Invalid numbers from SMS

Asked Gemini and it worked:

The problem is almost certainly related to Google's "RCS Chat" features.

Your phone's calls and standard SMS messages are using your correct, ported number. However, the "Chat features" (which provide iMessage-like typing indicators and read receipts) likely registered the temporary number Smarty assigned to your eSIM before your main number fully transferred.

Here is a step-by-step guide to fix it, starting with the most common solution.

Solution 1: Toggle RCS Chat Features (The Quick Fix)

This simple reset forces the Messages app to re-verify your phone number.

1. Open the Messages app on your Pixel.
2. Tap your profile icon or the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
3. Go to Messages settings.
4. Tap RCS chats.
5. You will likely see it's "Connected" but showing the wrong phone number.
6. Tap the toggle to Turn off RCS chats.
7. Wait for the status to show "Off".
8. Restart your phone. This is a crucial step.
9. Once your phone restarts, go back to the same menu (Messages > Messages settings > RCS chats).
10. Tap the toggle to Turn on RCS chats.
11. It will now show a "Setting up" or "Verifying" status. This may take a few minutes. Once it's "Connected," it should display your correct phone number.

Send a test text. If it's still not working, proceed to the next solution.

Solution 2: Clear App Storage (The Deeper Reset)

If the simple toggle didn't work, you need to clear the "memory" of both the Messages app and the "Carrier Services" app that manages it. This will not delete your text messages.

1. Turn off RCS chats again, as described in steps 1-6 above.
2. Go to your phone's Settings app.
3. Go to Apps > See all apps.
4. Find and tap on Messages.
5. Tap on Storage & cache.
6. Tap Clear cache.
7. Tap Clear storage (you may get a warning, but this will not delete your SMS/MMS messages; it only resets the app's settings).
8. Go back to the "See all apps" list.
9. Find and tap on Carrier Services (if you can't find it, you may need to tap the three-dot menu and select "Show system").
10. Tap on Storage & cache.
11. Tap Clear cache.
12. Tap Clear storage.
13. Restart your phone.
14. After restarting, open the Messages app. It will ask you to set it up again.
15. Go back to Messages settings > RCS chats and turn it on. It will now go through the verification process and should connect with your correct phone number.

Solution 3: Use Google's De-registration Tool (The Final Step)

If the wrong number is still "stuck," you can use Google's official tool to forcibly de-register it from their RCS servers.

1. On your phone, turn off RCS chats in the Messages settings one more time.
2. On your phone or a computer, go to Google's "Disable chat" website: https://messages.google.com/disable-chat

This type of problem can happen when the 'new' SMARTY SIM card is used in the handset before the number is transferred to SMARTY Mobile (by PAC).

A Network Reset often cures the problem though.
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Just wondering if the phone has picked up the original number allocated to the sim. If you check the phone settings, does it have the ported-in number showing? If not, change it to that number. Also, the ported-in number should show on the account dashboard as a check that it has successfully transferred over.