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shawnie_boy
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

This feature is useful if you roam and have no roaming plan. You would be able to forward text or auto reply based on a setting within self serve. Seems easy enough. 

8 Comments
will13am
Oracle
Oracle
You do realize this is a discount service?
shawnie_boy
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

discount does not mean it has to have basic features only. Considering that service doesn't work when you go to USA at all, it would make sense to implement something to allow an auto reply of texts. 

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@shawnie_boy you can purchase US roaming add-on(s) to enable text service while in the USA if desired.

shawnie_boy
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Yes, but what if not going to USA. A simple service to auto reply to people to tell them your number would really help us all out for travelling. 

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@shawnie_boy well sure. I was merely responding to your previous comment of "Considering that service doesn't work when you go to USA at all", which simply isn't correct. But you're right that this would be nice for international travel. Unfortunately, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. 

 

If this is a scenario you are concerned about, you could potentially port your phone number to a VoIP service that includes texting. Fongo, for example, offers texting for a small monthly fee. At that point you gave abstracted your phone number for calling and texting away from the physical carrier, and you could use a data-only plan both at home, and from an international carrier while travelling, while continuing to get/place calls and receive/send texts. No need to forward anything in this scenario. 

shawnie_boy
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@shawnie_boy wrote:

This feature is useful if you roam and have no roaming plan. You would be able to forward text or auto reply based on a setting within self serve. Seems easy enough. 


I completely agree, just not too sure I would want to put my regular number onto fongo and then sign up for text plan. Also, obviously you can't port a number without cancelling previous service.  I currently have like 8 numbers that can call or text me on my phone thanks for voip services, but obviously most people know my main number. 

 

Too me since PM has limitations on where the phone works, auto reply would make sense for this carrier. 

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@shawnie_boy yeah I'm not quite ready to move to that type of a set up yet either, but it is an option at least.  To be honest, I'm not sure that any Canadian carrier offer text forwarding or auto-reply.  Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

So with that in mind, I can recall two other possible workarounds that might help:

 

1) If you have a spare unlocked phone and already know the local phone number you will be using at your travel destination, you could get an app that forwards texts (I don't know the names off hand but know they exist), install it on the spare phone, and just before you leave home, put your PM sim card in that phone, enable text forwarding to your roaming SIM phone number, and plug the spare phone into it's charger and leave it be.  It would then forward your texts for you while you're away.  You could also optionally forward your calls, but if you're travelling outside of Canada and the USA (or inside the USA but you don't want to buy long distance add-ons), you could forward your calls temporarily to a Fongo number, where you would receive them overseas as long as your roaming provider plan has data.

 

2) You could transition your texting contacts over to data-based service(s) that aren't tied to a mobile provider in the way that sms and mms are.  There are MANY options:  iMessage (If you're an iPhone person), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Line, BBM, Slack, Skype, HipChat, and dozens more.  If everyone messages you on those app(s) instead of texting, it won't matter what local SIM you're using and there's no need to forward any texts.  I bet if you check with the contacts that check you, they're already using at least a couple of those services.  For me, the only thing that really ties me to texting is my (77-year-old) mother and a couple of older (60's) uncles, none of whom are very tech savvy.  Oh, and ironically, my fellow public mobile community oracles, lol.  But yeah everyone else I WhatsApp, FB Messenger, BBM, Slack, or Skype4Business with.  

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@shawnie_boy I should add:  I'm not trying to say your idea isn't a good one.  I think it would be very nice to have one or both of those features available.  However, knowing how PM operates as a low-cost, no-frills provider, I'm keeping in mind that I think the likelihood of them offering these options is very low.  This is why I'm offering up suggested alternatives.  The first one was rather radical, though it might appeal to people that are travellng a lot, as once set up, it's the simplest in many ways.  The two more recent suggestions a moment ago are easier to implement and more practical for infrequent, casual travel than the first.  Your mileage will of course vary, but hopefully one of these might help get around the core issue.

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