mobile phone unable to receive calls or texts

PHK

Popsy25 said:

PHK said:

When you changed to Lebara, did you port your number and if so from who?

Are you able to call out and send texts?

Is your data working?

I swapped from 3 and for the first month everything worked fine, although it took 3 days for everything for every function to switch. I can make calls and send texts. Not sure how to check if data is working: what do you mean?

And to the person who mentioned airplane mode, no, that's not switched on. I have been abroad and back since this problem started, and switched airplane mode on and off again. No change.

S

By data, I mean can you use apps or browse the Web when WiFi is off?

If you can text yourself and call out then its probably to do with routing. To test this, you need to find someone else on Lebara and see if they can call you. If they can then you have a problem with the routing of calls and texts from outside Lebara.

It's a bit complicated but very basically mobile numbers are allocated to a network. They always stay with that network we'll call it the original network. When you port a number the original network routes calls to the new network. When you next port the original network is told and routes the calls to the new network. 


Example: (simplifying things)

Number range X is allocated by Ofcom to O2 and the published table of allocations is updated.

So when someone makes a call ortext,  the network looks up the number and knows to direct the call to O2.

If you were to port to 3 then O2 would route the call to 3.

If you were then to port to Lebara then O2 would route a call to Lebara.

Some countries have a central database of numbers so that this routing isn't needed but we've never implemented one.


What can happen if an error occurs or the port is not completed fully is that the original network thinks the number isn't in use and after some months puts it back into their pool of numbers.

Callers outside of your network Lebara will get a message that the number is not in use. Lebara know its now one of their numbers and so calls from within Lebara will work.

To solve this you'd need to tell Lebara, you aren't getting calls or texts from other networks. 

Popsy25

Thank you PHK. That makes perfect sense. Just need to find someone else on the lebara network.

S

Popsy25

And yes, I can use the internet when wifi is off.

Popsy25

Popsy25 said:

Thank you PHK. That makes perfect sense. Just need to find someone else on the lebara network.

S

Found someone and they rang me with no problem! So it looks like it IS Lebara after all. Thank you for your help.

S

Popsy25

Update. Calls and texts started working again yesterday. No communication from lebara yet re this or what the issue was.
went into O2 in town yesterday to switch accounts.
Lebara network disappeared today, put new SIM in and phone worked instantly. It took 3 days with Lebara and fruitless contacts with team. Finally I can do my online banking etc again.
I will not be using them again.