Just switched to Verizon for the specific purpose of using the Verizon Messages web app. It can be accessed on the Verizon website via Account -> More -> Text online.
So far, every time I go there, it asks me to accept the terms and conditions for the "Integrated Messaging Service." Then I can see texts that I receive and send while the web app is open, but it resets every time I log in. So if someone texts me a link, I can't open Verizon Messages to click on the link because the text won't be there; texts only show up if I receive them after opening the web app. This also means I have no record of texts sent via the Verizon Messages web app, since they seem to be completely forgotten when I log out and they aren't stored on my phone.
Has anyone else had this issue? Any fixes or workarounds?
I tried installing Message+ on a spare iPhone (without cell service, the phone with service is a Light Phone 2 without apps). With the iPhone app open, I was able to write some texts via the web app, log out of the web app, and log back in, without losing the texts from before. But after about a minute of having both apps open, the web app kicked me out back to the "terms and conditions" page, and the iPhone app said "This device has been disconnected from the Integrated Messaging service. Press OK to erase all messages from the device and reconnect." So I was kicked off both apps, and when I logged back in all the messages I had sent were gone.
I called support and they said there was nothing they could do, and that all I can do is keep trying. Really shouldn't have counted on a Verizon feature working. Verizon needs to put a handful of developers on this and actually make the apps work. Or give us API access so we don't have to deal with these horribly buggy apps. That's the minimum Verizon should do, considering that I only signed up for Verizon based on the idea that this feature would work. But who really expects Verizon to do the bare minimum?
Bleb, we are truly sorry to hear that you have lost some important messages. I know that having access to messaging on the go and through multiple formats is something that we al want to take advantage of. You mentioned that the iPhone does not have service, is the software up to date on this device? Are messages that have been sent to and from the Message + on the activated device displaying? -LorenB_VZW If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
The iPhone is up to date, yes, but I don't want to use it anyway. It's just to provide more information on the off chance that an engineer is actually debugging this and fixing it.
> Are messages that have been sent to and from the Message + on the activated device displaying?
Not sure what you mean. As per my previous comment, the phone with service is a Light Phone 2 without apps. Texts sent from the Verizon Messages web app don't show up on the phone, but this is expected and not a problem. Texts received appear on both Verizon Messages web app and my phone, provided the web app is logged in and the window is active (if I'm not logged into the web app, texts only appear on the phone, and do not show up in the web app when I log in, as described above).
Thank you for these details. We would like to look into this with you further in depth. We will be leaving you a Private Note here to allow us to review this more directly. Please respond to the Private Note to continue.
*Robert
I seem to have solved my issue. Here is my understanding: some time in the past year, Verizon's engineers introduced a change in the Integrated Messaging system which causes the bug I experienced. Verizon hasn't bothered to teach their customer support agents about this bug or how to help people with it.
The core of the issue seems to be that devices are arbitrarily marked as lacking support for Integrated Messaging, even if they worked perfectly fine with it before. Shortly after you start using Integrated Messaging (e.g. in the Verizon Messages web app), the system will check if the device on your account supports Integrated Messaging. If it doesn't, it triggers a bug which kicks you off the service and erases any texting history that was stored.
I was able to solve this by temporarily activating a phone that supports Integrated Messaging. Once the system verifies that your device "supports" Integrated Messaging, your account is allowed to use the service without triggering the bug. So far, switching back to my original phone has not caused the problem to reappear. Hope this helps someone!
Hi Bleb,
Thanks for your legwork on this. I would LOVE to get this figured out for myself.
- Did you switch your SIM card over to the smartphone temporarily to set up Message+, or did you just use wifi and then have the text verification sent to your LP?
- Did you leave the Message+ app installed on the smartphone permanently?
I tried putting my SIM into a smartphone and activating Message+ on there, then moved the SIM back to my LP, deleted the app from the smartphone, and Message+ soon disconnected as usual. I'm wondering if either of the above factors is important.
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