Starting about 8 weeks ago after owning the phone for more than 2 years, I started missing calls and texts that would only show up after a reboot. People also told me that when they called sometimes, there was no connection and no way to leave a voicemail.
People are usually still 7-digit dialing and texting here. I live in New Mexico and most of the the state is 505 since forever, so people here never think of 10 digit dialing unless it's out of state. After about 5 hours with 2 different Fi tech chats and some research and experimentation, I figured out that when my phone was switching to Sprint, it was getting a "shadow" number with a 214 area code, which is Dallas. When on TMO everything works fine but if it switched to Sprint, I would miss a lot of stuff, and with 7 digit dialing be calling Texas, or sometimes getting notice of an invalid number, and sometimes I couldn't connect to the network at all.
From a reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/c...ile_on_sprint/ that has some other interesting info which seems plausible:
"I think it's because of your Sprint Shadow Number; on Fi, Sprint and US Cellular assign an "invisible" internal number to you so that the towers are able to know who you are, as well as routing your calls properly, among other things. When you dial a 7 digit number, the area code of your phone number is appended to the beginning of the number, that's why they work fine when you dial a local number. However the Sprint number is often times not a local number, and the area code usually differs greatly from that of your actual Fi number, so the 7 digit number is now trying to call somewhere else, probably a number that is invalid."
The codes used to monitor and force a switch to a specific carrier might be google-able, though I haven't found them just yet (I got them from the chat) but using an app called Signal Spy or FiSwitch one can easily monitor and force a switch to a specific carrier without having to memorize and enter the codes, though the codes are available through those apps. Also reading the mountain of reviews you'll see how many people are having problems with Fi carrier switching choices.
I turned off my network reporting in the Fi app and have the Signal Spy app running and so far haven't had any switches to Sprint, though I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I don't know why this just started happening and they couldn't or wouldn't explain it. They just told me, from Bangalore or wherever, to just 10 digit dial, but that doesn't help when people frequently 7-digit dial or text me here. It's New Mexico!
What I've been looking for is a code to lock it on a carrier but haven't figured it out yet, though there to be a possibility here on this page which has a pretty exhaustive list of the codes but none of the codes used through my chat with the Fi tech to reveal connected carrier, change to T-Mobile or Sprint, or repair the network are on any of the lists I've seen so far! They are in those previously mentioned apps, though:
https://mobilespecs.net/phone/codes/...gle_Pixel.html
After 2 years of flawless, stress-free usage and glad to be away from the gouging and control of the major carriers, my Fi bubble has burst. Anybody else having Fi heartburn?
Related
Anyone using, or planning to use, the HTC Touch Cruise on the UK T-Mobile network will very probably need to do a special setup on their device to get voicemail access working properly.
The symptom is that your callers will be able to leave you voicemail messages but you will not be able to pick them up from your phone. When you get a voicemail message you will get the notification but when you press the soft key to access voicemail it will dial the number but you will then get an error message saying "access to this number is barred" and the system will hang up on you.
If you try accessing voicemail by holding down the "1" key or by explicitly dialing the voicemail access number retrieved from the network (probably of the form "+44050<your mobile number minus the leading zero>" or ""+44068<your mobile number minus the leading zero>") you will get the same message. Dialing 222 will work but will also initiate a voicemail setup message each time and however many times you switch your phone on and off to reload the voicemail settings from the network it still won't work.
I just spent 2 days with the very helpful T-Mobile support to sort this out, ultimately getting escalated up two levels in the technical support group, until I got someone who recognised the problem.
The issue is simple to resolve. The problem is that the format of the voicemail access number that the T-Mobile UK network pushes down to the handset is incompatible with the HTC software on the Touch Cruise (and maybe other devices too). The thing the software doesn't like is the "+" at the beginning.
To fix it go to the Settings/Personal/Phone application and click the second tab ("Services"). Now select "Voice Mail and Text Messages" and click "Get Settings...". You should now see a screen with two access numbers populated, one for voicemail and the other for text messages. Both will probably start with "+44". The text message access number is OK so don't mess with that but the voicemail access number won't work with the UK network. Simply replace the "+" with "00" and click OK and then your voicemail should work as you expect.
I haven't tried accessing voicemail outside the UK so it is possible that the above might break your access when roaming and you might need to edit back the "+" when travelling. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has any experience with non-UK access and a "0044..." setting rather than the default "+44...", does it dial the UK access number OK?
(Actually, I never looked at the mechanics of accessing voicemail outside the UK, does it still dial the UK number or does the host network automatically push an alternate local access number to your phone when you register with the network?)
- Julian
Nice on Julian. I bought an Orbit 2 on O2, but my number doesn't transfer to O2 for few days yet, so have been using my T-Mobile SIM, and also experiencing this problem.
Thanks for sharing the tip!
I'm on UK T-Mob Web&Walk. Switched the +44 entry to 0044...but my TC then coundn't send texts. Switched it back and fortunately can still access voicemail as well as send texts. Strange.
I'm with T-mobile running an old T-mobile sim card on my new TC, when first called voice mail it gave me a long introduction then said "turn of your mobile off and on again to not get this messages again", I turned TC to "air plain mode" back to on mode and everything was cool from there on.
It seems that not everyone have that problem OR T-mobile has sort out that problem after Julian told them about the problem. In any case, thanks Julian to share this with us.
PS (today after reading this post is the first time that I use voice mail with my new TC)
Similar problem on WM 6.5 Asus Crystal
I had exactly this problem with T-Mobile and WM 6.5.
T-Mobile technical support was excellent, ringing back on several occasions to ensure that the problem was fixed, even though my handset is not a supported model. Once I was put through to 2nd layer support they fixed it in seconds.
In a nutshell, if you text and voice service centre numbers begin with a +44......, change them to 0044......
This did not happen on my XDA Exec WM5.0, so appears to be a new thing in WM6.5?
I was in a VZ store the other day and started to play around with the Touch Pro and noticed it had something my Fuze was missing - assisted dialing. Look at the photos and you'll see it is a setting in the phone menu and you can see the setting options as well. If enabled (I presume) you no longer need to dial the area code if you are just calling within your area code. It does not appear to be a registry tweak (unless it uses an odd name). Any ideas on how to enable this? It's really not a big deal but now that I realize it's something I'm missing I want it Why should I press 3 extra digits? Anyway, phones from 2000 could do this...we have to be able to do it...
If I'm dialing in my home area I don't have use area code either. I have Fuze on AT&T.
i tried it on mine and i just get this annoying AT&T recording telling me that to place a call from this area code I need to type in an area code...it could also be that I'm in NYC and they changed the codes locally so that all calls within NYC require an area code (even local calls to the same area code). But if assisted dialing does nothing then why would the VZ TP have it and what would it do? I presume it auto-inserts the prefix for you....
So i recently got invited to join google voice.. however when i sign in and it tells me to pick a number.. i put in my zip code and it says no numbers are available.. so then i put in my entire area code and it also says no number are available
does this mean i cant use the service and am simple **** out of luck? Or can i just pick any random number it comes up with even if its 30 states away because its all internet based and not an actual voice plan so it wont charge you any different depending on the number you use?
Seems like its either that or i just plain dont use the service, because even though im invited, it has no numbers available in my specific area for me to use, the closest ones are one state away
No #'s in your area. Pick another area code in your state or another state
Hard to believe there are NO available numbers in your area code. Are you sure you're picking the aaa in aaa-bbb-cccc? and nothing else? Maybe there's a problem with google servers while you were trying to register a number.
Seems GV only has metro area #'s. Tried for an AK # with no luck. Most other states should have #'s. With people moving and not changing #'s the area code is just a # now.
Hi folks,
I am trying to figure out the best way to store numbers in the phone app.
I usually store the number as 01234567890 with the leading zero so that I can call the number from anywhere in the country.
The network operator sometimes sends the caller ID as +11234567890 which is the international format. Windows phone fails to match this with the contact in my phonebook. I want it to match only the last ten digits of the number. My old dumbphone was doing this straight out of the box.
Am I missing something or does the Windows Phone 7 phone app just not support this?
Best Regards,
Gowtham
If you're in the US (I assume so, since you have country code of 1) then you might as well just store the number with the leading 1 (or +1 if it's really needed, but it shouldn't be). I have some number stored without the area code, some with area code but no country code, and some with both, and it seems to work out. A leading 0 is probably confusing the phone though.
I am based out of India at the moment. It is standard procedure to put in a 0 to call mobile phones located in a different state in our country.
After a soft reset and sync, my phone seems to function properly for now.
I'll post updates if I discover anything else.
Hi,
I bought a T-Mobile HTC 8X in the US, unlocked it and brought it back with me to Israel. Now, when Israeli contacts call me, their numbers appear as (for example) 050 555 5555. When they text me, the number shows up as +97250 555 5555. For some reason the phone isn't able to tell that those two are the same number. I couldn't find anything while looking through the settings. I tried playing around with regions and all and came up with nothing. My old AT&T Focus had no issues and my dad's British 8S is working fine as well.
If I remember correctly, In WP7 deivces there's a registry setting which allows to control how many digits from the right identify the number as unique. However, I couldn't find a registry editor for the 8X (is there any?) so that information won't help me right now.
So now, my caller ID function sucks and the only way to actually ID contacts is to save 2 numbers for each one... really frustrating.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks!
Eyal
HTC support emailed back
And after sending them my IMEI they said that unfortunately there's nothing they can do and T-Mobile phones show that symptom in places like Israel and Europe.
So, it's either selling it on ebay or waiting for a registry editor or flashing it with a new ROM somehow. Option #1 seems like the most realistic one at the moment. This really sux.
Eyal
eyal453 said:
Hi,
I bought a T-Mobile HTC 8X in the US, unlocked it and brought it back with me to Israel. Now, when Israeli contacts call me, their numbers appear as (for example) 050 555 5555. When they text me, the number shows up as +97250 555 5555. For some reason the phone isn't able to tell that those two are the same number. I couldn't find anything while looking through the settings. I tried playing around with regions and all and came up with nothing. My old AT&T Focus had no issues and my dad's British 8S is working fine as well.
If I remember correctly, In WP7 deivces there's a registry setting which allows to control how many digits from the right identify the number as unique. However, I couldn't find a registry editor for the 8X (is there any?) so that information won't help me right now.
So now, my caller ID function sucks and the only way to actually ID contacts is to save 2 numbers for each one... really frustrating.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks!
Eyal
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Click to collapse
Actually, if I remember correctly from my previous experience with unlocked phones, most true Caller-ID (where the phone can identify who is calling even if they AREN'T in your Contacts list) requires XML code embedded in the phone (somewhere, don't ask me where) by the provider. Some providers use the same frameworks, so it's possible to get it working from network to network, but in most cases no.
I've never seen a situation tho, where it couldn't pick up the name from the Contacts list, based on the number coming in. I seem to remember you can turn on a feature called "International Dialing Help" that might bring them both together. OR put the entire phone number in your contacts. (As it is displayed when it comes in on Text).
drtolson said:
Actually, if I remember correctly from my previous experience with unlocked phones, most true Caller-ID (where the phone can identify who is calling even if they AREN'T in your Contacts list) requires XML code embedded in the phone (somewhere, don't ask me where) by the provider. Some providers use the same frameworks, so it's possible to get it working from network to network, but in most cases no.
I've never seen a situation tho, where it couldn't pick up the name from the Contacts list, based on the number coming in. I seem to remember you can turn on a feature called "International Dialing Help" that might bring them both together. OR put the entire phone number in your contacts. (As it is displayed when it comes in on Text).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried saving the entire number, but because local Israeli numbers get an extra "0" the phone is not able to ID them. Local call comes in as 050-5555555. SMS, like an intl. call, comes in as +97250-5555555. The "International Dialing Help" really helps when you're dialing. I thought it would fix the caller-id issue but it doesn't.
I spoke with HTC and with WP8 support on twitter. It's a known issue for T-mo phones and according to WP8 support, it has been forwarded to the appropriate team which probably means it'll be fixed in months to come. Until then, the only option is to get the phone flashed by one of the Israeli carriers with the Israeli version of the OS.