Repeated Facetime SMS

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skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Repeated Facetime SMS

Hello,

I found this unacceptable!

I bought an iPhone 4S for my wife.

She received a message that my operator may charge for the use of facetime at activation. So far, so good.

But I received the bill yesterday and this is not one activation SMS, this SMS is sent "all the time"!!

Type	Date	Time	Calling number	Called numper	Country	Rate	#	Price Excl. (€)
SMS	26/07/2013	13:05	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	26/07/2013	13:11	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	26/07/2013	13:50	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	26/07/2013	13:56	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	05/08/2013	17:15	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	07/08/2013	11:36	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720
SMS	07/08/2013	18:56	******	447786205094	U.K.	Full rate	1	0,3720

What the *** is wrong with apple ? How will I get my money back ? I can agree on one SMS but not all the time ... Am I supposed to stop facetime? What will happen in the next months?

Thanks for your help,

Olivier

Posted on Aug 17, 2013 6:34 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

HonzaP9

Level 1

4 points

Dec 7, 2017 11:49 PM in response to skippy1974

I am having this issue too and it looks like I found at least a workaround...

I have an iPhone SE and after upgrade to iOS11 it started to send these SMSs at least once per 24 hours. Before the upgrade it was say twice a month. Apple support said that the problem is on my carriers side (T-mobile Czech Republic) and probably my number is blocked from receiving some background confirmation SMS from the UK operator who processes these iMessage registrations for Apple. Doesnt sound very logical if I had no other issues, but ok...

I called T-mobile and surprisingly the support technician said it is probably true and they will send a request to the UK to somehow do the association manually (and that it will take about 2-3 weeks). Guess what ... four weeks passed and the problem was still there. I tried to swap for a different SIM card and it was still bad. So I decided to try this:

I turned off GPS assisted signal search, turned off Wi-Fi calls and also turned off LTE and, voila, no more iMessage activation SMSs. Unfortunately also no more 4G, so after a week I turned on LTE for DATA ONLY and things were still good. After turning on LTE for both data and voice after another week I already was prompted three times within two days for iMessage activation, so this is probably the cause. Now I am back to LTE for data only and will be testing more combinations in the upcoming weeks.

Now just to make sure everyone understands: The above mentioned facts do NOT tell me where exactly the problem is (phone HW, iOS, Apple servers, T-mobile or the UK carrier), it is purely a statement of what combination of settings seems to work for me now :-)

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Answer 2

Aug 17, 2013 6:36 AM in response to skippy1974

These text messages are not coming from Apple. They are coming from your mobile provider. That is who you should be talking to.

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Answer 3

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 6:41 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

This is my number sending text messages to Apple server to activate facetime.

But not once, not twice but many times.

This is not in the list of my messages, it is insidiouslydone in the background by iOS.

Of course, as I'm sending text message, my operator is billing me, but I never ever sent those messages (I agree with the first one, to activate facetime but not on all the others)

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Answer 4

Aug 17, 2013 6:45 AM in response to skippy1974

No, it isn't. iOS does not send text messages to activate Facetime. Something else is going on and you need to be talking to your mobile provider to find out what.

All that is required to activate FaceTime on your iPhone is to slide the slider to ON in the settings.

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Answer 5

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 6:48 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

I am positive, it is iOS activating facetime:

FaceTime Activation / Registration

FaceTime is activated by sending a couple of SMS text messages in the background between the iPhone and an Apple server. If your carrier does not officially support the iPhone, you may be charged for sending the activation SMS to an international (UK) number. Your carrier might also have issues delivering the SMS correctly which will prevent FaceTime from activating.

After enabling FaceTime in iPhone settings, your iPhone will attempt to send a "silent text message" (i. e. a text you don't know about) to Apple, that registers your telephone number on Apple's servers used for FaceTime. Apple then returns a "silent coded text message" to your iPhone, that activates the FaceTime within iOS4 and later.

FaceTime activation currently requires the iPhone to be activated, have an active SIM card with the ability to send and receive SMSes. If there's an issue sending or receiving SMS messages, FaceTime can't be enabled or activated.

FaceTime Registration Request

The iPhone sends a Registration Request SMS silently to this UK number (as identified by the +44 country code): +44 7786 205094. AT&T customers have their own local number for FaceTime activations: 28818773. In Bell and Telus carrier bundles, version 7.2 the number is: 49988.

The Activation Servers number (PhoneNumberRegistrationGatewayAddress) is set in carrier.plist in System/Library/Carrier Bundles/<Your carrier>.bundle (or Unknown.bundle):

<key>PhoneNumberRegistrationGatewayAddress</key> <string>+447786205094</string>

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Answer 6

Aug 17, 2013 6:50 AM in response to skippy1974

Where did you find this information?

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Answer 7

Aug 17, 2013 6:54 AM in response to skippy1974

I found this Apple KB article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4268. So... it does send an SMS. I was mistaken. However, that fact that your wife's iPhone keeps sending the SMS says FaceTime isn't getting activated, or took several tries. Apple cannot refund you any money since they are not the entity charging you. You'll still have to take it up with your mobile provider.

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Answer 8

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 6:55 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

In an obscure corner of apple website (google cache)
My carrier confirmed that it is an SMS containing info about my iPhone and the number is a well known Apple number in the U.K. (I'm not the first to complain ...)

They send me the content of the message and could find my device id inside

REG-REQ?v=2;t=*****;i=[SERIAL NUMBER];r=****

Edit: Her facetime is activated since, we are using it all the time as I have an iPhone myself

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Answer 9

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 6:57 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

I know they are not the one that charged me but as facetime is working fine since beginning of July, I don't understand why iOS is still sending this SMS.

As a consequence of an iOS issue, I don't see the point to complain to my carrier.

The iPhone, not my wife, did actually send those SMSes for no reason.

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Answer 10

Aug 17, 2013 6:59 AM in response to skippy1974

Perhaps you should make an appointment at your nearest genius bar.

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Answer 11

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 7:00 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

In Belgium ? I've no idea where to go ...

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Answer 12

Aug 17, 2013 7:04 AM in response to skippy1974

Perhaps this web page can help you locate a service center: https://locate.apple.com

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Answer 13

skippy1974 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 17, 2013 7:09 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

Nope ... sorry.

I'll continue looking for help and advices.

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Answer 14

Aug 17, 2013 7:10 AM in response to skippy1974

Good luck.

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Answer 15

Aug 17, 2013 7:12 AM in response to skippy1974

skippy1974 wrote:

FaceTime Activation / Registration

FaceTime is activated by sending a couple of SMS text messages in the background between the iPhone and an Apple server. If your carrier does not officially support the iPhone, you may be charged for sending the activation SMS to an international (UK) number.

Yes, this is correct. If your carrier is not a supported carrier, you may be charged. This is something you need to discuss with your carrier.

Best of luck.

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