HELP: Problems receiving calls from USA on Movistar Chip Unlocked TMobile Prism prepaid phone

[ardilla]

Hi all,
We've always had perfect connections receiving phone calls on our unlocked TMobile Prism prepaid cell phones which we bring to Peru from the U.S.

As of April 2016 we cannot receive a single phone call or text message via Movistar -- that is, if the call or text comes from the US. The call is directed immediately to the voicemail box but then people cannot leave a message because the 'tone' does not happen for the message to be left.

The phones work for all calls within Peru. We have had some issues sending text messages within Peru but this appears to be resolved now.

We have taken the phones to Movistar, replaced the chips and had the phones 'reset' somehow and nothing is working.

Does anyone know who could help us get this resolved?

We've tried even using other cell phones (also unlocked Tmobile handsets) and nothing seems to work!

Thanks for any advice you may be able to offer -- we feel like this is a problem between the US phone systems and Telefonica/Movistar but people are calling us from lots of different places (cell, Skype, landline, etc) and nothing comes through.

[lyndelld]

I don`t have an answer for you, however anyone who has called me from the united states has not been able to reach me.

[gringolandia]

I finally (after 10+ years with T-Mobile) just dropped the service a couple weeks ago. I ported my old T-Mobile # over to Google Voice and I also got a new U.S. VOIP line from textnow.com (completely free, or $30/year without ads). I figure I can just get cell service in the U.S. for the months I am there.

That said, I noticed that T-Mobile's international service in Peru switched from using Movistar to Bitel recently. When I left Peru in May I think it was still Movistar, but when I returned in August it was Bitel. I wouldn't think this would have any impact whatsoever with your ability to receive calls from the U.S. on your phone that has a Movistar chip, though. I'm just noting that T-Mobile has changed things up a bit with regard to Peru.

Have you tried using the same SIM chip in a different (other than T-Mobile) phone? That would be the best way to determine for certain if the problem is related to the phone specifically.

If it is the phone, the only suggestion I'd have to try would be to root it and put a new firmware on it. But I've never heard of the T-Mobile Prism so it may not have any support for third party firmware. A quick Google search seems to indicate that the phone is one of those $20 cheapo throwaway phones.

So in any case I'd suggest getting a better phone. If you have postpago Movistar you're *already* paying for the right to have a subsidized phone anyway, so why not take Movistar up on it and get a phone that doesn't suck?

Also, I strongly recommend the TextNow service. As I said, it is FREE. You get a U.S. phone number that people can call (whatever area code you like), and it rings right on your phone in the TextNow app. Both SMS and MMS text messages can be sent *and* received FOR FREE as well. You can make unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada FOR FREE. I'm still amazed they offer this service at no cost. However, since I don't like ads (and to support the service) I did choose to pay $30 to get the ad-free service. It works perfectly fine with great sound quality over both WiFi and mobile data (I tried another similar app that did not work over mobile data).

Even if you keep your Prism phone for some reason (????), the TextNow app might be the answer to your problems.

[lyndelld]

Thanks Gringolandia, I`m going to try out the Textnow app tonight.

[bigdaddy]

Talkatone and Dingtone are good alternatives.
They assign you a phone number and area code of your choice.
I have never paid a dime to call Peru or the U.S.

Just download the app on your smart device, accumulate credits and start calling and texting.

[gringolandia]

Talkatone and Dingtone both look like good options as well.

I note that Dingtone has a 4.4 star rating (same as Textnow) but Talkatone only has a 4.1 star rating, so Dingtone might be the better alternative.

Both specifically say they work with WiFi and mobile data. I'd be curious to know how much their "ad free" service costs in case I want to consider switching next year.

I'd also like to know if there is any part of their service that is NOT free. I've seen that some services like these will charge a (small) fee for receiving text messages. Also, some services say they have free calling and texting, but either (or both) are only free to other people who also have the same app. Calling people who don't have the app has a (small) cost. Just quickly reading through the Dingtone faq, it seems that this may be the case for Dingtone.

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out exactly what is free and what is not free until you actually install and use the app, so perhaps BigDaddy can give more details on the specifics.

I can tell you that TextNow is entirely free for placing/receiving calls and sending/receiving texts (both SMS and MMS) to/from anyone in the US and Canada regardless of whether or not they have the TextNow service as well.

[gringolandia]

Thanks Gringolandia, I`m going to try out the Textnow app tonight.

Glad this can help you. I only just now realized that the OP was from 2016.

As a side note, I'll add that I tested Entel's "free calling to US" feature and it works, but it turns out you have to add a special code when dialing (instead of just +1) so it is not very convenient. I haven't yet tested if I can receive calls from the US to my Entel #, but considering it would cost the caller money I don't really have any reason to do so given they can call me for free via my TextNow #.

[bigdaddy]

With Dingtone and Talkatone, you gain credits
(minutes) by completing offers or watching videos.
You can buy credits if you wish but I've stockpiled enough free credits to last for quite awhile.

FWIW, I had Text Now but deleted it because I could never get it to work properly.

[69roadrunner]

Talkatone and Dingtone both look like good options as well.

I note that Dingtone has a 4.4 star rating (same as Textnow) but Talkatone only has a 4.1 star rating, so Dingtone might be the better alternative.

Both specifically say they work with WiFi and mobile data. I'd be curious to know how much their "ad free" service costs in case I want to consider switching next year.

I'd also like to know if there is any part of their service that is NOT free. I've seen that some services like these will charge a (small) fee for receiving text messages. Also, some services say they have free calling and texting, but either (or both) are only free to other people who also have the same app. Calling people who don't have the app has a (small) cost. Just quickly reading through the Dingtone faq, it seems that this may be the case for Dingtone.

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out exactly what is free and what is not free until you actually install and use the app, so perhaps BigDaddy can give more details on the specifics.

I can tell you that TextNow is entirely free for placing/receiving calls and sending/receiving texts (both SMS and MMS) to/from anyone in the US and Canada regardless of whether or not they have the TextNow service as well.

"so perhaps BigDaddy can give more details on the specifics." lol
Sounds like someone does not like to eplore other alternatives, jealous(?) he did not find a better app, or is it "mine is the best, es todo no mas"?
What part of "They assign you a phone number and area code of your choice. I have never paid a dime to call Peru or the U.S.
Just download the app on your smart device and start calling and texting." do you not understand?
You, gringoland, seem to have a problem with being shown something better than you have found. Open your mind it is a great big world.
Another question.
Why do you choose to degrade another mans choice of phones? quote"Even if you keep your Prism phone for some reason (????)," Why is that you business?

[gringolandia]

BigDaddy was very helpful and actually gave exactly the sort of specifics I was curious about.

So clearly some people who post here can be very helpful. Others, ahem, not so much.

As to which is the better app, BigDaddy explained why he finds the one's he uses to be best, and you'll notice I haven't disagreed with him so I'm not sure what sort of pissing contest you are imagining, but it is clearly something you are projecting from your self.

For all you know, I could have been swayed by what he wrote and already planned to switch next year (oooooh, a mystery).

As far as the phone, if the OP has a postpago plan with Movistar then he could get an objectively better phone for free, so it is questionable why anyone wouldn't do so. Not that no reasons exist (perhaps OP's life plans are too unpredictable to agree to a contract, or there is no intent to stay in Peru that long), but the question should certainly be why *WOULDN'T* one get the free / subsidized phone, as opposed to asking why *WOULD* one get it. At least for a rational person, which I've never claimed you to be.

Thanks for making me feel just a little bit smarter than I felt before. Your efforts don't go unnoticed.