Stopped receiving text messages but could send and make and send calls

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Stopped receiving text messages but could send and make and send calls - strange problem

lchiu7

6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#73819 23-Dec-2010 00:20

Noticed today my phone (N1) would no longer receive text messages. First noticed when a message came in but was rejected by the phone since the message buffer was full. Not sure what that was so deleted a ton of message in my phone.

But after doing that I could receive no messages at all - even fake texts to 233 (like buy fred) would get no errors.

After 20 minutes on hold with 2D CSR who also could not send me a text, I was told to try the SIM in another phone. Put the SIM into a Nokia E71 but it made no difference and so I called them back. I was given a problem number and told to go to the Warehouse and get a new SIM for free and then to call them back. They would activate the SIM with my old number.

Luckily I am about a block from the Wellington 2D store so I went there first. When I recounted my problem one of the guys in the store said I wasn't the first customer with this problem and he had escalated it to tier 2 tech support. They then called the same support folks, played around with the phone and sending texts and confirmed the problem. They then gave me a new SIM card which I inserted into my phone. Within a few minutes the new SIM was active with my number and was able to make and receive calls but still not be able to receive texts. (As an aside luckily this was an Android phone, the quintessential one at that, so as soon as I entered my Google account details, all contacts, messages etc. were back on the phone. So I didn't have to transfer anything from the old SIM card.)

The story does have a happy ending since in a few hours the phone started to receive texts again. I was told it was a problem with ported VF phones but clearly not a widespread one else there would have been havoc at the 2D call centre.

Anybody else experience this problem?

Strange...

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

SaltyNZ

8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#420787 23-Dec-2010 07:43

Sorry they led you down the garden path there.

What actually happens is that once the phone starts rejecting messages due to memory full, the queues in the SMSC go into retry. The initial retry periods are very short - a minute or so - but if it continues, they blow out into hours so we don't waste network resources attempting to deliver messages that keep getting rejected.

Eventually - completely unrelated to faffing with new SIMs etc - the SMSC retried again, and since your memory was no longer full it was able to deliver normally. I shall pass this back to Tier 2 and make sure they're aware of it.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

lchiu7

6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#420833 23-Dec-2010 09:04

Hi there

Thanks for the clarification. I must admit I had some trepidation with getting a new SIM since I am flying out of the country today and wanted to be able to roam. And the thought of having to transfer all data from the old SIM to the new SIM didn't appeal.

Luckily the Nexus One stores no useful information on the SIM card so once it was activated and I signed onto my Google account, all contacts etc. were downloaded and restored.

Is there a way to get tier two to manually get the SMSC to start sending messages again when the phone memory has been cleared?

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

SaltyNZ

8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#420837 23-Dec-2010 09:11

lchiu7:

Is there a way to get tier two to manually get the SMSC to start sending messages again when the phone memory has been cleared?

I believe they have access to the right tool, but they might not be aware of the feature that allows them to force a retry.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

lchiu7

6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#420850 23-Dec-2010 09:26

SaltyNZ:
lchiu7:

Is there a way to get tier two to manually get the SMSC to start sending messages again when the phone memory has been cleared?

I believe they have access to the right tool, but they might not be aware of the feature that allows them to force a retry.

Maybe next time it occurs I can ask to be escalated to Level 2 and tell them about it! But from what you tell me, the problem rectifies itself anyway. But I did note that all texts that didn't received during the period are lost - they don't get stored and sent again.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

SaltyNZ

8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#420895 23-Dec-2010 10:38

lchiu7:
SaltyNZ:
lchiu7:

Is there a way to get tier two to manually get the SMSC to start sending messages again when the phone memory has been cleared?

I believe they have access to the right tool, but they might not be aware of the feature that allows them to force a retry.

Maybe next time it occurs I can ask to be escalated to Level 2 and tell them about it! But from what you tell me, the problem rectifies itself anyway. But I did note that all texts that didn't received during the period are lost - they don't get stored and sent again.

Tier 2 may have purged them as part of their investigation. But under normal circumstances the rest of the queue should have immediately followed the first message successfully delivered.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

beemeup

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#429876 22-Jan-2011 15:20

Hi, I also have a VF ported SIM card and it stopped receiving text's this week, and like yours was still sending. I went into the same 2D store in Wellington and they said it was a phone issue (turns out my phone is a fake Nokia N97) They sent me across the road to Phone bitz to have the phone looked at, but they said it was a 2D issue. I then phoned 2D and they ran some tests to confirm it wasn't receiving txt and said it couldn't be them as the phone still sent txts. Getting a bit fed up, I think it's the contacts on the sim card and will phone them back to get a new one.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#429881 22-Jan-2011 15:27

beemeup: Hi, I also have a VF ported SIM card and it stopped receiving text's this week, and like yours was still sending. I went into the same 2D store in Wellington and they said it was a phone issue (turns out my phone is a fake Nokia N97) They sent me across the road to Phone bitz to have the phone looked at, but they said it was a 2D issue. I then phoned 2D and they ran some tests to confirm it wasn't receiving txt and said it couldn't be them as the phone still sent txts. Getting a bit fed up, I think it's the contacts on the sim card and will phone them back to get a new one.

The most basic fault checking should be done first

Try SIM in another handset

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

beemeup

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#429899 22-Jan-2011 15:57

Have tried all that, partner has been playing with it and it seems to be the SIM slot contacts. With 2 sim cards inserted (it has dual slots) and a little pressure applied in the right place it now receives txts.

2degreesCare

1537 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

#430462 24-Jan-2011 10:18

beemeup: Have tried all that, partner has been playing with it and it seems to be the SIM slot contacts. With 2 sim cards inserted (it has dual slots) and a little pressure applied in the right place it now receives txts.

It could be an issue with the SIM card, if the problem persists you can pick up a blank one from the 2D store or a Warehouse Stationery for free. Then call 0800 022022 to have the number switched over. Remember to copy your existing SIM contacts over first though.

Cheers
^POB