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  1. #1
    Isaac Wingfield
    Guest
    I've not been a Cingular user very long (or a cell phone user, for that
    matter), but I've gotten that message a few times when I've tried to
    make calls.

    In general, I've gotten the message in the same places where I have
    successfully made calls on other occasions -- inside a hardware store,
    for example. In all cases, the signal strength was high.

    I called "611" but the folks there were absolutely clueless; they said
    they'd never heard of it. Same with the local Cingular store. None of
    their explanations made any sense at all.

    One thing they suggested was that my phone had "locked onto another
    provider's network", but in that case, wouldn't the phone have some
    indication of that fact?

    My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    something.

    So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean, and is there anything I can
    do to stop it or work around it?

    Isaac



    See More: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?




  2. #2
    Spammer Magnet
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    SXQgaGFwcGVucyB0byBtZSB0b28gb24gb2NjYXNpb24uDQoNClR1cm5pbmcgdGhlIHBob25lIG9m
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  3. #3
    Jud Hardcastle
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] says...
    >
    > My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    > don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    > something.
    >
    > So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean, and is there anything I can
    > do to stop it or work around it?
    >
    > Isaac
    >

    The message means your phone has not been authorized to make (or
    receive) calls and therefore only calls to 911 will be allowed.

    I think that message would always be due to what they said--your phone
    had locked onto another carrier because it couldn't connect to Cingular
    in that location at that time. Cingular doesn't allow roaming on
    another carrier when you are "officially" within your home area
    regardless of the reason for the failure--a "dead" spot that isn't
    covered at all or a weak spot caused by a building or something.
    Roaming in that case would cost Cingular money they couldn't pass on to
    the customers on no-roam-charge plans so their contracts don't provide
    for it. Most phones (but maybe not all) would have been reading
    "Cingular Extend" instead of just "Cingular". Some users are saying
    that "roaming" on ATTWS in that situation is now possible with the
    merge--but roaming on TMobile would not be allowed.
    --
    Jud
    Dallas TX USA



  4. #4
    Jack Zwick
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    In article
    <[email protected]>,
    "Spammer Magnet" <[email protected]> wrote:

    > It happens to me too on occasion.
    >
    > Turning the phone off & on seem to fix the problem, like rebooting a PC when
    > it isn't operating properly.
    >
    > SM


    so is it a cell phone defect, or a network issue???



  5. #5
    Scott Stephenson
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?


    "Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    > so is it a cell phone defect, or a network issue???


    The phone is probably on a secret recall list- isn't that what you used to
    blame these things on over in the SPrint PCS group?





  6. #6
    Scott Stephenson
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?


    "Scott Stephenson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    > "Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > so is it a cell phone defect, or a network issue???

    >
    > The phone is probably on a secret recall list- isn't that what you used to
    > blame these things on over in the SPrint PCS group?
    >
    >

    ....and for those of you that aren't aware of some hysterical posts in the
    past, the last post was not by any means an answer to the question.





  7. #7
    Bob Horvath
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    Jack Zwick wrote:
    > In article
    > <[email protected]>,
    > "Spammer Magnet" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>It happens to me too on occasion.
    >>
    >>Turning the phone off & on seem to fix the problem, like rebooting a PC when
    >>it isn't operating properly.
    >>
    >>SM

    >
    >
    > so is it a cell phone defect, or a network issue???


    It could be either, but more likely a network issue.



  8. #8
    Richie
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    Jud Hardcastle is right on.
    I used to get that sometimes also. But since the merger with ATT, i've not
    seen it.


    "Isaac Wingfield" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > I've not been a Cingular user very long (or a cell phone user, for that
    > matter), but I've gotten that message a few times when I've tried to
    > make calls.
    >
    > In general, I've gotten the message in the same places where I have
    > successfully made calls on other occasions -- inside a hardware store,
    > for example. In all cases, the signal strength was high.
    >
    > I called "611" but the folks there were absolutely clueless; they said
    > they'd never heard of it. Same with the local Cingular store. None of
    > their explanations made any sense at all.
    >
    > One thing they suggested was that my phone had "locked onto another
    > provider's network", but in that case, wouldn't the phone have some
    > indication of that fact?
    >
    > My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    > don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    > something.
    >
    > So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean, and is there anything I can
    > do to stop it or work around it?
    >
    > Isaac






  9. #9
    Al Klein
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:07:53 GMT, Isaac Wingfield <[email protected]>
    said in alt.cellular.cingular:

    >One thing they suggested was that my phone had "locked onto another
    >provider's network", but in that case, wouldn't the phone have some
    >indication of that fact?


    Maybe, maybe not. But calling 611 at that time would tell you.
    Those two numbers, 611 (for most carriers - Sprint is different, I
    think they use *2) and 911, will go through even if your phone is on a
    network you can't use. But you won't get Cingular customer service,
    you'll get the customer service office of the carrier your phone is
    "locked onto".

    >My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    >don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    >something.


    Could be, but no carrier will ever have enough capacity to handle all
    calls all the time. Even the land line system chokes a bit during
    times of peak usage (like around 10-11AM on Mother's Day morning).

    >So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean


    911 and 611 calls only.

    >and is there anything I can do to stop it or work around it?


    Other than trying again, or moving a few feet, nothing I can think of.



  10. #10
    M. D. Borca
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    > The message means your phone has not been authorized to make (or
    > receive) calls and therefore only calls to 911 will be allowed.
    >
    > I think that message would always be due to what they said--your phone
    > had locked onto another carrier because it couldn't connect to Cingular
    > in that location at that time. Cingular doesn't allow roaming on
    > another carrier when you are "officially" within your home area
    > regardless of the reason for the failure--a "dead" spot that isn't
    > covered at all or a weak spot caused by a building or something.
    > Roaming in that case would cost Cingular money they couldn't pass on to
    > the customers on no-roam-charge plans so their contracts don't provide
    > for it. Most phones (but maybe not all) would have been reading
    > "Cingular Extend" instead of just "Cingular". Some users are saying
    > that "roaming" on ATTWS in that situation is now possible with the
    > merge--but roaming on TMobile would not be allowed.


    I've gotten this message on my old MPx200 when the sim card did not
    make contact with the phone or when there was no sim card in the
    phone.



  11. #11
    Joseph
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:07:53 GMT, Isaac Wingfield <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    >One thing they suggested was that my phone had "locked onto another
    >provider's network", but in that case, wouldn't the phone have some
    >indication of that fact?


    That's probably right. If your phone locked onto another network that
    your provider didn't have authorization to roam on you would not be
    able to use that network for anything other than dialing 911
    (emergency.)

    >My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    >don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    >something.


    Could be network conditions or could be atmospheric conditions which
    changed the way you received calls at that time. Mobile phones use
    radio waves so there can be lots of variation in reception.

    >So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean, and is there anything I can
    >do to stop it or work around it?


    Emergency Calls Only means just what it says. There's nothing you can
    do about it other than change your location.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -




  12. #12
    Jack Zwick
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    In article <[email protected]>,
    Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:07:53 GMT, Isaac Wingfield <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    >
    > >One thing they suggested was that my phone had "locked onto another
    > >provider's network", but in that case, wouldn't the phone have some
    > >indication of that fact?

    >
    > That's probably right. If your phone locked onto another network that
    > your provider didn't have authorization to roam on you would not be
    > able to use that network for anything other than dialing 911
    > (emergency.)
    >
    > >My suspicion is that it has to do with network congestion, but they
    > >don't want to admit it, because then they'd have to add some cells or
    > >something.

    >
    > Could be network conditions or could be atmospheric conditions which
    > changed the way you received calls at that time. Mobile phones use
    > radio waves so there can be lots of variation in reception.
    >
    > >So, what does "Emergency Calls Only" mean, and is there anything I can
    > >do to stop it or work around it?

    >
    > Emergency Calls Only means just what it says. There's nothing you can
    > do about it other than change your location.


    au contraire. Most cell phones have a SETUP that allows configuring
    "Network" or "Roaming", and if its set to only do native Cingular, then
    perhaps this problem wouldn't occur.



  13. #13
    Jud Hardcastle
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] says...
    > Maybe, maybe not. But calling 611 at that time would tell you.
    > Those two numbers, 611 (for most carriers - Sprint is different, I
    > think they use *2) and 911, will go through even if your phone is on a
    > network you can't use. But you won't get Cingular customer service,
    > you'll get the customer service office of the carrier your phone is
    > "locked onto".


    YMMV on 611. About a month ago I got on a GSM system west of here that
    apparently Cingluar doesn't have a roaming agreement with (the TDMA
    carrier C. would normally roam on in the past doesn't have GSM yet).
    Anyway 611 and *611 would NOT go through - same error message as any
    other number. I didn't try 911.

    Also I've noticed recently that some carriers are sending you straight
    to your HOME carrier CS now with 611 -- I wish they'd at least announce
    who THEY are before they redirect the call. Sometimes you WANT to talk
    to them and not the home carrier.
    --
    Jud
    Dallas TX USA



  14. #14
    Joseph
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 13:22:42 GMT, Jack Zwick <[email protected]>
    wrote:

    >au contraire. Most cell phones have a SETUP that allows configuring
    >"Network" or "Roaming", and if its set to only do native Cingular, then
    >perhaps this problem wouldn't occur.


    If there's no authorized carrier (native or roaming) you cannot use a
    network and depending on your phone will either get you the "emergency
    only" or no carrier indication at all (such as on Nokia.)

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -




  15. #15
    Jer
    Guest

    Re: What does "Emergency Calls Only" mean?

    Jud Hardcastle wrote:

    > Also I've noticed recently that some carriers are sending you straight
    > to your HOME carrier CS now with 611 -- I wish they'd at least announce
    > who THEY are before they redirect the call. Sometimes you WANT to talk
    > to them and not the home carrier.


    This has happened to me a couple of times. One of those times, the
    Cingular CS person looked into their own system to determine whom I was
    roaming on, and bridged their CS into the call for resolution.

    --
    jer email reply - I am not a 'ten'



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