When texting an American number in Canada, why won't they receive my message?

[MNRW2012]

So I have kind of a weird problem. My fiance just moved to Toronto and he is keeping his American number through Verizon but he has cellular data turned off to avoid expensive roaming charges. We both use iPhone 4s's if that matters. The problem we are having is that when he sends me a text from Canada, I receive it, but when I try to send a text to him from the States, he never receives it. I'm not getting any sort of error or message saying the text couldn't be sent when I try to text, so Im a little confused as to what's going on exactly and how we can fix it. If anyone has any insight I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

[Weth]

Are you using iMessage (blue messages) or regular SMS texting (green messages)?

iMessages use data, which is different than SMS texting which goes through the cellular network. If he has cellular data turned off and is not in a Wifi area when you send an iMessage, it has not way of getting to him. Usually it will come back failed though. On your phone, try turning Send as SMS on. If that still doesn't work, turn off iMessage and try that. These settings are under Settings, then scroll down to Messages.

[MNRW2012]

We're both using regular SMS.

[Weth]

If you are sending a text message longer than 160 characters, or if it contains any emojis or special characters, it will be MMS rather than SMS and does require data to be active.

Just looking at obvious causes. And you confirmed you have iMessages turned off?

[MNRW2012]

It's definitely off

[vzw_customer_support · Accepted solution]

Hi MNRW2012, We definitely want you to be able to communicate with your fiance while he's in Canada. There are other options available if the messaging isn't working. If the iMessage service is turned off for both iPhone's and those SMS messages still aren't going through, I'd recommend having you both install our Verizon Messages+ application from the App Store to ensure regular SMS services on both devices. This will prevent either phone from trying to connect to the Apple Server for iMessage in case the iMessage registration is blocking your current attempts. You can then remove that Verizon Messages+ application as soon as he gets back and re-enable iMessage to resume use of it with no conflicts.

Hope this helps!

EbonyR_VZW
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