vB Easy Archive - Unlocked w810i suddenly can't send text messages, CSR says "it just happens"

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Unlocked w810i suddenly can't send text messages, CSR says "it just happens"
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Posted by: sinz

I bought an unlocked, unbranded SE w810i in October of 2006. That one promptly died in early December and was replaced by SE. I have been using the replacement without issue up until this past Monday when I mysteriously lost the ability to send text messages (I can still receive them). I am a Blue/ATTWS customer and still use the 32k SIM. When I called Cingular I was told that "this just happens" and it can just randomly manifest itself at unknown times and cannot be fixed without upgrading to the 64k SIM. They said that they cannot help me because I'm using an unlocked/unbranded phone and that the IMEI from my old t68i was in the system but they could not change it because the old AT&T system will not allow them to enter the IMEI of an unlocked phone. Therefore, in order to have the new IMEI entered I would have to switch to Cingular and get a 64k SIM card. As a result I would also have to enter into a contract, which I don't want to do (I've been month to month for years) and get a new phone, which I don't want. So basically I'm left with the choice of never sending another text message, which I'm paying for the ability to do, or entering into a contract that I want no part of.

So my question is, does anyone know what might be preventing me from sending text messsages? Every time I try it says "Sending failed. Retry?" I can't imagine why on earth I would randomly lose the ability to send messages unless Cingular fiddled with something on their end. I have a distinct feeling that the lines the CSR gave me are far from the truth and are just part of their "force ATTWS customers into a Cingular contract" plan. Thanks in advance for any and all comments.

P.S. I find it hilarious that in order to fix my problem I need to "upgrade" from my AT&T SIM to a Cingular SIM with a company that ends it's calls by saying "Thank you for calling The New AT&T".

Posted by: cingtony

It will most likely either be the message center number is wrong messaging-settings - text . Should be a +1970 ... number which you can find on here somewhere. Or it will be under the settings , connectivity , data comm , text set to gprs instead of gsm . I dont know how the menus will look on an unbranded one but it should be similar.

Posted by: Kelly_L

http://howardforums.com/showthread....lashing+dummies

you might want to give it a try, might not work though

Posted by: darkninja

First thing to do is try and take out the battery and sim card then reinsert. If that fails try and do a master reset on the phone. If that fails try an update using sony's update service (which wouldn't be a bad idea anyway if you have never done so). Then if that fails try flash using a 3rd party service like wotanserver or davinci.

The rep that said "it just happens" on unlocked/unbranded phones is full of crap. That was just a lie to try and get you to switch to a new plan.

Posted by: MyPyle

Wirelessly posted (Cingular 8525: HTC-8500/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320))

they are just trying to get u to switch over. could of cingular intentionally turned off the text massenging just to get him to switch over

Posted by: sinz

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkninja

First thing to do is try and take out the battery and sim card then reinsert. If that fails try and do a master reset on the phone. If that fails try an update using sony's update service (which wouldn't be a bad idea anyway if you have never done so). Then if that fails try flash using a 3rd party service like wotanserver or davinci.

The rep that said "it just happens" on unlocked/unbranded phones is full of crap. That was just a lie to try and get you to switch to a new plan.

I've tried taking out the battery+sim and reinserting, as well as the SE Update service. I haven't tried a master reset or flashing the phone but I'll try both of those today. It was pretty clear that what the rep was telling me was ******** and it makes me so mad that I nearly canceled my service on the spot but I knew that I'd never be able to get back on my month to month plan, at least not without a huge hassle, if I did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyPyle

they are just trying to get u to switch over. could of cingular intentionally turned off the text massenging just to get him to switch over

That was my first thought when he said "it just happens". That's part of why I posted here. I wanted to see if any other users have had the same problem and if so maybe Cingular periodically does this to a number of Blue users. So far I haven't found anyone else saying that they've had this problem though.

Posted by: sinz

Thanks for the assistance guys. I got around to trying a master reset and that seems to have fixed the issue though I'm not sure why. I haven't fiddled with any settings since I got the phone but who knows. I'm just glad I get to keep the plan I want and not get sucked into Cingular's vortex of BS.

Posted by: geminiwave

hey friend. I had this happen. go to your text message settings and set it to GSM only. Not auto or GPRS. GSM ONLY. that should fix your problems. I had the EXACT same thing happen to me.

so go to settings, connectivity, data communication, SMS Access, and then hit GSM. try it after that.

Posted by: AFamily

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinz

When I called Cingular I was told that "this just happens" and it can just randomly manifest itself at unknown times and cannot be fixed without upgrading to the 64k SIM.

Haha, I would tell that to customers, too...if I didn't want to do my job.

Glad to hear the master reset fixed your problem...all you really had to do was fix the service center #, though. Pulling out the battery or turning the phone off/on won't make any difference since the setting will be the same before and after you do that. Have fun texting!

Posted by: xenodata

My text messaging receiving worked, but not sending, (had trouble to send text messages on the w810i) I corrected it by changing the service center.

To change your service center number for BLUE (Former AT&T Customer) on the w810i

Menu -> Messaging -> Settings -> Text Message -> "Service Center"

You will need to use the message (messaging) service center number:

+19703769301

After you enter it, it will ask if you want to make the new one active, choose yes and your text messaging should now work.