Is This Reasonable When Texting?

[TromboneAl]

Today I have a new problem with our TracFones in our low-coverage house.

Specifically, sometimes I send a text, I'm told that the send failed, yet the person received it.

Worse, sometimes someone sends me a text, his/her phone says it was sent okay, but I never received. Even 24 hours later I haven't received it.

There's no way that's right, correct? Poor coverage, can't send--I get that. But no messages should disappear, right?

Here's a screenshot to illustrate (pls ignore my goofing mug for my avatar):

 

[LOL!]

It happens with real phones with real plans and real cell phone companies. All.the.time.

So you should ask for acknowledgement of anything important or just assume that the text did not go through.

 

[Dash man]

It happens with real phones with real plans and real cell phone companies. All.the.time.



So you should ask for acknowledgement of anything important or just assume that the text did not go through.

+1

 

[Teacher Terry]

Never had this problem with AT and T.

 

[TromboneAl]

It happens with real phones with real plans and real cell phone companies. All.the.time.

So you should ask for acknowledgement of anything important or just assume that the text did not go through.

That's good to know. But very surprising. Text messaging has been around since 1992. They should be able to handle problems like that.

Also, texting should work with lower bandwidth than voice calls, but I can use my phone at my 1-bar desk.

 

[BigNick]

SMS was designed for testing of the GSM network. Some bright spark in marketing worked out that people would pay for it, and the rest is history. Sadly, it was never designed to be reliable, especially across networks.

Worst of all is sending a text from (say) a French-registered phone that happens to be in Germany, to a UK-registered phone that happens to be in Sweden, or any other combination of multiple home networks and roaming. The chances that this message will get through are considerably less than 100%, and depend on each phone's home network, the relationship that that home network has with the network where the phone is currently roaming, and also, in my experience, the current wind speed and direction in Dublin.

No wonder everyone uses WhatsApp these days.

 

[LOL!]

Never had this problem with AT and T.

We have AT&T. We have this problem.

 

[GravitySucks]

SMS is using the spare bandwidth of the signalling channel.
It was never intended to be a reliable means of communications. Every scenario you mention I have also expeienced other than the message not sent indication but the message was received. This is true from Verizon to Verizon and in particular with Verizon to Sprint communication.
SMS was a marketers dream, but an engineer's folly.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I only have this problem rarely, although now that I live in Vermont where the signal waxes and wanes over every hill and valley, I can send a text to my DH in the next room (also on Verizon) and he might receive it many hours later. Or right away.

 

[tulak]

+1 for WhatsApp or any other Internet based messaging system.

I don’t know how much data you have as part of your plan, but it could be a good alternative to SMS.

 

[Just_Steve]

99% of my text are iMessages and never have any issues. I guess I wouldn't know if I missed an SMS because I never got it to miss it.

 

[Badger]

We have AT&T. We have this problem.

+1

 

[JustCurious]

I use Google Hangouts for messaging and I don't have this problem. SMS texting is so 2000's.

 

[Cobra9777]

I use Google Hangouts for messaging and I don't have this problem. SMS texting is so 2000's.

+1

There's no reason to send old-fashioned, unreliable SMS text messages. Our family has been messaging with Hangouts for many years. I also use WhatsApp with some friends and family. DW is increasingly using Facebook messenger with some of her friends.

All these applications use the data network (WiFi or mobile data) and seem to be much more reliable than traditional SMS texting via cell towers. We use Ting, which is a pay-as-you-go MVNO. The minuscule amount of data used to send a Hangouts message pales in comparison to their charge for traditional texting. In fact, I used the Ting device setup functionality to completely disable texting and voice calls on my Ting number. I use Hangouts for all messaging, voice calls, and video calls with a Google Voice phone number. And the vast majority of the time, I'm using WiFi. So Ting gets very little revenue from us beyond the $6/phone flat charge.

 

[FIYes]

Real. Phones.
Real. Plans.
Real. Cell. Phone. Companies

LOL. Tell us what you Really think! [emoji3]

Actually as a very long time Tracfone user, I know where you are coming from, but it works for me for a reasonable price.

I was tempted by the T Mobile 55+ plan, but decided $360 per year per phone for 2 phones was more than I wanted to pay. Still working on developing that Blow that Dough mentality.