iPhone with no data plan not receiving text messages

[clancimus]

I recently gave my dad my old iPhone 4. He does not want to pay for a data plan because he doesn't need one. The rest of my family has iPhones and when we try and send him text messages (not iMessages) he only receives them when he is on wifi. He is still receiving messages okay from other cellphones.

Is there any fix for this or is going to be forced to get a data plan?

***Edited Labels.***

[Meowmix]

Hello Clancimus


You don't need a data plan for texting normal text messages. Have you reset your network settings? If not do that and see if that helps. If u already done that and no fix, try doing a factory reset on the device to see if that will change it. Remember back up the phone on ITunes before doing this.

[wall]

Did Meowmix''s info help you. I'm having the same problem but I still tried what he told you to do and still I can't send a text

[Meowmix]

Hello wall

Have you contacted Rogers to see what they say?

[Gdkitty]

I actually ran in to this with a friend the other day.

They have an iphone.. but no data plan.
Gets imessage fine when in wifi.. but not when on cellular.

i THINK what the problem is.. is that the phone #, etc, is registered with the apple account.  So therefore, the phone is seeing it as being a apple device, and ASSUMING it can receive imessage.

What ended up doing, was after sening the message (which was doing it as imessage), pressed on the message, then it gave the option to send as text.. then went fine.

[armsadoodle]

I am having the same problem with my daughter's phone. She has an unlocked iphone with no data plan but can only receive text messages when she has wifi. The only way I can send her a text is to tap it to send it as a text message, but she misses texts from everyone else who doesn't know to do this. . Seems like a waste of money for me to be paying for a plan that has unlimited texting but she can't recieve them. 

[Gdkitty · Accepted solution]

The big problem stems from APPLE.. that they way their system is set up.. it does a recognising of that number, etc as being an APPLE ID associated in the end.. and therefore trys to use Imessage... (they assume anyone who would be using their phone would have data)

Only thing i can really sugest is to check, to see in YOUR settings (and any of her friends, etc), under SETTINGS > Messages, and see if the SEND AS SMS is turned on.

Dont know if this will help/fix it.. i know with my wife, when she is sometimes in a BAD reception zone with work.. not a good enough reception for data.. it will take a bit, but then fail over and send as text to her.

[thestarbook]

We have three phones on one family plan.  It will iMessage between, but if data is turned off for my husband's phone, it won't default to text and he only gets them when he logs into wifi.  If I press and hold and tell it to 'send as text', it goes green and sends but then says 'not delivered'.  My daughter and I message and text back and forth fine.

[Gdkitty]

My wife has run into this as well with the iphone (and a friend who does NOT have a data plan)

I think it stems from.. that it KNOWS the other person is an iphone user (their # and email registered with apple, so it knows to do i message), and will ALWAYS try to do iMessage, regardless... and since he has no data...

My wife finds she has to go and turn off iMessage on her phone, to get it working.

This is something APPLE needs to address (nothing really that rogers can fix)

[VD_Blu]

I have the same problem with a family member... basically they will not receive any of my texts unless either:

1. They have a wi-fi connection 

OR

2. I turn off "Cellular Data", and send as a "Text Message".  This changes the message bubble from blue to green on my iPhone.  All green bubbles are arriving safe and sound, and immediately.

I don't like solution #2 but is the only option that is working for me right now.  To turn off Cellular Data I use the control centre (same place I turn flashlight, airplane mode, wifi, bluetooth, etc. on and off).  I simply click on the Cellular Tower icon until it turns green (iOS 11+).

Hope this helps others.

[RogersMaude]

Good day @VD_Blu,

Welcome to the Community!

We value your contribution and thank you for your post.

I'm confident this information will help other users. 

Cheers!

RogersMaude

[MWD]

Thats fine when its a family member who knows to do this, what happens when it is someone else. My wife's potential clients do not know this and thier messages are not recived.

Also btw we deregeisterd from imessage at the advice of Rogers and now we cannot recieve any e-mails from family members iphones at all, previously they were stored and came up when we logged back into wifi, now they never show up at all (sons phone shows sent though).