Is SMS reliable?

[JoyfulC 132299]

I have only recently started truly relying on SMS for doing business, as I switched from a cloud service to an actual cell phone earlier this year. I must say, I'm not impressed.

 

I found out last week that I wasn't receiving text messages, nor were people receiving mine for... who knows how long before it came to my attention?

 

And then I found out by looking at my usage that I was dinged 80¢ for two text messages to my daughter in the US, which she never received. First, how in the hell can they justify charging that much for a text message to the US? And then it wasn't even received?? Seems like the only thing my service (Telus) does well is billing.

 

Then yesterday, my husband was just coming in around 2 AM when he received two text messages from one of his valued regular customers, timestamped around 9 PM. Obviously, he missed the business! And possibly left a good customer wondering if he was blown off.

 

We're going to call Telus again on Tuesday and see if we can get to the bottom of this. Anyone have any been-there advice?

[Guest S*rca****sid]

If you have a smartphone, try using a messaging service like BBM(Blackberry Messenger) or Whatsapp. There are so many out there, as long as you and the person you wish to message has the same app, then you can message each other. You won't be charged for messages to the states as it only uses your data plan.

 

As for the missing and late texts, the only reason I could see is if you are in an area that doesn't have good coverage, as in far from the nearest cell tower. Or there may be a malfunction with the phone.

[JoyfulC 132299]

If you have a smartphone, try using a messaging service like BBM(Blackberry Messenger) or Whatsapp. There are so many out there, as long as you and the person you wish to message has the same app, then you can message each other. You won't be charged for messages to the states as it only uses your data plan.

 

As for the missing and late texts, the only reason I could see is if you are in an area that doesn't have good coverage, as in far from the nearest cell tower. Or there may be a malfunction with the phone.

 

Thanks. We're having the problem on two phones, actually, so I don't think it's that. But it could be a coverage issue. Funny. They don't advise you of this when selling you the service.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

They don't advise you of this when selling you the service.

 

They don't advise you of what exactly? Using a third party app or the coverage issue?

[JoyfulC 132299]

They don't advise you of what exactly? Using a third party app or the coverage issue?

 

The coverage issue. That's been a big problem in the past for us. We signed a contract with them, some years back, that included a Palm Treo. That thing never worked out here in the sticks! Half the time we didn't get calls at all. And when we did, half the time again, they were dropped.

 

It wasn't until we went to the first iPhone, and were shopping around for a different service provider, that someone at Telus mentioned to us that we'd get much better service out here with the iPhone. ?? So if they knew we would have problems with the Treo out here, why didn't they mention that to us when they sold us the contract. Response: because most people who live out here travel into areas of better coverage for work. Great. We don't. You'd think they would have at least mentioned that. We essentially paid for three years of useless coverage. And their attitude, far from being one of wanting to help their customers, is Buyer Beware.

 

We have been with Telus since way back in the 90s. And I hate to change. And I know that other services are just as bad. But really, if Bell puts a new tower in our area, I can see us changing.

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

They are all the same when the excuses start. I have one contract with Telus ending this month. Not going to renew it for my business phone. Going to get my phone unlocked and move it to another provider. The network share the same but I will get a better price with one of their sister companies for what I have now. It does sound like a coverage issue and perhaps a signal booster (amplifier) might help you out if your phone has the right connections.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

We have been with Telus since way back in the 90s. And I hate to change. And I know that other services are just as bad. But really, if Bell puts a new tower in our area, I can see us changing.

 

As far as coverage goes for us in Canada, there isn't much we can do if someone lives out in the rural areas, except wait for them to expand the networks.

Bell and Telus use the same network. A few years back, they signed an agreement to partner up and share resources to expand their mutual network. Since they both use the same bandwidth (radio spectrum frequencies) it was a no-brainer.

The only advantage to switching, would be to get a better plan rate.

[zorobaby 4121]

It's hard to really Gage the network coverage without speaking to the provider. I know where I camp, I use to have Rogers, there was next to no signal, then when I switched to Telus... I get better reception there then my own house.

 

So it all depends where you live and what the closest tower is. I believe if you call Telus they can tell you which tower you are connecting to that is closest to you, and if it is far away... Contact Rogers or bell and ask the same question, the closer the tower, the better reception you will get.

 

Hope that helps some

[Andee 220524]

Short answer: No.

 

SMS is not 100% reliable. When I had Bell pay-as-you-go a few years back, it was horrible whenever someone with a Telus number would text me, the text messages would often get stuck somewhere in cyber space and hours (even days) later, they'd all come surging into my text message in box all at once.

 

Of course Telus blamed Bell and Bell blamed Telus and I never did get the issue resolved. When I switched to Chatr two years ago, sometimes when I would text other Chatr customers, they never got my text messages.

 

Haven't had any problems (that I know of) as late. But just to make sure, I always incorporate an actual phone call as part of my screening protocol when booking appointments because of this issue.

[JoyfulC 132299]

That's the other thing: when we first had two phones and got our first bill, it was showing long distance charges when we phoned each other. Even though, Fred was just at the bar on the other side of the river, and I can literally see it from my window!

 

We're on the same account. We're within walkie-talkie range. WTF?? We called and they gave us some elaborate excuse about which tower picked up our calls. But again, we noted that it somehow always seemed to $crew up in their favour. They gave us a plan where it's always free to call one another, but we still get some very odd long distance charges. I think the game is rigged to maximize their money.

 

And if that sounds paranoid, well, don't be naive! Remember a couple years back when some major banks were caught reordering ATM transactions out of chronological date to maximize the number of overdraft charges they could rack up? They're all a lot of crooks, and our governments apparently are more interested in working to protect their interests, than to protect us from them.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

That's the other thing: when we first had two phones and got our first bill, it was showing long distance charges when we phoned each other. Even though, Fred was just at the bar on the other side of the river, and I can literally see it from my window!

 

We're on the same account. We're within walkie-talkie range. WTF?? We called and they gave us some elaborate excuse about which tower picked up our calls. But again, we noted that it somehow always seemed to $crew up in their favour. They gave us a plan where it's always free to call one another, but we still get some very odd long distance charges. I think the game is rigged to maximize their money.

 

With any discrepancies in your bill, the best thing is to complain and always ask to speak with their supervisor. Keep going up a level of customer service until you reach someone that can resolve the issue. There is always someone higher to speak with. The more determined you are, the more likely it will get resolved. And remember to remain calm.

 

I had the opposite happen to me with Telus awhile back. When my contract was up, I switched plans and phones. The customer service person was a bit inexperienced that I ended up getting a brand new phone for free and didn't have to pay for the last month of my old plan... lol

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

I am going to suggest a Magic Jack to you. it is like a voip line but with several advantages. No long distance charges across North America plus local calling and a local number. Use the U.S. Service no the Canadian one. There is an app for Android and I phones that you install and you can use wireless connections or your data plan for connecting to it. The price is $29.99 US per year. I have been using it for over three years now.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

I am going to suggest a Magic Jack to you. it is like a voip line but with several advantages. No long distance charges across North America plus local calling and a local number. Use the U.S. Service no the Canadian one. There is an app for Android and I phones that you install and you can use wireless connections or your data plan for connecting to it. The price is $29.99 US per year. I have been using it for over three years now.

You can do the exact same thing with Skype for iPhone or Android... for free!

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

You can do the exact same thing with Skype for iPhone or Android... for free!

 

Skype charges you for phone calls and for long distance. Magic Jack has voice mail and you only pay once a year and unlimited call lengths.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

Skype charges you for phone calls and for long distance. Magic Jack has voice mail and you only pay once a year and unlimited call lengths.

You're right, but I was referring to if both parties have the app.

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

I was referring to use for business.

[JoyfulC 132299]

I used Voxox for the longest time because it gave me a local number, and I could phone and be phoned from phones as well as by other Voxox users. And I still use Voxox for a lot of things. They've got some great global long distance rates.

 

But still, I really don't get the problem with SMS. My understanding is that it runs on the same bands or channels or whatever that mobile phone calls run on. So why is it so much more unlikely that you won't get a text message, or that you will get it hours later, when that doesn't happen with phone calls? I'm really trying hard to wrap my mind around this. Why would SMS be so much more unreliable than phone calls?

 

Additional Comments:

FURTHER: I wonder if having "Cellular Data" turned off makes any difference. In my settings, it says: "Turn of cellular data to restrict all data to Wi-Fi, including email, web browsing, and push notifications." I have this set to off because the rare time I am out of the house, I don't want it burning through data with push notifications for games and email and such.

 

But too, while this might help any messages that come through iMessage, I don't see how it would affect true SMS messages that are supposed to travel on the same bands our cell phones do.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

I used Voxox for the longest time because it gave me a local number, and I could phone and be phoned from phones as well as by other Voxox users. And I still use Voxox for a lot of things. They've got some great global long distance rates.

 

But still, I really don't get the problem with SMS. My understanding is that it runs on the same bands or channels or whatever that mobile phone calls run on. So why is it so much more unlikely that you won't get a text message, or that you will get it hours later, when that doesn't happen with phone calls? I'm really trying hard to wrap my mind around this. Why would SMS be so much more unreliable than phone calls?

 

Additional Comments:

FURTHER: I wonder if having "Cellular Data" turned off makes any difference. In my settings, it says: "Turn of cellular data to restrict all data to Wi-Fi, including email, web browsing, and push notifications." I have this set to off because the rare time I am out of the house, I don't want it burning through data with push notifications for games and email and such.

 

But too, while this might help any messages that come through iMessage, I don't see how it would affect true SMS messages that are supposed to travel on the same bands our cell phones do.

Essentially, if it involves your cell phone, it all travels on the same bandwidth/frequency. Most cell phone plans are charged based on 3 categories: phone, text, and data rate. An SMS can be either a text or a messaging service which uses your data rate.

 

If you have your data rate switched off, it shouldn't effect sending or receiving texts. But if you are using a service like BBM or whatsapp, you won't receive anything.

If you are concerned with using up your data rate with push notifications, you can always turn off or adjust the amount of push notifications you receive in a certain span of time.

 

As for the missed texts, it's probably due to the fact that you were out of range of a tower. Texts are like phone calls, if you are not there to receive it, it's gone. For messages, it's best to use a third party app, they will resend the message if you are out of range or if the phone is off for any reason.

 

A couple weeks ago, my phone was accidentally switch off by my provider, by the time I noticed, it was the next morning. When I got them to switch it back on, all my messages came flooding in.