Out of airtime but need someone to call you back? Cell C Please Call Me service lets you send a free request asking someone to call you — no airtime, no data, no cost at all. Here’s everything you need to know about using it properly.
What Is a Please Call Me?
A Please Call Me (PCM) is a free text-based notification that South African mobile networks have offered for years, allowing a subscriber with no airtime to still reach out and ask someone to call them back. On Cell C, it works entirely through USSD, meaning it functions even with a completely empty balance and no data connection.
How To Send a Cell C Please Call Me
Basic method:
Dial *111*[recipient’s number]# and press call. For example, to send one to 084 123 4567, you’d dial *111*0841234567#. The recipient receives a text notification showing your number and a request to call you back.
Personalising your message with your name:
- Dial *111*1#
- Select option 1 to enter your name
- Type your name and confirm
- Select option 1 again to activate this setting
Once personalised, future Please Call Me messages you send will include your name alongside your number, which is useful if the recipient doesn’t have you saved as a contact and might otherwise ignore an unfamiliar number.
Sending To Other Networks
Please Call Me works across networks in South Africa — you can send one from your Cell C number to a Vodacom, MTN, or Telkom number, and it will still go through. The receiving network handles final delivery, so in rare cases where message delivery seems delayed, this is more likely an issue on the receiving network’s side than with Cell C.
Is There a Limit?
Cell C applies a fair-use limit to Please Call Me to prevent the free service from being abused (for example, being used as a substitute for SMS by sending dozens per day). For normal personal use — checking in with family, reaching a friend, following up on something once or twice a day — you’re extremely unlikely to hit this limit. If you find your Please Call Me messages suddenly aren’t sending, waiting a few hours before trying again usually resolves it, since limits are typically applied on a rolling daily basis rather than permanently blocking you.
Why Please Call Me Still Exists in an App-Based World
It might seem like a relic from the pre-smartphone era, but Please Call Me remains genuinely useful for a simple reason: it works in exactly the situations where everything else fails. WhatsApp needs data. A phone call needs airtime. An SMS often needs airtime too. Please Call Me needs none of that — just a live network signal, which is why it’s stayed a core feature across every South African network for two decades and counting, rather than being phased out. Data prices in South Africa have dropped significantly over the past decade, but for many prepaid users, especially those topping up in small amounts as money allows, a completely free fallback option still matters in a way that’s easy to overlook if you’re on an uncapped fibre-linked contract.
It’s also worth knowing that this isn’t a Cell C-only feature — Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom all offer equivalent services under similar names, and they all interoperate, meaning a Please Call Me sent from a Cell C number reaches a Vodacom or MTN recipient without any issue, and vice versa.
Using Please Call Me For Business
If you run a small business and give out a Cell C number for customers to reach you, it’s worth knowing your customers can use Please Call Me to flag interest even if they’re out of airtime — this is a common way small businesses in South Africa capture leads from cost-conscious customers who’d otherwise not be able to make contact at all. If this applies to you, it’s worth mentioning to customers directly (“send a Please Call Me if you’re out of airtime”) rather than assuming they know the option exists.
Please Call Me Codes On Other Networks
Since Please Call Me works across networks, it’s useful to know the sending codes differ by network even though delivery is universal:
| Network | Please Call Me Code |
| Cell C | *111*[number]# |
| Vodacom | *140*[number]# |
| MTN | *141*[number]# |
| Telkom | *180*[number]# |
If you’re helping a family member or friend on a different network send one, don’t assume the Cell C code will work on their phone — each network sets its own shortcut, even though the underlying service concept is identical across all of them.
Troubleshooting: Please Call Me Not Sending
If your Please Call Me isn’t going through, work through these in order:
- Check you’ve dialled the code correctly — it must be exactly *111*[full number]#, with no spaces and including the leading 0 on the recipient’s number
- Confirm you have network signal — USSD needs a live network connection to process, even though it doesn’t use airtime or data
- Wait and retry — if you’ve sent several in a short period, you may have hit the fair-use limit temporarily
- Restart your phone — occasionally clears a stuck USSD session
- Try the alternative method — dial *147# and look for the Please Call Me option in the main menu, which sometimes works even if the direct *111* shortcut is temporarily unresponsive
- Contact Cell C customer care on 135 (free from a Cell C number) if none of the above resolve it
Alternatives If Please Call Me Isn’t Working For You
If you need to reach someone urgently and Please Call Me isn’t cooperating, consider:
- WhatsApp, if you have any data at all, even a small free allocation from a Cell C promotion
- Asking a nearby person to make the call on your behalf
- USSD-based free messaging options some banking apps offer, if you have a linked account
- Visiting a Cell C store or agent if the issue persists and you suspect an account-level problem rather than a temporary glitch
Frequently Asked Questions
Does sending a Please Call Me cost anything?
No, it’s completely free, regardless of your airtime or data balance.
Can I send a Please Call Me to a landline?
No, Please Call Me is a mobile-network service and only works between mobile numbers.
Will the recipient know it’s from me if I haven’t saved their contact details?
Your number will show on their notification regardless. If you’ve set up the personalisation feature (*111*1#), your name will show too, even if they don’t have you saved.
Can I send unlimited Please Call Me messages?
There’s a fair-use limit to prevent abuse of the free service, but normal day-to-day personal use is very unlikely to be affected.
Does Please Call Me work while roaming internationally?
This depends on your specific roaming agreement and isn’t guaranteed — check with Cell C customer care before relying on it while travelling abroad.
Why did I receive a Please Call Me from a number I don’t recognise?
It could be someone who has your number saved, a wrong number sent in error, or in rare cases, spam. You’re under no obligation to call back an unfamiliar Please Call Me — treat it the same as you would an unfamiliar missed call.
Can I block someone from sending me Please Call Me messages?
Yes — blocking a number on your phone (through your standard call/message blocking settings) typically blocks Please Call Me notifications from that number too, since they arrive through the same network channel as a text notification. If you’re receiving unwanted Please Call Me messages repeatedly from different numbers, report the pattern to Cell C customer care, as this can sometimes indicate a spam campaign worth flagging on their end.
Is Please Call Me the same as a missed call?
No — a missed call means someone actually dialled your number and it rang without being answered. A Please Call Me is a text-based notification sent without ever placing an actual call, which is why it doesn’t use airtime on either end.
Related guides:
- Want the full list of Cell C shortcuts? See our complete Cell C USSD codes guide
- Need to check your own number? See our guide to checking your Cell C number
- Want to hide your number on a call instead? See our Cell C private number guide
