Anyone heard of problems with SMS on V535?

Genghis

Long Story, will try to spare you the details, would love your advice!

The story begins about this time last year. I ported my 086 post pay / account phone to Meteor pre-pay and retained the 086 number. At the time I had a Nokia handset, everything went well.

In April I received a pressie of an "O2" Upgrade pack - the person who bought me it assumed from my 086 prefix that I was O2.

In June, when my free credit with Meteor expired I reluctantly moved back to O2 so I could avail of the new phone. I ported back to O2 Speakeasy and did an upgrade immediately.

There were many problems, but the one I want to ask ye about is one that has been bothering me all along. My new phone / network does not handle messages well. Inbound messages in particular are delayed - often for days, and some are never received at all. If I want to check for messages, i have to turn off the phone and re-register on the network to get them, then they come in in bunches. The problem is there for all networks and can often happen with sent messages too (i.e. not sending).

I have formally complained 10 weeks ago to O2 and have called them at least once every week to remind them that I am still pissed off. I have had a range of excuses - you must have a faulty SIM (has been replaced, no effect), your settings are wrong (they're not), it is Vodafone / Meteors fault, etc.

The latest claim is that Motorola V535s (my new phone) have a software bug, and that I am not the only person afflicted. I have spoken to a friend who is a techie in Meteor and her reckons that is bull. I have also googled, and found no corroboration for this claim online.

My own theory is that somewhere my re-porting has caused a directory error (i.e. they are looking to direct my SMS to a meteor phone, even though I am O2).

Has anyone any ideas?

On a side note, some issues I have with the way O2 "deliver" customer care:

1. The technical team "by policy" can't talk to customers (I've asked if I could speak to someone technical, seeing as my problem is technical) - I have to speak to a customer care rep who can then talk to techies, who in turn are talking to Motorola techies - its like a game of chinese whispers!

2. Every time O2 customer care call me with an "update" (invariably thais has been - "Just letting you know our technical team are still looking into this"), they have left a message for me - no missed call, etc. Why are they afraid to speak to customers direct - I have to pay to hear their crappy messages.

Anyone any advice.

PS Sorry for the rant

JTMan

Did you try your sim in another phone to see if it is a V535 problem or not?

bp_me

Before I post, I only skimmed the ops post.

This happens with my v535 aswell. It only happens when I use delivery reports...usually. The solution is to turn the phone off and back on again. Not a great solution, I know, but better than nothing.

The giveaway is usually in the outbox. If you go into the outbox and it shows a message as sending a few minutes after you actually hit send, this means you need to power cycle the phone.

As an interesting aside I discovered this by accident, as my phones usually sit beside loudspeakers I always know before a message arrives. Occassionally it would sound like I was getting a message, but nothing, so I tried power cycling, and low and behold here was my message.

Best of luck anyway.

Squirrel

I asked my friend today and he has the exact same problem, he's on Meteor, but that sim-card worked in his old phone fine

bp_me

Squirrel wrote:

I asked my friend today and he has the exact same problem, he's on Meteor, but that sim-card worked in his old phone fine

The problem is intermittent, so it might take a few days use before anything becomes apparent. Then again it might also take weeks or months.

I have a Motorola V620 (same firmware as V535) and don't have any problems like this. What firmware version have you got? There's two ways to check:

1. Dial *#9999#
2. If that doesn't work go to Settings > Phone Status > Other Information > S/W Version

Mine is R376_G_0E.67.02R

Genghis

Thanks all! bp_me I also found the power on / off cycle works, but it is a pain, and unacceptable. Didn't know about the delivery report thing, must watch that in future - though for me "it'll work, but you can't get delivery reports" isn't acceptable either. As an aside, isn't it a pain having to specify delivery reports for every freakin message you want to send?

You are also right that the problem is intermittant - you cannot predict when it will happen.

Karsini, my S/w is not quite the same as yours: R376_G_0E.66.OBR

bp_me

Genghis wrote:

Thanks all! bp_me I also found the power on / off cycle works, but it is a pain, and unacceptable. Didn't know about the delivery report thing, must watch that in future - though for me "it'll work, but you can't get delivery reports" isn't acceptable either. As an aside, isn't it a pain having to specify delivery reports for every freakin message you want to send?

You are also right that the problem is intermittant - you cannot predict when it will happen.

Karsini, my S/w is not quite the same as yours: R376_G_0E.66.OBR

To be honest, I've gotten used to specifying if I want a report every time.

My solution to the problem was to buy a V635 and put my night use card into the v535. Result issue disapears as I rarely send texts from the v535 anymore.

I hadn't tried my phone recently on O2 was using it on Vodafone for the last while. But since putting it back on O2 I've had these exact problems when I never did before.

I tried to think back and I worked it out. When I had no problems I was using firmware version R376_G_0E.66.0ER. By upgrading to 67.02R was when the problem started. So I downgraded back to 66.0ER and the problem went away.

My diagnosis boys - bad firmware.

byrnefm

bp_me wrote:

This happens with my v535 aswell. It only happens when I use delivery reports...usually.

Curious - how do you turn on delivery reports? I don't seem to have that option on my V500 but thought that none of the V5xx models could do it?

TIA!

Angelica

I had the exact same problem with my V535 when I first bought it. I brought it into the O2 store and they fixed it on the spot by calling a repairs representative. However, they warned me that the problem was likely to return again, not to use delivery reports (which is ridiculous!) and when the fault returned, they would send it off to up-date the software. Its not receiving texts again now (its around 6 months old now) and also the signal is getting poorer with time also but I don't want to return it just yet until I manage to save all my pictures and stuff. But as a 6th month old Speak Easy phone I'm not sure what the situation is regarding free repairs but I'll give it a shot anyway as its such a pain getting messages a day late.

I think its a common enough fault with that phone; the woman in the shop said it was a problem using that model on 02 (why keep on selling them then?!) and at least three other people I know have the same promblem with their v535. I think the best thing you could do (if you haven't already) is to go into an O2 shop and maybe they can fix it temporarily

It's certainly a firmware bug but it only seems to affect O2. I used the phone with the "dodgy" firmware on Vodafone for ages and never had a problem.

byrnefm

byrnefm wrote:

Curious - how do you turn on delivery reports? I don't seem to have that option on my V500 but thought that none of the V5xx models could do it?

TIA!

Some V500s/525s don't have this feature enabled, the operator can decide not to enable it. But with a USB cable and the right software you can enable it again. It's usually on the very last page before you send a message (labelled Receipt).