iPhone Frustration

[DonS]

This is just a rant.

Full disclosure - I use a Nexus phone and I'm used to being able to tweak anything I like.

The important info - last night I added an iPhone 6 to PM. The device was originally purchased directly from Apple... unlocked!

Last night I changed over the iPhone, first I pop open the sim tray, remove and throw away the Rogers sim card, and I put in the PM sim. Power on. 5 minutes later the number is ported and everything is great! (I did receive a couple copies of that "Sorry, we do not offer text messaging outside of Canada message from 611" but I was sure that would go away.)

This morning rolls around, and the iPhone is having problems before I can even finish my 2nd coffee. Wife can't receive MMS. I realize that this is an APN issue, and I find a few threads with the settings required for iphone here in the community.
But, apparently IOS9 no longer offers access to these settings! I'm looking all around the menus trying to find a place to change APN settings, and there's nothing. Suddenly, while I continue to search in vain, Apple offers a Carrier Update. I install and reboot, and a bunch of MMS messages come in. OK, that's fixed, but why can't I change those settings myself? I guess apple doesn't trust us?

Anyways, "Sorry, we do not offer text messaging outside of Canada message from 611" is still happening. I've read back, and it's been mentioned in a few threads that the issue goes away after two or three days, but has the issue been addressed at all otherwise?

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Plans-Add-Ons/quot-Sorry-we-do-not-offer-text-messagin...
http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Plans-Add-Ons/611-texts-keeps-repeating/m-p/42767/high...

[DK]

Sorry for the delay in replying @DonS but yes when I do it on my phone which is with Rogers and iOS 9.3 beta it displays the same thing as you have mentioned. When I used my wife's PM sim in my daughters i5c I did not apply a carrier update that was being prompted for me to apply as I simply ignored it. 

When I get a chance I will retry my steps and apply the carrier update and then see what transpires. 

[DonS]

@Rockdaddy22  It's true most people don't care and don't even want to look at stuff like that, so well done to Apple for making it "just work".... but it seems weird that they don't even let a user have any access at all.

Then again, that's why I stick with Nexus phones for myself!

[Rockdaddy22]

It's crazy because earlier in 9 I was still able to do it.

[DonS]

@DK, I checked the phone and as @Rockdaddy22 said, the APN setting only lets you change Personal Hotspot now on 9.2.1.

No big deal, everything works since the Carrier Update, I just wish I could check the settings myself, instead of it being a mystery.

[Rockdaddy22]

Looks like only the personal hotspot apn settings are available now. Checked on my 6s and a 5c with 2 different PM sims. Saying that, I didn't have a problem with the apn when I set up the 5c the other day. The 5c is locked to Telus.

[DK]

I agree with the rant to a point but for most people popping in the sim and it working appeals for the broad majority of people as it seems other that powering down a device or doing a soft reset is the most a lot of people are able to do and just expect the phone to work out of the box. 

Which for most telco's the iPhone does do quite well. Unfortunately because PM never did sell an iPhone model things like this (apn) gets bypassed by Apple. Once it's up and running though the iPhone works great on PM as can be attested by my wife and her i6. 

Cheers

I myself switch between an apple (i6s) and an android (m9) and like both OS but yes sometimes things  are simpler on each OS. 

[DonS]

@DK I'll take another look for that when I can get my hands on the phone tonight. thank you!

[DK]

@DonS on a side note, I just popped my wife's PM sim in my daughter's unlocked i5c running iOS 9.2 and the apn settings are available to be edited on her phone. If you go settings/cellular/cellular data network they should be available. 

Cheers

[DonS]

thanks @DK, I saw that one and a few more. 

I was really just ranting, because iphone is advertised as a phone that just works, and yet it has a few little annoyances when trying to do things yourself.

Plus, it seems this 611 problem is something everyone knows about, but there is no real solution, just "wait it out" or "turn off iMessage" 

(My wife tells me iMessage is an essential service, so I can't turn it off!)

[DK]

Here is the post that I was referring too!

http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Constant-611-text-reminder/m-p/13574#M1004...

[DK]

@DonS Pretty sure this was covered in the past and it usually pops up for iMsg as when you send an iMsg it requires an international text to happen hence the constant reminder about no texting outside of Canada. 

Why dont you try the Apple ID of the person you are texting and see if that remedies it. If you want you can pm me and I will gladly give you my id and can try it. 

Cheers

[7789849803]

@NDesai So what you're saying is that you sing to a different itune? 

[NDesai]

Well, i call android devices "Freedom" 

I never liked iphone and its itune....

Most android devices on PM loads apn setting by it self...and when you are familiar with settings, it is not that difficult to find what you're looking for. 

[DonS]

@ckl The Carrier Update was odd... it had been 15 hours since I switched the sim card, but there was no prompt to offer an update until I was actually in Settings getting frustrated with the lack of options. iPhones!

You're right about how Android interfaces vary, the handset makers change things, sometimes carriers change things, and even the difference between stock versions make it what I imagine is a nightmare for tech support desks!

[ckl]

Well on the bright side, at least Apple installed a carrier update that fixed the issue. If my parents or mother-in-law had an android or apple phone with the wrong/missing APN settings, they wouldn't know what to do.

What's even worse for Android is that depending on the phone manufacturer (stock, Samsung, LG, etc), the settings for the mobile networks may even be in a different place and named differently. At least, this is the case with my wife's Samsung phone compared to my LG phone.