4 ms·

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

by messe 4y ago

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?
- dmurray 4y ago
  The phone has a SIM card, and a phone number, as evidenced by the fact that he "did not pay it for a while" rather than never having had a plan. So the phone is active and can connect to the network and authenticate with a base station and attempt to make outgoing calls. Those attempts will be rejected by his phone provider. Incoming texts will also be rejected and not delivered. In other countries (I know about Ireland, anyway) this isn't generally true.
- messe 4y ago
  If I were on a prepaid plane, and 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.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    That may be true but it's not obvious it would be. Certainly in times past in the US receiving calls/texts could incur charges.
    - messe 4y ago
      > Certainly in times past in the US receiving calls/texts could incur charges. That's why I originally said it was weird to me as somebody outside the US.
      - ghaff 4y ago
        It dated to mobile calls being expensive especially outside of a very bounded home area and being either a business expense or a relatively luxury thing. In that context, it didn't really make sense to hit a landline with a big charge for calling a mobile number--perhaps unwittingly. And that general thinking carried over to SMS.

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

by 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.

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?

dmurray 4y ago
The phone has a SIM card, and a phone number, as evidenced by the fact that he "did not pay it for a while" rather than never having had a plan. So the phone is active and can connect to the network and authenticate with a base station and attempt to make outgoing calls. Those attempts will be rejected by his phone provider. Incoming texts will also be rejected and not delivered. In other countries (I know about Ireland, anyway) this isn't generally true.
messe 4y ago
If I were on a prepaid plane, and 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.
- ghaff 4y ago
  That may be true but it's not obvious it would be. Certainly in times past in the US receiving calls/texts could incur charges.
  - messe 4y ago
    > Certainly in times past in the US receiving calls/texts could incur charges. That's why I originally said it was weird to me as somebody outside the US.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      It dated to mobile calls being expensive especially outside of a very bounded home area and being either a business expense or a relatively luxury thing. In that context, it didn't really make sense to hit a landline with a big charge for calling a mobile number--perhaps unwittingly. And that general thinking carried over to SMS.