Disney+ app in South Africa hit with technical glitches

A few early Disney+ subscribers in South Africa have reported that they were logged into other people’s accounts on Wednesday.

Several users on Twitter complained about the issue.

“I have no idea how this happened, but when I re-opened up my app this morning, it was logged into someone else’s account showing their phone number and email address! How does that even happen?” one user tweeted.

Unlike Disney+ in the US, UK, and Europe, the South African version is passwordless.

You sign in using a cellphone number with a one-time PIN that gets sent to your mobile device — like the Disney+ Hotstar service in India.

In an earlier interview with MyBroadband, Disney Africa senior vice-president and general manager Christine Service confirmed that Hotstar was helping with the technical aspects of the South African launch.

“We are being technically supported by the Hotstar team in India,” Service said.

“It’s extremely exciting because they have vast knowledge launching services not just in India, but across Asia.”

In addition to subscribers getting signed into the wrong accounts, eager prospective customers reported that they had not received their special pre-registration price yet.

Last month, Walt Disney announced that it was offering a discounted rate of R950 for a year’s service — or 12 months for the price of 8.

The offer was only available to people who registered their interest before midnight on Wednesday (i.e. 23:59 on 17 May).

Disney+’s regular price is R119 per month, or R1,190 if you pay up-front for a year.

Therefore, the promotion offers two free months of access on the annual price plan.

Disney said it would send those who pre-registered an email or SMS today with a link they must follow to take advantage of the special.

Some South Africans who have received their email reported that they’ve run into problems while trying to sign up.

In some cases, the promotional price is not showing, or the Disney+ system says they have already subscribed.

Technical support reportedly told prospective subscribers to sign up for the regular annual price plan and request a refund for the difference.

MyBroadband contacted Disney+ for feedback on its launch-day technical glitches, but it had not responded by the time of publication.