Sending and receiving text messages on a landline

[dbridson]

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.

[XRaySpeX]

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

[dbridson]

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.

[XRaySpeX]

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.

[dbridson]

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.

[Chris_B]

@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.  

[XRaySpeX]

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.

[dbridson]

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. 😞

[dbridson]

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. 

[XRaySpeX]

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?