Pixel 5a arrived last night and I swapped over my LTE sim and was able to get everything to work except the incoming SMS messages. I've been through all the basic steps but can not resolve the issue. Went to my local Verizon store and they told me to wait 24 hours ( didn't seem to know what they were doing). Tried to contact online support but they seem to be down right now. Does anyone else have this issue? Suggestions.
I have a similar issue except I'm not getting data and phone service either. My Verizon acct online recognizes I have the sim card in my new pixel 5a but the phone is not connecting to the network.
Hi, SackettsSlave! We are here to help. To confirm, is the SIM card presently in your phone from your previous device? -Lorenzo
Hi, Lorenzo. The SIM card in my phone is not from the previous device. After the first attempt at activating it with the old SIM card, I went to the Verizon store where they gave me a new 5g SIM and it still did not do the trick. That is the short version. The long version includes the multiple hours spent on the phone with both Verizon and Google tech support trying every angle such as setting CDMA-less, resetting network, tech support performing the activation, restarts, new SIM cards and even trying to activate the eSIM card. Nothing. The network may on occasion appear to be connected but calls will get dropped as soon as I attempt to test them and then the network signals bars change from full to empty with an "x" through them. Just to clarify since many of these post talk about some features not work specifically texting, no network features are working on my new 5a. Calls in or out? No. Texts in or out? No. Data? No. The phone and the website would register that I have successful activated the new device with either SIM card used but it just would not connect.
We would like to check the coverage in your area to see if there are any known service issues that can be causing for this to happen. What is your full address? ~David
My wife and I are having the same problem with SMS messages. Additionally, after going to phone > voicemail > activate visual voicemail - it is stuck saying:
"Activating visual voicemail
You might not receive voicemail notifications until visual voicemail is fully activated. Call voicemail to retrieve new messages until voicemail is activated"
With a link to call voicemail.
I have called voicemail and retrieved saved messages and a new message, but it is still stuck in the "activating" phase.
I wonder if other people with the SMS issue are also having this problem, but just haven't noticed it yet?
Good morning. We are here to help with your device and texting issues. Please tell us a little more, is your device software up to date? What is the texting up you are using for SMS?
~Maria Elena
All software is up-to-date.
I have tried to use both the built in "Messages" app on android and also the "Message+" app by Verizon from the App Store.
I should note that my sms messages still come into my old phone (as long as it has wi-fi).
The Message+ app has a menu option to "Activate Account". This pops up a loading bar that says, "Please Wait Starting Service" but immediately disappears.
We appreciate the information. Please turn off Wi-Fi and power off old and new phones. After a minute, power the new device only, test your text messages and let us know how it works.
~Maria Elena
Unfortunately, that has not seemed to make a difference for me.
I still am not receiving sms to the new phone.
Where are you located? Do you know if others are having similar issues? -Joel
I am in Madison, Wi in the US.
My wife is having the exact same problems (located in the same place).
Based on other community messages, this seems like a frequent problem with Verizon when switching phone - but the Pixel 5a was just released, so there are not many messages about this specific phone.
Good day, taccat. We are sorry that your wife is experiencing some messaging issues, and we want to help. We need some additional information to explore options to resolve this issue. Is this messaging issue happening in a specific place (home, office, school, other)?
The original message here indicated that the Pixel 5a cannot receive messages, is your wife able to send messages?
What messaging application is your wife using?
-Antonio
I posted a message (at the top of page 2) with the resolution that worked for both my wife's and my phones.
There were some additional activation steps necessary on the verizon website.
We no longer need assistance. Performing the activation steps have resolved our sms message receipt and visual voicemail issues.
My 5A behaves like this: it will text out, but no received texting, intermittent signal, calling drops, it will send text. The Verizon folks tried to set it up for me when I went in to get a new 5g sim card. I have spent 3 hours on the phone with Verizon support and 1 hour in the store. I have tried taccat's link to a solution. It didn't help.
The only thing I have not done is contact support and asked for my line to be converted to a CDMA-less line.
I am kind of reluctant to do this I guess because the IMEI checker says my phone is not compatible with Verizon. If I get someone who isn't aware of this issue, I will waste another 3 hours talking to support.
I am not going to get away from Pixel phones -- they fit my needs and the A line is fantastic for the prices. I can't go back to the phones carried by Verizon so I should probably find a carrier that plays better with Google Pixel phones.
Thank you.
I'm in this same boat, did you ever get a response?
This did not work.
bmatusow, making sure your device is able to receive text messages is important. Allow us the opportunity to further review the details. When did this concern start? How are your phone calls and internet servcies? Also, which text message app are you utilizing? -Sylvia
Count me as having the same problem. Google Support says the Verizon line needs to be partitioned as CDMA-less. But when I ask Verizon to do this it either does not solve the problem or they tell me the "device will not function correctly"; it's already not functioning correctly lol. Other Reddit users have had success changing 5G SIM cards, but again that did not work in my favor.
The Google Store clearly shows that the specs are compatible with Verizon Sub-6 5G.
I found this solution on Reddit and it worked for me. I hope this helps everyone else that has this problem:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/pd90g6/pixel_5a_not_receiving_any_text_messages
Top comment:
Here is the advice that worked for me and some others.
Log into your Verizon Wireless account, go to Account > Devices > Activate Or Switch Account. From there, Activate An Existing Line. You should see your new 5a already listed but still click to activate it anyway. Texts started coming through a few min after that.
Part of the process is receiving a text message from Verizon. Luckily, My son's phone was available for that part since both my wife and my phones were in the same situation. Hopefully other people with the same problem will be able to figure it out using these steps too.
Good luck all.
The solution in the Reddit link worked for us too! Thank you!
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