Rain is South Africa’s fifth mobile network and Africa’s first commercial 5G network. Whether you are wondering what is rain mobile data prices or how to activate your Rain sim card? You’ve come to the right place, This Rain Data Review is based on my personal experience.

What Is Rain South Africa?

Rain South Africa is a data-only network that competes against MTN, Cell C, Telkom and Vodacom. Rain Network was launched in June 2018 and quickly gained popularity as an affordable home and mobile internet option for South Africans.

Rain data prices start at R50 per GB, and it’s substantially cheaper than most major mobile networks. Rain does not provide mobile contracts, but they offer month-to-month data deals.

The rain started with a pff-peak R250/month plan, which only offers unlimited internet usage and has since introduced their 24/7 uncapped 4G/LTE Internet access for R479/month and 5G standard coverage for R699/month.

Important Things to Know About Your Rain SIM Card

Where to Buy a Rain SIM Card?

A rain sim card can be purchased from their website: www.rain.co.za. You have to register and create an account using your email address, you place an order and add your card details. Rain will then send a courier company to drop off your sim card, and they will need a copy of your Identity Document and Proof of Residence for FICA registration purposes. It takes between 3-7 days to receive your Rain Data sim card after you have placed an order.

What Are Rain Off-Peak Hours?

Rain off-peak hours are between 11 pm and 6 pm the following day, This gives you 19 hours of unlimited data.

What Are Rain Peak Hours?

Rain peak hours are between 6 pm – 11 pm. If you have the R250/month plan, then during these hours, you will be billed R50 per gigabyte that you use.

Can I Get Calls on My Rain SIM Card?

No, you can’t get calls or text messages on your Rain sim because it’s a data-only sim card, therefore, you need to buy a MiFi router or use a dual sim card phone.

How to Activate Rain SIM

After you receive your sim card, you need to insert it into a router device or phone and wait for Rain to send you a set via text message. This usually takes a few hours but a maximum of 24 hours. When I received my first sim card, it took two hours to start working.

Rain Mobile APN Settings

If you are impatient and don’t want to wait for the automatic sim card activation APN settings text message, you can go ahead and set up your own internet using these Rain Internet APN settings on their website.

Data Review – Rain Sim Card

Rain R250/month Plan

When I first signed up for a Rain sim card, I started with the R250/month plan in 2018. I used the sim card in my spare phone and carried it around, using it as a hotspot for my other phone.

I barely had any issues, and I also set a monthly limit so I don’t spend too much during peak hours when data costs R50 per GB. I was spending an average of R500 a month for my R250/month plan and an additional 5 GB which I used during peak hours.

Rain 4G – R475/ month Plan

After 8 months of using Rain, I upgraded to the 24/7 4G uncapped plan. I experienced many problems with the plan, In the evenings and early mornings, it works perfectly, but in the daytime, my internet was very slow.

Rain 5G – R699/month Plan

After 3 months of using the 4G, I decided to upgrade to 5G and also order a router from Rain. I placed my order on a Sunday and paid R699, by Wednesday my Router and new sim card arrived.

Conclusion Rain Data Review

Is Rain worth it? After using Rain for over two years, I’ve concluded that Rain data sim card works better in a router than they do on mobile as a hotspot. Generally, 95% of the time, I have a good signal, and I believe it’s value for my money compared to other uncapped internet providers.

One thing I don’t like about Rain South Africa is the poor customer service, they don’t respond to emails, and the only way to reach them is via email or chatting with support on their website, so when you have connectivity issues, it might take more than 24 hours to resolve it.