iPhone 4 and 4S

[k1984]

Hi,
Has anyone else had problems recieving texts abroad (in in Thailand just now) unless they are connected to
Wifi? My problem is that I only seem to recieve texts while I'm connected to the wifi in the hotel, once I leave i get nothing until I'm back at the hotel (or other wifi connection) and end up getting 20 texts at once! Most folk texting me also have iPhones but it appears the same problem occurs no matter who is texting.

It's not the biggest problem just now as I'm in Bangkok and there are plenty of wifi hotspots, but as of Monday I'm going to Phuket and phi pho where I'm not sure if the hotels have wifi in the room.

Anything I can/should do to sort this? I have data roaming turned off but not prepared to turn it on.

Thanks,

K

[kids]

Are you able to make calls over the partnering cellular network? In other words is your account provisioned for Mobile Roaming?

I spend a fair bit of time in Thailand and as I use an unlocked phone I use a local sim so never have a problem but a work collegue of mine had problems when we were then in May receiving texts when the partnering network was True Mobile. When he  did a manual network search on the phone he was able to pick up to AIS (1-2-Call) he then  had no further problems.

Phuket is fairly well provided with in-room wifi (unless you are staying at a budget hotel) but Phi Phi island much less so for in-room wifi.

[James]

Hi k1984,

Thanks for your posts here.

Please can you answer the questions in Kids posts and also let us know if you have tried to manually select a different network abroad and if you still get the same issues.

James

[k1984]

Hi,

At the moment I am on holiday in Thailand and have had problems using my phone in that I can't receive texts unless I have a wifi connection. I addressed this in another post but the replies didn't help me sort it. Anyway, I have had a wifi signal for the first 6 days and have been sending messages to friends who also use iMessage.

So, when I text them, the send box goes blue and it tells me the message has been delivered and im able to recieve messages from them shile still on wifi, so I assume that it'll be at no cost to me....

....today i checked my bill and it appears I have been charged for this but not directly. To make it easy to understand my bill says the cost is zero next to the telephone number but then charges the 49p to the following number 07785016005. I haven't been charged by the looks of it for all the 'iMessages' however. There were a few which I sent whereby I wasn't on wifi but I kept count of these and it doesn't add up.

Anyone experienced this? And can one of the admin members check it out?

Thanks

[k1984]

Hi there,
Yes I've changed networks manually and tried the other things. It still not working. If made another post as I have been using iMessage while on wifi...but on checking my bill appear to be charged for messages

[kids]

 k1984 wrote:
....today i checked my bill and it appears I have been charged for this but not directly. To make it easy to understand my bill says the cost is zero next to the telephone number but then charges the 49p to the following number 07785016005. I haven't been charged by the looks of it for all the 'iMessages' however. There were a few which I sent whereby I wasn't on wifi but I kept count of these and it doesn't add up.

This may help:

If you've been travelling / roaming and see 07785016005 on your Vodafone bill with duration 00:00:00 or 00:00:01(which implies it's an sms text message), then worry no more:

Texts sent Internationally are charged in two parts, first there's the cost of sending the text from your phone to the service centre (07785016005) and then there's the cost of the text going from the service centre to the destination.

If you look on your bill then you'll find a matching 07785016005 entry somewhere else on the same bill for every text you've sent.

[k1984]

Thanks kids,

Just a bit worried as it has charged me so far around £40 (minus vat) for messages the majority of which were iMessages, so I'm assuming 80 odd texts :-s

[kids]

Is the recipient for the messages using an ios5 device? If not the messages are sent as sms. Also they will be sent as sms if the iMessage service is unavailable.

You can stop messages sending as sms by tuning the 'send as sms' toggle in 'Messages' to off

[Ben_H]

Hi k1984,

It looks like I've been pipped to the post! Many thanks to kids for his support on this one. If you need a hand with anything else on the roaming services with your phone, let my team know.

Cheers, Ben 

[kids]

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k1984 wrote:
Thanks kids,

Just a bit worried as it has charged me so far around £40 (minus vat) for messages the majority of which were iMessages, so I'm assuming 80 odd texts :-s

Just a thought. - Looking at the messages you have sent and think you have been charged for are they in Blue or Green? Blue is sent as an iMessage and Green is sent as an sms.

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[TudorC]

As kids said, Blue is sent as an iMessage and Green is sent as an sms.

iMessage

Normal Message

[crazychick515]

Thanks for this post. It can be frustrating the Imessage. As it flips between each service without you really knowing. I got stung when I went away recently.

Can you turn of cellular data but still use wifi as then you would know for sure?

[TudorC]

Yes, crazychick515

Turning off cellular data won't stop sending you SMS-es instead of iMessages.

Remember, the condition is that both of you to be under wireless coverage.

In iOS 6, it will be implemented iMessages through 3g connection. As you may see, I am on Vodafone RO 3G and using iMessages on iOS 6 beta 2. In september, you'll have no worries anymore.

Though you might need more MEGA of internet unless you are on a unlimitted data priceplan.

Regards.

[jeffkinn]

This is completely untrue. IMessage works perfectly through a normal 3G connection. It doesn't not require Wi Fi. Turningo off cellular data and using Wi Fi will not stop iMessages potentially turning into texts. To achieve this you also have to disable roaming so you are not connected to the local mobile network at all. With just Wi Fi either the iMessage will succeed or fail.

[TudorC]

Oh, you are right. 

I never used iMessages on iOS 5.1.1 so that is why I thought it wasn't working.

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jeffkinn wrote:
With just Wi Fi either the iMessage will succeed or fail.

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- true

[sdmuk]

I am in Sao Paulo. I am using an iPhone 4s. I cannot get any signal strength, receive or make calls suddenly. It was working fine this morning. I was even quite smug about using personal hotspot in the dreadful traffic coming from the airport to my hotel to send 11 hours of emails out to the world. I have taken SIM card in and out, reset network settings, turned 3g and mobile data off, and am at a loss as to what to do now. I am a bit stranded!! HELP!! Thanks, Simon.

[James]

Hi sdmuk,

If it was working but now doesn’t then it is possible that there could have been a suspension on the account.

So that we can check this for you I have sent you a quick PM, please follow the instructions on the Pm and one of the team will be able to get this checked for you.

You can find your PM inbox here.

James