topic Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline in Broadband & Landline

Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:23:35 GMT

I’ve just purchased a shiny new landline phone and I’m somewhat disappointed that I can’t transfer all the contacts to it via Bluetooth as I could with my previous, 15-year-old model. (I know, I should have read the spec more carefully.) However, I gather that I can (in theory) send vcards via SMS from my mobile to my new phone (which does indeed support SMS). Those vcards can then be saved to my phone’s contacts list. Unfortunately, there appears to be a couple of stumbling blocks to get over before I can do this: (1) I need my landline to be SMS-enabled first and an advisor at EE just told me that couldn’t be done (despite the fact that EE’s parent company BT does offer that with its BT Text service); and (2) if she was wrong, I still have no idea how to obtain the appropriate SMS service centre number. If anyone with knowledge of this issue could offer me some advice, that would be very gratefully accepted.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

XRaySpeX — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:47:33 GMT

If it's anything like BT text REGISTER to 00000 from the landline.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:08:22 GMT

Thanks. But I can't send a text from my phone to anyone unless I have set it up with the appropriate SMS service number, and (as I said) I don't know how to obtain that fro EE landlines.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

XRaySpeX — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 18:10:47 GMT

This is setting it all up! That is the landline Text Service's service centre number. You just gotta send it once to be able to use SMS on your landline.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 19:42:43 GMT

I appreciate you are trying to help, but (as I said) I can't send a text from my phone to ANYONE — including BT Text at 000000 — unless I have set the phone up with the appropriate SMS service centre number. For example, one of the SMS service centre numbers for BT is 1470P17094009 (where "P" = pause). What I need is the equivalent SMS service centre number(s) for an EE landline. If no-one can tell me what that is (or those are) then I can't send a text from my SMS-enabled phone and that function is useless.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

Chris_B — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:08:47 GMT

@dbridson To my knowledge EE don’t offer this service. While BT do they are 2 separate companies so one doesn’t have to offer what the other does.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

XRaySpeX — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:16:05 GMT

OIC! On my BT landline Msg Centre 1 is as you say & Msg Centre 2 is 0800587529. I don't remember ever setting these myself. All I ever remember is sending the REGISTER text myself. Looking now at my handset's handbook I see they were already pre-programmed to BT's system.

EE's not gonna have its own SMS Service & Msg Centres. If SMS is to work at all on EE it's gonna be using the BT system. So text REGISTER to 00000 & either it'll work or it won't. If it doesn't you'll know you can't do SMS on EE landlines.

Footnote: When we go to VoIP or DV there will no longer be SMS over home phone.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 21:05:30 GMT

Thanks, @XRaySpeX, I’ve tried the numbers that are preprogrammed in BT-branded phones but without any luck, so I’m guessing you and @Chris_B are right and EE landlines don’t support SMS (although some SMS forums say they do). Looks like it’s back to BT for me. 😞

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 21:09:26 GMT

Thanks @Chris_B. Looks like you’re right. The advice from some of the SMS forums I’ve looked at is different, but life’s too short to pursue this any further. Thank you for your intervention.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

XRaySpeX — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 21:21:43 GMT

I don't have a BT-branded phone. It's Panasonic but in their wisdom they defaulted to BT's SMS Service.

Did you ever try to send that REGISTER text?

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 21:46:38 GMT

Sorry, @XRaySpeX, I assumed it was just BT that preprogrammes its SMS Service Centre numbers into the phones it supplies. I wish Siemens did. Anyway, yes, I did try sending that REGISTER text a couple of hours ago, and guess what...? Just looked at my mobile and all three of my test messages have arrived together in the past few minutes, so the SMS send function now seems to be working okay. Hurrah! Sadly, my response to the last message just resulted in a call from BT's voice text service, despite the CLIP being on (apparently). It’s a start, though. I might try a few of the different SMS Service Centre numbers listed here to see what happens: https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/legacy-ug/new-pdf/BT%20SMS%20Text%20service%20centre%20numbers.pdf. Many thanks for your continued interest.

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

XRaySpeX — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 22:12:01 GMT

So, SMS does work over EE landlines using the BT Text system.

I once had trouble with receiving SMS as voice texts & the way round it was to send the REGISTER to 00000 again to reset everything.

Alternatively you could try sending *1# to 00000.

FYI: Set up and use BT Text

Re: Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

dbridson — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 11:12:41 GMT

Thanks very much for your perseverance, @XRaySpeX, I appreciate it. Yes, if nothing else, we’ve established that EE landlines actually can be SMS-enabled, and someone in the company’s support team really ought to make a note of that. Unfortunately, having tried your suggestions for re-texting 000000 and entered every single SMS Service Centre number variation listed in that BT DECT phone listing, I’m still not able to receive texts in data format on my Gigaset phone. (I tried the company’s support line but their advisor’s response was “get the information from your service provider”. (Not entirely helpful, given that the SMS Service Centre receiving number seems likely to vary by the model of DECT phone rather than anything the provider does.) I can’t think of anything else to try, so I’m reduced to threatening the supplier with a return for refund unless Siemens get their SMS feature to work as advertised. I’ll let you know if I get a sensible response to that.