Suddenly unable to retrieve text messages while abroad. Does my number need a 'refresh'?

[Anonymous]

Help! I have stopped receiving UK text message on my UK i-Phone. I'm working abroad in Australia.  

I've followed the advice on the O2 website: logging off Telstra (the O2 partner network), connecting to Vodafone, waiting for an error message and re-connecting to Telstra. This  should kickstart the link and the SMS texts follow. But it hasn't worked.  On one forum  (O2 Ireland) there is a reply from an O2 moderator:  'I have done a refresh on your number, can you power your phone off for 10 minutes and turn it back on again please?'

Please can someone at O2 UK do the same for me?  Refresh my number? If that's whats needed? Or any other solutions anyone? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Can you send SMS? Make/receive calls?

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the quick response. No problems sending texts, making or receiving calls.

[Anonymous]

Very strange - if O2 had blocked your account you wouldn't be able to do that either.

Is it just one number texting you or all numbers? like - is it possible to send an sms to yourself?

Also, if you have a WiFi connection, do you have Whatsapp on your phone? That can be good for texting abroad.

[Anonymous]

Just successfully texted myself so it's not a generalised problem. It's just one number that's suddenly stopped getting through. Yes - I have WhatsApp, but alas no regular wifi so SMS is the only answer.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

So it seems the issue is that one person.

Ask them to text you but instead of picking your name from their contacts list, get them to type it in - like, +447....

If they are on O2 they can also put *0# at the beginning of the text message to get a delivery report

[Anonymous]

Great suggestion! And I will ask them to press the button on their i-phone that says 'send read receipts' which does the same job as *0#. Final question - is there any way of retrieving the lost texts? They have already been deleted at source.

[Anonymous]

PS They are also on O2

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately not - if they weren't sent to your number properly then they are gone!

Fngers crossed it's working tomorrow though, let us know how you get on

[Anonymous]

Thanks - it sounds as if my number just needs to be re-entered as you say. I've experienced it before (both ways, with other friends) when one or other of us has forgotten the +44. But I know this isn't the issue this time as I have been here for weeks and messages from this person have been arriving safely - until I apparently started ignoring them... grrrr