Safaricom has moved to address customer complaints linked to an error disrupting payments for its 5G Home service via M-Pesa, following growing user frustration over failed transactions.
In a notice issued on 27 April, the company’s customer care team explained how subscribers can avoid the “Customer Not Found” message when paying through the M-Pesa *400# menu under “Pay for Other”.
The firm reassured customers not to panic when the error appears, noting that it is typically triggered by incorrect entry of the account number during payment.
According to Safaricom, the problem arises when users include a leading zero in the account number. The company advised customers to omit the zero when entering details, for example using 712345678 instead of 0712345678, in order for payments to go through successfully.
“It happens when the account number is entered incorrectly. Simply drop the zero and use the correct format,” the company explained.
Reports of the issue have been circulating since mid-March 2026, with several users continuing to encounter the same error when attempting to pay for 5G Home subscriptions via M-Pesa.
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Safaricom emphasised that correct formatting is essential for smooth processing of payments through the platform.
Isolated connectivity complaints
Separately, on 26 April 2026, some customers reported interruptions affecting Home Fibre and 5G Home services. Complaints shared on social media pointed to service downtime lasting several hours in certain locations.
One user reported being offline for over 24 hours, prompting Safaricom Care to acknowledge the issue and promise follow-up and investigation.
The company apologised for the inconvenience and confirmed that the matter was being escalated for resolution.
However, Safaricom stopped short of confirming a nationwide outage, suggesting instead that the disruptions were isolated and affected only specific users or areas.
