Calling an aussie on their mobile when they are overseas, error messages

voteoften on 17/01/2014 - 23:43

If I am calling an aussie mobile phone with an aussie sim card, can anyone tell me what it means when it doesn't ring? Sometimes I get a weird error message about the wrong number. Sometimes I get told to enter the number I am dialling (and I do that to no avail), other times I get told to change the PIN number.

I just called this phone, got one of the normal weido messages, then called two minutes later and had a standard non personalised VM saying leave a short ten second message. This person is on a plane. I would have expected the same message throughout the duration of her flight.

Mobile

Comments

  • voteoften on 17/01/2014 - 23:45

    I just called a third time and was told that the number was incomplete or incorrect. It was an optus message. I am with Optus, have no idea their carrier.

  • voteoften on 17/01/2014 - 23:52

    Fourth call, now a busy signal. What's going on?

  • retiredfeline on 17/01/2014 - 23:54
    +1

    Did this person activate roaming? If so you call the number as normal, no special prefixes. If they are connected to the carrier there they will be able to take the call, though at much higher rates than locally.

    So several conditions need to be satisfied:

    They should not have any kind of diversion or answering service enabled on the number
    They have to have roaming turned on
    Their phone has to connect to a partnering telco there (plan and country dependent)
    Their phone has to be on (obviously)
    They have to take the call rather than rejecting it

  • voteoften on 18/01/2014 - 00:00

    Haha yes thanks. Yes that is all pretty obvious. I just called a fifth time and got the leave a ten second voicemail standard message (ie not the person) I was so startled I hung up. This is all within 20 minutes, these calls.

  • retiredfeline on 18/01/2014 - 00:09

    Aside from the possibility that you may simply have called the wrong number some of those attempts, some tech savvy people play a complicated game involving diverting their number to a Skype/VOIP account so that they can take the call via the Internet for cheaper. Is your friend one of those people? With more equipment in the chain, the chance of error messages increases.

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