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Funny thing that happened to me recently. I'm having a prepaid plan with att, and I did not pay it for a while. Recently I needed to get a text message so I we

Funny thing that happened to me recently. I'm having a prepaid plan with att, and I did not pay it for a while. Recently I needed to get a text message so I went on the att prepaid website to reactivate the plan for the month so that I could get the text message. Guess what. The att website wants to send me a text message to ensure that I am the owner of the account... to my phone... that has no plan... fun times!

DangitBobby 4y ago
Did you try it? You might be able to receive messages from certain numbers.
- messe 4y ago
  Needing to pay to receive texts is utterly alien to me.
  - cortesoft 4y ago
    What? You can get texts to a phone without paying your phone bill?
    - londons_explore 4y ago
      In most countries outside North America, if you don't pay the phone bill you can still receive texts and calls. You just can't make calls, send texts or use internet. The same applies to prepaid cards - if the balance hits zero, you can only do incoming calls and texts. Obviously, the provider will still send debt collectors if you were on some fixed price per month plan, and those debt collectors will still try to collect moneys for the months the service didn't allow outgoing calls... I always thought it odd that a company was allowed by law to collect money for a service they didn't provide.
    - messe 4y ago
      Yes, if I'm on a prepaid plan? If I didn't top up, my phone would still have an active SIM and phone number. I would still be able to receive calls and texts.
    - netzvieh 4y ago
      In Germany at least you (can) buy a prepaid sim card and activate it. That gives you a phone number and you usually get the price you paid for the sim card added to your account balance. From then on you don't have to pay anything to keep using that phone number to receive calls/SMS. Calling/sending SMS costs are coming of your balance. You can buy packages (usually good for 4 weeks) with e.g. 300MB data volume or unlimited calls. There's also the model where you pay a monthly subscription and receive a new device every few years or have some other benefits.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    They're talking about being able to receive texts without having a phone plan. Also, the (now) norm of texts being free in the US with most phone plans is 1.) relatively recent and 2.) not the case everywhere else. (Hence, the popularity of Whatsapp etc. outside of the US--where it's uncommon for those who don't text internationally.
- alain_gilbert 4y ago
  Maybe they completely deactivated the sim card, I don't really know. The phone just doesn't even connect to a network anymore. In which case, I wonder if I actually just lost my phone number altogether(?)
messe 4y ago
The weird part about this, as somebody outside of the US, is that you need to pay to receive a text message.
- alpaca128 4y ago
  As somebody else outside the US - where is this different? Without a connection you can only make emergency calls, receiving anything is impossible when your phone doesn't have a number without an active sim card.
  - messe 4y ago
    Except they did have an active SIM on a prepaid plan, that hadn't been topped up. In a situation like that I would still be able to receive calls and texts, just not make them.
- anonymoushn 4y ago
  What country do you live in, and what's the process for being assigned a phone number that can receive text messages without paying anyone for a phone plan? Does the government have an office where you can show your ID and get a SIM card for free?
  - kuschku 4y ago
    Steps to reproduce: 1. Buy a sim card from ALDI for 10€ 2. Activate 3. Use the phone until the balance is down to 0€ At this point you've got an empty balance, are unable to make calls or send texts, but you can receive calls or texts still just fine. You can also visit zero-rated websites (in the past e.g. 0.facebook.com). When I was a child my parents would give me a phone with a SIM card in this state, they could still call me if they needed to tell me to come home, and I could still call the emergency services, and given WiFi I could surf the open web as well, but I couldn't waste money on paid services or calls.
- deelowe 4y ago
  You keep saying this, but it makes no sense to me. How do you receive text messages with a phone that's not active? How does the phone have service?

DangitBobby 4y ago

Did you try it? You might be able to receive messages from certain numbers.

messe 4y ago
Needing to pay to receive texts is utterly alien to me.
- cortesoft 4y ago
  What? You can get texts to a phone without paying your phone bill?
  - londons_explore 4y ago
    In most countries outside North America, if you don't pay the phone bill you can still receive texts and calls. You just can't make calls, send texts or use internet. The same applies to prepaid cards - if the balance hits zero, you can only do incoming calls and texts. Obviously, the provider will still send debt collectors if you were on some fixed price per month plan, and those debt collectors will still try to collect moneys for the months the service didn't allow outgoing calls... I always thought it odd that a company was allowed by law to collect money for a service they didn't provide.
  - messe 4y ago
    Yes, if I'm on a prepaid plan? If I didn't top up, my phone would still have an active SIM and phone number. I would still be able to receive calls and texts.
  - netzvieh 4y ago
    In Germany at least you (can) buy a prepaid sim card and activate it. That gives you a phone number and you usually get the price you paid for the sim card added to your account balance. From then on you don't have to pay anything to keep using that phone number to receive calls/SMS. Calling/sending SMS costs are coming of your balance. You can buy packages (usually good for 4 weeks) with e.g. 300MB data volume or unlimited calls. There's also the model where you pay a monthly subscription and receive a new device every few years or have some other benefits.
- ghaff 4y ago
  They're talking about being able to receive texts without having a phone plan. Also, the (now) norm of texts being free in the US with most phone plans is 1.) relatively recent and 2.) not the case everywhere else. (Hence, the popularity of Whatsapp etc. outside of the US--where it's uncommon for those who don't text internationally.
alain_gilbert 4y ago
Maybe they completely deactivated the sim card, I don't really know. The phone just doesn't even connect to a network anymore. In which case, I wonder if I actually just lost my phone number altogether(?)

messe 4y ago

The weird part about this, as somebody outside of the US, is that you need to pay to receive a text message.

alpaca128 4y ago
As somebody else outside the US - where is this different? Without a connection you can only make emergency calls, receiving anything is impossible when your phone doesn't have a number without an active sim card.
- messe 4y ago
  Except they did have an active SIM on a prepaid plan, that hadn't been topped up. In a situation like that I would still be able to receive calls and texts, just not make them.
anonymoushn 4y ago
What country do you live in, and what's the process for being assigned a phone number that can receive text messages without paying anyone for a phone plan? Does the government have an office where you can show your ID and get a SIM card for free?
- kuschku 4y ago
  Steps to reproduce: 1. Buy a sim card from ALDI for 10€ 2. Activate 3. Use the phone until the balance is down to 0€ At this point you've got an empty balance, are unable to make calls or send texts, but you can receive calls or texts still just fine. You can also visit zero-rated websites (in the past e.g. 0.facebook.com). When I was a child my parents would give me a phone with a SIM card in this state, they could still call me if they needed to tell me to come home, and I could still call the emergency services, and given WiFi I could surf the open web as well, but I couldn't waste money on paid services or calls.
deelowe 4y ago
You keep saying this, but it makes no sense to me. How do you receive text messages with a phone that's not active? How does the phone have service?