Roaming - issues setting up Android

Question

Hello Smarty community,
I am currently in Cambodia and my main phone decided to kick the bucket. I had a Smarty SIM in it. I've got a backup device with me (both phones purchased in the UK) so popped the SIM in, and I started the process of swapping over all my apps onto the backup phone. However I am finding that I can't receive OTP SMS messages to finish setting up my Whatsapp / Banking apps which is proving to be a major pain in the....&nbsp;
My first device happily received incoming UK text messages here after I followed the Roaming setup instructions from the tutorial on SMARTY website. I carried out the same steps on my backup phone but no bueno. I have a 3rd phone (US origin, SIM-unlocked) and this one won't receive UK text messages either, despite the Access Point Name setup.&nbsp;
Do I need a roaming addon to passively receive texts? I've never had one before and I received OTPs on my now dead Pixel 4XL. I've done it for Amazon account recovery and some .gov verification codes just fine a couple of months ago.
I am attaching a screenshot of my Access Point Name config for troubleshooting. If anyone manages to solve this - you'd be an absolute lifesaver, since these text message OTPs are holding me hostage from resuming normal operations with banking apps on the new phone.

&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

jjp2 · Answer

Hi&nbsp;seb11&nbsp;Yes, you will need a roaming add on in Cambodia, but data will cost £1.00 per MB.Make sure that roaming is also enabled in the settings of the phone you are now using.If the phone you are now using has eSIM capability, I would suggest an eSIM provider like Sparks or Airalo to get data up and running.&nbsp;The Smarty price list for Cambodia and other useful info is here :&nbsp;https://smarty.co.uk/roaming/international/cambodia&nbsp;

jjp2 · Answer

That is most likely down to the network coverage in Cambodia - Try manually selecting a network rather than letting your phone automatically select a network - Your phone could be latching on to a signal from a network with which Smarty doesn’t have a roaming agreement. EDIT - Just read you are getting zero bars of coverage.

What is your back up phone ? Just wondering if it’s an old 2G feature phone, that may not be helping.

seb11 · Answer

Thank you for all your input, it's really appreciated and it makes me hopeful that there's a solution on the horizon.&nbsp;Doogee is one of those cheap no-name Chinese android phones, it's a rugged brick with 6000mAh battery that I carried as a backup with me - while it is 4G capable, I'm disregarding it in this experiment. I'm doing everything on Pixel 6 Pro now just to be sure.I rejigged that APN Type field&nbsp;👍I noticed that in my old texts I've got 20+ welcome messages from a network called&nbsp;SMART. These must've been instances when my old (now deceased) Pixel 4XL connected and registered on this network automatically. Maybe that's how I was able to receive text messages in the past (I checked and I've got a bunch of NHS appointment reminders, dentist stuff etc. during the period when I was already in Cambodia, so it must've worked in the past). I'll try to drive around and see if I can find that network on the Pixel 6.

jjp2 · Answer

Whenever you are roaming abroad, the network you roam on sends you “welcome to x network” text messages, as does your home mobile network in your home country, which basically both tell you the costs of their services in the country you have just arrived in.

strandloper · Answer

seb11,That's a good way of hopefully ruling one of them out.&nbsp; Hope you find out without too much difficulty with what you know

Forum Discussion

Roaming - issues setting up Android

10 Replies

Recent Discussions

Faulty SIM card

Lost phone

Smarty customer service phone number

Showing a wrong number to the people I call

iMessage not working