Cell phones forum: wife texting on the main number, unlocked phone?

But you would have to find different handsets.

How about providing a zip code & nearby major street intersection so we can check coverage(?) Wouldn't hurt.

90290, Paradise and Sylvania. Tested coverage with friends' phones: next-to-no coverage with VZ, zero with TMo, AT&T, Sprint. On AT&T, the nearest coverage is about 1/2 mile.

So you are inside/near the Santa Monica mtns recreational area? LA topography can be harsh for reception, that much I know. The pico cells/street light installations have been installed in that general area AFAIK to help a little with the poor physics involved to get clear reception.

Their coverage maps show you are supposed to have moderate coverage. (not that the coverage maps are ever accurate) By chance did you walk down the street a few hundred yards to see if your friend's ATT handsets worked? Were they on post-paid plans? Which handsets? Are their trees on your property or next door that could block the signal at all?

My gut feeling is to try a repeater (with a return policy) if you could get a weak signal at the neighbors lot.

Thanks - neighbors (who've lived in the area for a while) say the same thing - no cell reception.

My goal was to see if texting was possible over WiFi, and now I have a much clearer picture what it'd take to do it. Not going to pursue better cellular connection atm.

Cheers.

Not sure I quite get it: if there was no texting w/o cell connection, how would a text get from a GV number to another GV number? The idea is that the carrier has gotten your text and is holding it for you until your phone has a connection or unless there is another way to get it to you - such as... via wifi calling/texting.

I guess the 1st question to answer, is if RW or TMo have wifi texting, and then go from there.

Thanks guys.

Another indication that texts can travel over IP are micro-cell towers. Texts can only get to them over IP, and from there they talk to cell phones over cellular. The points here are: (a) nothing prevents the phone itself from having some of the functionality of a micro-cell tower, (b) texts can travel over IP, they don't absolutely need cellular connections to work.

Are you asking if it's possible to use SMS texting over the internet or telling us your carrier has implemented it or are you just spit balling?
Bob

Since you stated <ahem> that you wanted to keep the main line active (and not use GV, VoIP or SIP service), sending SMS wouldn't be an ideal option under those parameters.

<I understand completely that most cellular numbers are now VoIP numbers in themselves anyway. And SMS messages get routed somewhere...>

My only remaining question is whether T-Mobile's service would have any permutations for you. They had wifi calling (UMA) at one point on certain models. I'm not aware that this service is currently being sold though.

There's also Talkatone for Android, if you wanted at least partial functionality with your Nexus.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.talkatone.android&hl=en

And then there's mention of SMS forwarding apps, which might present a tiny part of a solution worth testing out.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/smartphones/easily-forward-calls-and-sms-on-android-phones/5010

"They had wifi calling (UMA) at one point on certain models. I'm not aware that this service is currently being sold though."
According to TMo, they do. The question is, does it also work for SMS? I'll check with them.

<div>An SMS forwarding app would be awesome if it worked without cell reception. I doubt it does, given these are clearly client-side (not server-side)

apps , and will not work without cell reception.</div>
Tolkatone and other VoIP calling apps including GV do not give me something I need: the ability to receive text messages sent to my Tmo (or other major carrier) number - such as bank transaction verification texts.

The general question remains: is there a way to get texts sent to a major carrier (AT&T, Tmo) cell number on an unlocked Nexus 4 when there is no cell reception, short of buying a micro-cell tower?

If not, what are my other options as long as the cell carrier is a major one, that my bank would work with?

Thanks again for all the responses.

Which point did I miss?

Also, don't understand this sentence:

"Since you stated <ahem> that you wanted to keep the main line active (and not use GV, VoIP or SIP service), sending SMS wouldn't be an ideal option under those parameters."

What did you mean by it?

For the record, the goal is to receive texts. A micro-cell tower would work for the purpose, I just hope to avoid the expense of it.

.....there will be no SMS plain and simple.

...and you know it how?

No SMS even with a micro-cell tower?

(A micro-cell tower is not equal to cell reception, for the record, as SMS travels over IP and not over a private network, before it gets to that tower.)

My answer is based on 7 years of CS experience for a cellular provider and personal experience. I will admit I have no experience with a micro-cell tower.

My background includes circuit design and more of those early 2 way paging systems over cellular. While what you say is true, the carriers do not offer access to SMS via IP to you.

That's why it's a dead end and why folk are giving you such answers.

You seem to think that it would be possible without and to that, yes that's true. Now back to reality. Such features are locked down for a very few simple reasons.
Bob

.....I think the reason is simple. I think that the cellular carriers want to require the SMS to travel exclusively through their networks so that they can bill for such services. Why allow customers to circumvent the carriers to accomplish what the OP is asking?

Even using the microcell/femto cell/Airave devices (ATT/T-Mo/Spring), it's still technically on their network, at least partially. It's just routed traffic over your broadband connection.

Just confirmed, SMS does work via T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling:

"SMS via WiFi calling?" on T-Mobile support community.

<div>Not to beat a dead horse but dudes... a little fact checking?
</div>

If you know so much, why are you asking here, amigo? Seriously.

In fact, I've probably configured more equipment/complex networks that you've ever seen, so let's at least get that straight, eh? Frankly, your first post should have contained a lot more information to be useful without having to ask five hundred follow-up questions

Back off the soapbox- In some cases you may be able to obtain a micro-cell from your carrier at a heavily discounted rate, and even the monthly rate may be reduced depending on your levels of service/monthly bill total IME.

Plan 'B' would be to actually find a carrier that works where you reside/require cellular service. If a signal's too weak, then bring that indoors with an amplifier/repeater. One time cost for that, but it works for most carriers (except T-Mo & LTE service currently).

Google voice should work its internet base service.

I use GV for texting since dinosaurs roamed the Earth - yet BofA among others won't work with it for security confirmation texts.

Like I said in the OP - GV and other SIP/VoIP numbers will NOT work for me. I need an actual cell number to work for texting over WiFi.