topic Not receiving texts abroad in Pay as you go

Not receiving texts abroad

petev00 — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 05:31:08 GMT

Hi, I have iPhone Pro dual sim, pay as you go for my uk number. When I first had this phone in July I could receive sms messages to get verification codes etc when I was abroad.
But since December I have not been able to receive texts from UK which is a problem when trying to log into my credit cards etc.
I phoned 150 & they advised me to switch to airplane mode, turn phone off & on but still not receiving texts.
Have read that maybe my phone is not set up for roaming but I was receiving messages before December.
Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

Christopher_G — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 07:53:58 GMT

Hi @petev00

Welcome to the community.

When was the last time you made a call or sent a text from the number? When you spoke to the team on 150, did they mention pay as you go hibernation?

Chris

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

petev00 — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 12:54:51 GMT

Hi Chris

I was back in UK in September/October & so was using a pay as you go monthly pack then.
Should not be hibernation as I always transfer to top up my pay as you go balance every month so that I don’t lose my number.

Peter

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

Christopher_G — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 13:47:09 GMT

OK, thanks @petev00

Have you tried connecting to a different available network provider, just to see if the issue is the same?

Chris

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

petev00 — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 04:42:28 GMT

Yes Chris, I have tried connecting to another network but still can’t to seem to receive texts.

I have also tried connecting to roaming but this did not make any difference.

Peter

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

Katie_B — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 07:42:06 GMT

Thanks for getting back to us @petev00.

Are you able to receive calls OK?

Katie

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

petev00 — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 09:10:39 GMT

Hi Katie

Not sure as I mainly use WhatsApp for all my uk calls. So just need texts for logging into some banking websites.

Should I call 150 & ask them to call me?

thanks

Peter

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

Katie_B — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 09:16:53 GMT

Hi @petev00.

If you are unable to test receiving a call, I'd recommend getting in touch and speaking with our technical care team who can run a full diagnostics.

Please keep us updated here on the community.

Katie

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

bristolian — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 09:18:48 GMT

Are the affected texts all automated ones? Or are person-to-person messages affected also?

Re: Not receiving texts abroad

petev00 — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:09:43 GMT

I confirm that I have just phoned 150 technical support about this issue again & it was referred to level 2 technical support.

After further investigation I have been advised that I would need to make a chargeable call (outside the pack) within last 60 days to retain roaming ability on my phone, otherwise I will not receive texts while abroad.

So when I was last in the UK in October I used a pay as you go pack so although I made calls I would need to make a call outside this pack to retain my roaming on pay as you go.

This is frustrating as I can only get this sorted the next time I am in the UK. I am still able to send & receive iMessage texts but I rarely need to use sms as mainly use WhatsApp.

My main issue is not receiving security verification texts from uk companies. My phone number will not go into hibernation as I top up every month but it just seems that I lose roaming on my number which is the problem.

Unfortunately EE cannot do anything remotely to reinstate roaming.

Peter