code is 062 and it costs Rs 18/- plus taxes per month.
@Pradeep Chakravarthi
Hi Pradeep, Yes. Even I have experienced that kind of attitude last week and I am planning to write a post on that soon. Watch out for more details here soon.
I have lost all my channels as I didn’t renew. What should I do?
one of the dirty customer service. customer login is not working, phone’s are not dialling
Folks.. one tip for you all. Don’t activate Ten sports if you are looking for India-West Indies series. It is available on Sun Direct channel 310 – DD National for free!
Now they have updated their terms and conditions.
For activating you can just sms and get ur job done. But to de-activate you have to waste lot of money by calling them up and still there is no guarantee that you will succeed in a single attempt. What a pathetic service… I am not going to renew soon after my balance goes to zero.
Dear Mohan
I appreciate and thank you very much for your answers
Yesterday I was asking about the VH1 channel add-on & you replied me
I have another basic question
I have taken the SUN DTH service last month only by paying
for the 5 months free subscription plan + the installation etc..
My basic package expires on 28-11-2009
I added music pack and also mercury pack after that thru online
I recharged using the oxicash.in and now I know how to top up the money
Now I have still some balance of Rs 393 in the sundirect my account.
There is an ADD-ON purchase in the sundirect selfcare and there I could
understand how to make the add on – only ADD ONs are there in that list
I want to know how to make the BASIC PACKAGE to be renewed using the
same sundirect selfcare online
Now what I want to know is…
How to make the Tamil Basic Subscription Package Monthly Renewal
after 28-11-2009.
Can you please explain me
Is it done automatically by sundirect or any other check-in button or icon is
there in that sundirect self care – online
I appreciate your answer in this regard
Thanks
Rabindran
Dear Rabindran,
I had a similar doubt sometime back. When I contacted customer care, they told me to just add currency to the account to which the recharge needs to be done and basic package charges will be deducted on a monthly basis. Thus, your account will be active as long as there is enough balance amount in the account. You don’t really need to activate basic package for every recharge. Not sure if something has changed lately. You can call up sun-direct customer service for more details on this.
Hope this helps.
I want to recharge for Add on package for zee & soni, colours, aaj tak . Also I want to know about my account balance. My card no is 41156126827.
Please refer to this link for selecting your add-ons on Sun Direct. To know your balance, please call up customer care.
Hi All,
I am able to access my sun direct info online
All I had to do was to send a request to their customer care to reset the password and now I can subscribe and unsubscribe for packages online without having to call up them on phone!
Way to go Sun Direct
why cannot i watch cartoon network in tamil
Please refer to this link for selecting your add-ons on Sun Direct. To know your balance, please call up customer care.
hey Mohan..
I just wanted to know if there is a scope to subscribe for single channels only or do
we have take the grouped packages…
Secondly, Is the CBeebies Channel available in the SUN DTH..I couldnt locate this in their official site
i want addon sports channels how can i do this
Hi Murali – see the list of channels and their charges here – http://sundir.....d-ons.html and then activate by following the details there.
Sun DTH site is down today. Unable to recharge. Customer care is still very bad.
hmmm… sad to know that. Hope they are listening!
hi dear. how can i change my basic package by online. i want to change basic thamil shine pack
Please call up their Customer support to get it done. I am not sure if this can be done online.
sir,
I am ganapati from Honnavar I want to collect and pay the ammount of DTH subscriptions
how I do this?
Ganapathi, sorry, I didn’t get your question. Would you mind rephrasing your question with a bit more detailed info?
please let me know how to recharge add on pkg through online. i have the voucher
Basic packages do not have news channels, Hindi and English movie channels, news channels and sports channels. Everything has to be bought separately as add-on packages. If you calculate the monthly cost, it comes to nearly Rs 400 per month.
iam not satisfied with sun direct, is it possible for me to return their setup box and get my payment back.
I have no info on that Karthik. Check with their customer care. Please update us if you receive any updates on this.
I tried to log in online but it says that the login is invalid.
I am doing it for long now but still the same message appears.
Please help as dealers around me cant log into my account.
They are saying that the password is changed from the default one.
Nehal, contact the customer support folks via email/phone. They will reset the password for you. Even I had a similar situation sometime back and they resolved the issue by resetting password.
Sun Direct is taking people for a ride as the customer login page is not at all a safe page. I have tried to login several times, but my anti-virus software blocks it saying it is an “insecure page or connection”. There is some problem with the site’s security that disallows people from loggin in. I request all of you not to log in to this site, unless Sun Direct rectifies the issue. The customer login is unsafe and Sun Direct is doing nothing to resolve this.
Do somebody know their managing director’s/CEO’s number?
Can i gt da email address whr i cn resolve my prob
Visit their customer care contact page and there you have an option to submit the complaint online. They will revert back to you on your email through that.
one of the worst customer care in sundirect Bangalore pls cancel immediately.
compare to best service tatasky, big tv etc,.
I am very interesting to establish DTH service of Sundirect in over area first, comparing from other services it is very poor service, poor knowledge of the technicians, the customer care service change their phone numbers, it is very difficulties for recharge of the services. My receiver is not find any mails for expiry of service. Over service providers are not cooperate with customers.
sun direct is the worst dth service providing in Tamilnadu & all over india
Hai I recharged the Sundirect account with the voucher of Rs. 110/- and I requested for the Neo Cricket package but they send me the message that there is not sufficient balance in my account, but my account balance is Rs. 110 something. what is this
Rs 110 is a monthly recharge amount. Sun Direct automatically takes Rs 110 out of your account as a monthly charge. You have to buy another Rs 110 or Rs 328 card and ask them to add Neo Cricket package. Always keep in mind that if you do not have Rs 110 as the balance in your account, u cannot include an add-on.
Very strange and very ridiculous.
True, that is because to include any addon to your account, there has to be some basic pack enabled.
sun direct is varest one in all sun dth . i sugest you to all ,plz dont bye sundirect
actually i was trying to activate today setmax channerl .but they take charge and it will taken to connect customer care 10 minutes and i was in line but after 5 minites once again the voice is your expected time is 10 minites
not only these problems
we dont have sources to activate channel
and if we using sms method it will not activate and 3 rs will loss
Sorry, but I hardly understood your comment.
Mohan sir,
Kindly help me in recharging my account, I have recharge card but still unable to recharge, since when I called customer care 044-3907575, IVR voice saying all lines are busy. I am trying from yesterday, still unable to reach. I called today morning from 4 am onwards, it is saying still lines are busy. I want to subscribe for one year and to active set max for watching IPL.
Kindly help me plz.
How to activate “Freedom Tamil” package(Basic Pack)? I have sufficient balance in my sun direct account…………..
Kartherajan, you have to call up their customer support if you need to activate yearly package to avail 1 month extra free as well as IPL package with SetMax free. Reaching them now would be a real tough challenge since everyone will be trying for the same.
Sundirect website sucks , they disabled the recharge service knowingly to gain money through sms recharging as today IPL starts…..
we need to sms so that they earn money……………… sun direct sucks………..
Sun Direct does not give value for money. To see all channels, except sports channels, customer have to pay Rs 438. To view sports, they have to added, another Rs 100 gone.
The customer care is pathetic, with servers crashing daily. I have to wait 10 minutes to connect. Where on earth will you see such third-rate customer care?
Sun DTH is a waste of money.