SMS Texts

[milingreen]

I was recently in the Netherlands and found that with Roaming turned off I could not send or receive sms texts. Is this how the system works? My belief is that sms texts are unaffected if Roaming is turned off.

[Anonymous]

It may affect it if you are trying to send as an iMessage and don't have the send as SMS option selected?
Just a guess?

[Anonymous]

Hi

You would of have needed to be connected to a network to be able to send and receive text messages.

You would have needed to be connected to a networks 'data' connection to be able to send and receive mms messages. (Be wary this can be expensive in some countries. ) O2 travel help here https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/international/using-phone-in-europe

The Data Roaming toggle and mobile data toggle if turned off should stop connection to a networks 'data' services only. This would stop mms services and Internet which is designed to stop big bills etc. Normal Sms messages should not have been affected.

Did you have any network name and network strength dots in the status bar on your iPhone.

Look in Settings- Messages - See if send as Sms is toggled o,n which then allows a text to send if iMessage is unavailable.

Could you make calls ?

Their May have been a local network issue.

I would have tried turning airplane mode on and off to reset the connection and or manually select a network.

Do you have the option to use your phone abroad turned on with O2.

[Cleoriff]

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@milingreen wrote:

I was recently in the Netherlands and found that with Roaming turned off I could not send or receive sms texts. Is this how the system works? My belief is that sms texts are unaffected if Roaming is turned off.

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Hi @milingreen . To answer your question, you do not need roaming turned on to send or receive texts whilst abroad,

I travel to an EU country (Spain) frequently and actually never turn roaming on whilst abroad. Obviously if I needed to send picture messaging or any type of MMS then I would need mobile data on....

Personally ...I send any pictures over Wifi using the messenger app

I would add ....if you were having problems sending or receiving texts, it more than likely would have been a local network issue

[Bambino · Accepted solution]

Just to clarify things, the OP would need to allow his phone to roam to find the network in the country he is in to be able to make and receive calls and texts, but to avoid data charges, he would need to switch off Data Roaming, or Mobile Network.

[Cleoriff]

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@Bambino wrote:

Just to clarify things, the OP would need to allow his phone to roam to find the network in the country he is in to be able to make and receive calls and texts, but to avoid data charges, he would need to switch off Data Roaming, or Mobile Network.

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Thank you for that excellent explanation @Bambino Clear and concise as usual

[Bambino]