I have tried to get some help from T-Mobile Technical Care 7-8 times in the past week but have not made any progress so I am posting here.
I ported one of my family lines from Verizon to T-Mobile to test it for potential switch. Everything went very smooth and whole experience was pretty good in general. Number was ported quick and I started receiving voice calls and SMS messages within a few hours.
The issue was revealed when I tried to register the new phone for Chase app. I requested SMS verification text which is used to verify my identity by having me manually enter in identification code sent via SMS text to my registered phone number. I have sent this verification SMS many times in the past week but none showed up. Also, to set up Caller ID for Skype, I had to go thru the same process to verify my phone number and all attempts failed. For Skype, I am completely blocked by this. There are other workaround for Chase but I would like to sort this out for any other future SMS use with Chase.
I have contacted T-Mobile on Dec 31, 2013 and was told that a ticket will be created and network engineer will look at it for any network/routing issue. I did not heard back since so I called back again today to get updates. Today, with 3 representatives including (emp #12272317), no record of ticket was found and they refused to escalate this issue because this is unsupported phone (Nexus 5 purchased from Google), and Skype and Chase is third-party app. Their recommendation was to contact Skype and Chase which I have already done and will do again. Also I have tested them with my 2 other lines with Verizon and they all come thru 100% (and it has for the past decade)
I have repeated the following test on my own many times in the past week.
1. All other SMS messages are 100% delivered
- Texting from my other Verizon lines to this number
- Sending emails to @tmomail.net
- Sending text from/to this number
- Receiving all T-Mobile account related SMS (usage / balance)
2. Verified that my account does not have filtering/blocking
- Mobile Life: Email and Text Tools
- Web Guard: Off
3. General troubleshooting steps on the phone
- Power-cycle, clearing cache, resetting and reinstalling, switching SMS app b/w Hangouts and Handcent
4. Verified all Verizon lines of mine receive all SMS from Chase and Skype
- Used my other lines to verify potential issue on Chase and Skype
- All lines have been receiving all messages (for the last decade)
5. Contacted both Skype and Chase
- Requested system logs/records for all SMS text sent to my tmobile number but not allowed (in progress)
- Less likely their system since I receive all these messages on my other 2 lines
Other additional info
- Phone: LG Google Nexus 5 (Android KitKat KOT49H, purchased from Google Play)
- Ported Date: Dec 27 2013
- T-Mobile Plan: $30 (100min / 5G data)
I personally suspect some routing or configuration issue or simply something may be blocking/filtering messages. However, I have not been able to go even this far with T-Mobile support. If anyone has any suggestions, please share.
I actually switched from T-Mobile to Verizon roughly about 7-8 years ago due to really bad customer experience; however, I was considering switching back because I truly support their recent initiatives (ie. separating phone subsidy from contract). I hope this does not become just reminder for bad experience.
Thanks,
Jake