Delayed Voicemail

Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
or cycles the power.
I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
--It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
power.
--Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
happen if I get out of coverage?
--Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
--Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
--Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
"Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
the situation.

---

› See More: Delayed Voicemail

Bill Rhule wrote:
> Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
> days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
> airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
> goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
> found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
> Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
> location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
> so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
> notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
> location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
> or cycles the power.
> I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
> --It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
> that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
> power.
> --Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
> happen if I get out of coverage?
> --Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
> --Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
> voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
> --Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
> true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
> "Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
> I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
> the situation.
>


Total BS. Wherever you voicemail system is, that is where your messages
are collected - even if you're roaming on the moon. Message
notification is also supposed to occur no matter where you are. If
message notificaiton is late, it's because something is/was hosed.
According to my sources, Cingular's internal voicemail consolidation is
still progressing, so maybe something got hosed with that activity. I
wouldn't worry too much about it unless a habit develops.

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

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:16:08 -0600, Jer <[email protected]> wrote:

>Bill Rhule wrote:
>> Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
>> days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
>> airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
>> goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
>> found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
>> Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
>> location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
>> so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
>> notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
>> location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
>> or cycles the power.
>> I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
>> --It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
>> that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
>> power.
>> --Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
>> happen if I get out of coverage?
>> --Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
>> --Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
>> voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
>> --Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
>> true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
>> "Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
>> I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
>> the situation.
>>
>
>
>Total BS. Wherever you voicemail system is, that is where your messages
>are collected - even if you're roaming on the moon. Message
>notification is also supposed to occur no matter where you are. If
>message notificaiton is late, it's because something is/was hosed.
>According to my sources, Cingular's internal voicemail consolidation is
>still progressing, so maybe something got hosed with that activity. I
>wouldn't worry too much about it unless a habit develops.

Thanks, Jer. It just didn't have quite a 100% ring of truth. If it
was true, then I'm sure there are plenty of travelers who only visit a
city in passing and would lose voicemails. In fact, you could build a
scenario where a person could lose every voicemail as he traveled
around the U.S. If he never cycled his phone until he turned it in to
the store a year later, he would never get those voicemails until he
turned on the new phone.

Bill Rhule wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:16:08 -0600, Jer <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Bill Rhule wrote:
>>
>>>Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
>>>days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
>>>airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
>>>goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
>>>found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
>>>Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
>>>location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
>>>so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
>>>notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
>>>location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
>>>or cycles the power.
>>>I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
>>>--It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
>>>that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
>>>power.
>>>--Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
>>>happen if I get out of coverage?
>>>--Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
>>>--Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
>>>voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
>>>--Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
>>>true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
>>>"Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
>>>I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
>>>the situation.
>>>
>>
>>
>>Total BS. Wherever you voicemail system is, that is where your messages
>>are collected - even if you're roaming on the moon. Message
>>notification is also supposed to occur no matter where you are. If
>>message notificaiton is late, it's because something is/was hosed.
>>According to my sources, Cingular's internal voicemail consolidation is
>>still progressing, so maybe something got hosed with that activity. I
>>wouldn't worry too much about it unless a habit develops.
>
>
> Thanks, Jer. It just didn't have quite a 100% ring of truth. If it
> was true, then I'm sure there are plenty of travelers who only visit a
> city in passing and would lose voicemails. In fact, you could build a
> scenario where a person could lose every voicemail as he traveled
> around the U.S. If he never cycled his phone until he turned it in to
> the store a year later, he would never get those voicemails until he
> turned on the new phone.


If one is to believe the source of your previous info, then you'd be
absolutely right - and that's why the system isn't designed to work that
way. It's amazing how wrong a CSR can be with just a little bit of the
truth. The larger truth is, yes, when one powers up a phone, the boot
process includes re-sourcing network selection - forcing the phone to
re-register - which can be helpful if the "system" has lost track due to
some technical snafu. Wireless providers have a huge investment in
equipment and processes that deal with which system any particular phone
is registered with at a given moment - is he home? or roaming somewhere
"out there"? - and stuff happens (not that there's any surprises with
that). A subscriber's voice mail system is the same system regardless
of where the phone is, unless the subscriber's account was shifted to a
new system during the night, aka. stuff happening. If that subscriber
was roaming while their voice mail system was upgraded, some incredible
screwball thing may have happened despite best efforts to avoid the
screwball events. As I said, Cingular's efforts to deal with their
acquisition of ATTWS customers is ongoing, and this includes shifting
subscribers around amongst numerous voice mail systems. So, clearly,
it's one thing to have a message deposited, quite another to notify the
subscriber of that event. Aside from temporal shifts in the earth's
wobbly orbit, I think Cingular's efforts, though not perfect, are
significantly on track. For those of us that are "hanging in there",
the dust will continue a while longer during Cingular's own shift from
blue to orange.

No, I'm not employed by Cingular, but friends of mine are, hence the
source of my information, generally while bending an elbow or two.

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

On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 08:20:52 -0600, Jer <[email protected]> wrote:

>Bill Rhule wrote:
>> On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:16:08 -0600, Jer <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Bill Rhule wrote:
>>>
>>>>Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
>>>>days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
>>>>airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
>>>>goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
>>>>found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
>>>>Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
>>>>location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
>>>>so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
>>>>notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
>>>>location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
>>>>or cycles the power.
>>>>I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
>>>>--It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
>>>>that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
>>>>power.
>>>>--Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
>>>>happen if I get out of coverage?
>>>>--Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
>>>>--Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
>>>>voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
>>>>--Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
>>>>true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
>>>>"Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
>>>>I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
>>>>the situation.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Total BS. Wherever you voicemail system is, that is where your messages
>>>are collected - even if you're roaming on the moon. Message
>>>notification is also supposed to occur no matter where you are. If
>>>message notificaiton is late, it's because something is/was hosed.
>>>According to my sources, Cingular's internal voicemail consolidation is
>>>still progressing, so maybe something got hosed with that activity. I
>>>wouldn't worry too much about it unless a habit develops.
>>
>>
>> Thanks, Jer. It just didn't have quite a 100% ring of truth. If it
>> was true, then I'm sure there are plenty of travelers who only visit a
>> city in passing and would lose voicemails. In fact, you could build a
>> scenario where a person could lose every voicemail as he traveled
>> around the U.S. If he never cycled his phone until he turned it in to
>> the store a year later, he would never get those voicemails until he
>> turned on the new phone.
>
>
>If one is to believe the source of your previous info, then you'd be
>absolutely right - and that's why the system isn't designed to work that
>way. It's amazing how wrong a CSR can be with just a little bit of the
>truth. The larger truth is, yes, when one powers up a phone, the boot
>process includes re-sourcing network selection - forcing the phone to
>re-register - which can be helpful if the "system" has lost track due to
>some technical snafu. Wireless providers have a huge investment in
>equipment and processes that deal with which system any particular phone
>is registered with at a given moment - is he home? or roaming somewhere
>"out there"? - and stuff happens (not that there's any surprises with
>that). A subscriber's voice mail system is the same system regardless
>of where the phone is, unless the subscriber's account was shifted to a
>new system during the night, aka. stuff happening. If that subscriber
>was roaming while their voice mail system was upgraded, some incredible
>screwball thing may have happened despite best efforts to avoid the
>screwball events. As I said, Cingular's efforts to deal with their
>acquisition of ATTWS customers is ongoing, and this includes shifting
>subscribers around amongst numerous voice mail systems. So, clearly,
>it's one thing to have a message deposited, quite another to notify the
>subscriber of that event. Aside from temporal shifts in the earth's
>wobbly orbit, I think Cingular's efforts, though not perfect, are
>significantly on track. For those of us that are "hanging in there",
>the dust will continue a while longer during Cingular's own shift from
>blue to orange.
>
>No, I'm not employed by Cingular, but friends of mine are, hence the
>source of my information, generally while bending an elbow or two.

I would guess that the technology is similar among all the providers
and an occasional voicemail lost isn't a big deal in most cases. It
was just that the explanations were suspect and I couldn't get an
answer that was logical or fit with the technology. As you say, a bit
of knowledge is dangerous.
Your explanation of the technology involved is very good and I feel
more confident that the Cingular voicemail system isn't deteriorating.
Thanks,
Bill

"Bill Rhule" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
> days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
> airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
> goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
> found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
> Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
> location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
> so fast, the phone does not transfer properly. The voicemail
> notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
> location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
> or cycles the power.
> I find this difficult to believe. If this is true:
> --It would be possible to leave a trail of voicemails behind in cities
> that would never be picked up until I either went back or cycled the
> power.
> --Can I travel fast enough in a car possibly to have the same thing
> happen if I get out of coverage?
> --Why do they eventually show up without me doing anything else?
> --Why can I dial when I arrive and not have any problems, yet
> voicemail seems to have a problem knowing the current location?
> --Why does my pager not have this same problem? I know this isn't a
> true analogy, but the situation is similar. My pager will show
> "Storing messages" and then display any when it gets within range.
> I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to relate all I know about
> the situation.
>

i use cingular service and this has happend me to on a smaller scale..
i often go snowboarding up in the mountains by my house. its about a 3 hour
drive.
the first hour or so i have great service and im able to use my phone just
fine, after that it gets weak and about 1.5 hours into the drive i lose all
service due to lack of towers..

several times i have gotton vm and sms durring the time im out of service
and never get notified untill 3 or 4 hours after i am home with perfect
service. if i reboot the phone as soon as i return, all the messages come in
right then.

so this can happen, the phone only searches for new messages every once in
awhile if it lost the push message.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 30 Jan 2006 12:17:07 -0800,
"Aaron" <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Bill Rhule" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Twice I've had voicemails left for me that did not appear until 2 to 5
>> days later. On both occasions, these were left while I was on an
>> airplane and accidentally left the phone ON in my carryon. (Thank
>> goodness, it was on vibrate because I had been in meetings.) Since I
>> found that the phone was on, I never stopped-started the phone.
>> Cingular says that the voicemails are stored in the geographic
>> location in which the phone was and that because the airplane travels
>> so fast, the phone does not transfer properly.

I'm pretty sure that your voicemails are stored in the particular voicemail
server for your number; i.e., in one geographic location. As your phone is
moved, it registers itself in the local cell, info the network uses to keep
track of where the phone is.

>> The voicemail
>> notification tries for a certain number of times in the original
>> location, then stores it until the person gets back to that location
>> or cycles the power.

When you travel by air, or turn the phone off while moving in a car, the
network still thinks your phone is in the last registered location, and will
try to find it there for such things as incoming calls and voicemail flag
changes. When your phone registers again (plane lands and/or you turn it back
on), the network learns the new location, and is supposed to be smart enough
to send any voicemail flag changes that occurred while your phone was
off-network. The apparent problem with Cingular is that the system wasn't
properly handling the off-network state.

>i use cingular service and this has happend me to on a smaller scale..
>i often go snowboarding up in the mountains by my house. its about a 3 hour
>drive.
>the first hour or so i have great service and im able to use my phone just
>fine, after that it gets weak and about 1.5 hours into the drive i lose all
>service due to lack of towers..
>
>several times i have gotton vm and sms durring the time im out of service
>and never get notified untill 3 or 4 hours after i am home with perfect
>service. if i reboot the phone as soon as i return, all the messages come in
>right then.

That's because a reboot forces network registration. Otherwise the phone only
re-registers periodically. I nonetheless think this is a bug, because
re-registration should happen automatically when your phone gets back in a
coverage area.

>so this can happen, the phone only searches for new messages every once in
>awhile if it lost the push message.

The phone doesn't search for message or voicemail -- that's done by network
push based on phone registration.

--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>