Number Ported but can't receive SMS Messages

[Chewy25]

Hello, my number has been ported  yesterday from Lebara to EE, can receive calls however can't receive sms messages and  any verification codes.

Yet to receive the port in completion sms message, the only message received from 150 was 'we'll transfer your number by 6pm on 06/08. thanks'. Can someone please help!

[bristolian]

If the scheduled port-in time has passed but no completion has been advised, this will need access to your individual account to advise further. One test you can try in the meantime is texting yourself - do you receive it? How about texting NUMBER to 150 - do you receive the expected response?

I'd recommend contacting CS on 150, they have that access.

[Chewy25]

thank you for your response.

I have called CS they have advised that in order to resolve the issue with my SMS messages not being received is to either top up (min £5) or buy a tariff to activate my sim. This doesn't sound right, why would they be saying my sim isn't active, just because I have no credit on it? And if it's not active, then why can I  only receive calls (but not texts). I don't think CS know what they're talking about.

I tried SMS messaging 150, and can receive a response, and texting BALANCE works also. I think CS are just trying to sell me a contract (heavily pushed towards a 24 month contract) whereas my issue is to do with the port in. Googling it sounds like a split port issue.

Is there anyone who can suggest anything, like escalating this to technical team that deals with port in issues?

[Peter_W]

Hi there @Chewy25.

Welcome to the EE Community 😊

I think there may have been a few crossed wires in what our team are asking here - when mentioning to select a tariff, they'll most likely mean a monthly pack with a fixed allowance. 

This is still pay as you go, but just allows you to select an option that gives you more calls and texts for your money, and an allowance of data too. 

Credit shouldn't impact your ability to receive texts though, especially if you're still getting replies from 150. 

Do you have any credit at all right now, and if possible can you please try sending a text to your own number?

Peter

[Chewy25]

Got no credit on this sim, its a PAYG I used to port my number across.

I was going to purchase the rolling 30 day contract for £9 (20gb data offer) but that's a completely new sim. I'd rather not top up and waste money to find out the problem still persists, especially since as you say, credit shouldn't impact receiving texts.

Is there any team I can escalate this to?

Thanks

[Chewy25]

I used a free HLR checkup and it revealed the following:

valid_number: valid

reachable: absent

ported: assumed_not_ported

roaming: not_roaming

gsm_code: 6

gsm_message: Absent Subscriber for SM

This last part is probably the issue I need to pass to customer support to get my issue escalated?

[Peter_W]

Thanks @Chewy25, we should still be able to investigate this one either way, as whilst rare it's definitely possible for split ports to occur. 

Have you made any calls at all from this phone since you got your SIM? If you did need to top this up as part of any diagnostic tests, any unused credit can be transferred over if you move to pay monthly. 

Also what options did you follow when speaking to us on the phone, as it definitely shouldn't be difficult to get in touch with our tech team.

Peter

[bristolian]

Normally one of the more reliable tests of a hibernated SIM, is that coverage is shown but inbound calls & texts fail, outbound calls redirect to 150 while outbound texts also fail. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing could happen with an unactivated SIM.

All that said, the info you've got would be of use to (non-customer-facing) support engineers, but they would be able to ascertain the same with the network access they have. I suspect it may be slightly lost on the vast majority of CS bods - your POC remains 150. They have processes in-place to resolve these issues,