Checking Incoming Texts While Abroad With Local SIM
January 19, 2016 1:25 PM Subscribe
I have an iPhone 6S on AT&T and am a Mac user. I'm headed to Colombia for a week, where I'll use a local SIM. I'd like to check my American phone #'s incoming text messages every few days. What are my options? My contacts are (per normal) a blend of iMessage users and SMS users.
I do have a google voice #, but am not sure if it would help.
I also have WhatsAPP, but don't believe that can access my incoming AT&T or iMessage texts sent to my usual phone #.
I do have a google voice #, but am not sure if it would help.
I also have WhatsAPP, but don't believe that can access my incoming AT&T or iMessage texts sent to my usual phone #.
Note that, interestingly, the AT&T Messages page suggests that you need to turn off iMessage while you're using their web page to look at text messages. This is, presumably, so that all messages get sent to you as texts. If it's important that people are able to send you messages through iMessage, you should experiment as to whether checking the AT&T site along with the Messages program on your Mac will catch everything sent to you.
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:39 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:39 PM on January 19, 2016
Response by poster: The AT&T Messages thingee keeps looping me through PIN verification loops, and that may be because I have not turned iMessages off.
However, since I obviously wouldn't receive the text message containing the log-on PIN while I'm in Colombia, I wouldn't be able to use this service even if I wanted to turn iMessages off.
posted by Quisp Lover at 2:19 PM on January 19, 2016
However, since I obviously wouldn't receive the text message containing the log-on PIN while I'm in Colombia, I wouldn't be able to use this service even if I wanted to turn iMessages off.
posted by Quisp Lover at 2:19 PM on January 19, 2016
I have no trouble getting iMessage messages using a random local SIM wherever I happen to be, regular SMS messages just show up in a pile when I put my US SIM back in after returning to the US. It may be possible to redirect your text messages to your google voice account, that seems most likely to work.
posted by foodgeek at 2:28 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by foodgeek at 2:28 PM on January 19, 2016
Response by poster: foodgeek,
A knowledgable-sounding person here says:
Before you take out your old sim card you should go to settings>messages and temporarily turn iMessage off. This makes sure your old phone number is unregistered from iMessage. Otherwise you may have issues because Apple's servers might keep your phone number registered with iMessage, meaning contacts will think that they can keep sending you iMessages when really, you won't get them. You can turn iMessage back on when you have your new sim card in the phone.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:43 PM on January 19, 2016
A knowledgable-sounding person here says:
Before you take out your old sim card you should go to settings>messages and temporarily turn iMessage off. This makes sure your old phone number is unregistered from iMessage. Otherwise you may have issues because Apple's servers might keep your phone number registered with iMessage, meaning contacts will think that they can keep sending you iMessages when really, you won't get them. You can turn iMessage back on when you have your new sim card in the phone.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:43 PM on January 19, 2016
Response by poster: Well, I tried googling this issue before I posted, and all I found were dead ends and highly contradictory data. So I posted here and got the same thing.
Somebody's razor probably states that any tech solution which a great many people would presumably want to see that doesn't yield a reasonably easily-found explanation of same, is probably non-existent.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:46 PM on January 19, 2016
Somebody's razor probably states that any tech solution which a great many people would presumably want to see that doesn't yield a reasonably easily-found explanation of same, is probably non-existent.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:46 PM on January 19, 2016
Best answer: I can tell you my experience with a canadian iphone 4 in costa rica...
1. I couldn't receive my sms messages even when my canadian sim card was in my phone. i had a budget provider (fido, fwiw). note this is directly contradictory to what their website/sales reps say, so i completely get that you're getting contradictory info.
2. My imessages weren't stored, and I couldn't get/send when cdn sim inserted. I think this is likely due to my imessage account being linked to a phone number and not an email address (my apple ID was super old, and wasn't an email).
3. whatsapp might be your best bet. You can keep your american number with a new sim card - you can change your number if you want, but you don't have to.... whatsapp will still recognize the number as belonging to your account, and send you the text even if your actual sim number is different.
good luck!
posted by bellbellbell at 10:21 PM on January 19, 2016
1. I couldn't receive my sms messages even when my canadian sim card was in my phone. i had a budget provider (fido, fwiw). note this is directly contradictory to what their website/sales reps say, so i completely get that you're getting contradictory info.
2. My imessages weren't stored, and I couldn't get/send when cdn sim inserted. I think this is likely due to my imessage account being linked to a phone number and not an email address (my apple ID was super old, and wasn't an email).
3. whatsapp might be your best bet. You can keep your american number with a new sim card - you can change your number if you want, but you don't have to.... whatsapp will still recognize the number as belonging to your account, and send you the text even if your actual sim number is different.
good luck!
posted by bellbellbell at 10:21 PM on January 19, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
However, it may be easier to use the AT&T Messages web page. I've never personally used it, but it claims to do exactly what you want it to.
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:34 PM on January 19, 2016