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Re: "Emergency service only"

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On 06/16/2015 09:21 PM, micky wrote:

>>> Last month, using an Android phone on ATT, a Gophone,, I tried to call
>>> my nephew on his home phone (FWIW, he has no cell phone.)    But it
>>> appears his father changed the phone number when I wasn't looking, so
>>> I had the wrong number.   I called and it changed to the screen it
>>> uses during dialing, but a moment after that it changed to some other
>>> screen and clearly wasn't dialing.   The possible dialing period was
>>> only a second or two.    But I got no message, no cell phone
>>> equivalent of "The number you have reached is not available." I was
>>> using a headset but I got nothing aural either.
>>>
>>> I did this 3 times and after the third time, a message displayed on
>>> the top line (the notification line) that said "Emergency service
>>> only" or almost that.    Isn't that the message they give when
>>> someone hasn't paid his bill, or he's switched his contract to a
>>> newer phone and the older phone is only useful to call the police,
>>> fire, ambulance?
>>>
>>> I assumed what had happened is that I buy 100 dollar gophone cards
>>> that last for 365 days, and that the time period had expired (I
>>> hadn't made other calls that day, none since the previous day.)
>>>
>>> If the message doesn't mean that I'm no longer eligible to make phone
>>> calls, what does it mean?
>>>
>>> I was in the basement of a new, 10-story building, so there was some
>>> iron above me, but if I had no bars and no signal, there would have
>>> been no cryptic "Emergency service only" message either, right??
>>>
>>> Later in the day the phone worked fine.
>>>
>>> Thanks a lot for any help you can give.
>>
>> That's the message I get when there's not a cell tower in range .
>
> Thanks.
>
> But if there's no cell tower in range, then there's no emergency service
> either, right?    Or maybe, is there some data signal that takes less
> signal strength than a voice signal does, but  represents an emergency?
> Maybe ...---...   ...---...?
>
>> We get it
>> a lot out here in the woods ... no coverage at all down here in The Holler .
>> It's spotty on the road into town .

Maybe the OP was out of range of an AT&T tower at that moment 
(propagation is not constant even if he was standing in the same spot) 
but within range of some other phone company's tower -- Verizon? (which 
I understand has the best coverage, although it's not what I use, 
because of the cost).

Perce

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Thread

"Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-16 17:55 -0400
  Re: "Emergency service only" "Terry Coombs" <snag_one@msn.com> - 2015-06-16 19:28 -0500
    Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-16 21:21 -0400
      Re: "Emergency service only" "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2015-06-16 21:39 -0400
        Re: "Emergency service only" Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid> - 2015-06-17 12:09 -0500
          Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-17 14:28 -0400
            Re: "Emergency service only" Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid> - 2015-06-18 10:38 -0500
    Re: "Emergency service only" sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2015-06-18 07:00 -0700
      Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-18 18:20 -0400
  Re: "Emergency service only" Ed Pawlowski <esp@snet.net> - 2015-06-16 21:50 -0400
    Re: "Emergency service only" "Terry Coombs" <snag_one@msn.com> - 2015-06-16 21:53 -0500
    Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-16 22:54 -0400
      Re: "Emergency service only" danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> - 2015-06-17 02:59 +0000
        Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-18 03:01 -0400
          Re: "Emergency service only" Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> - 2015-06-18 07:40 -0400
          Re: "Emergency service only" "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid> - 2015-06-18 10:35 -0400
            Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-18 21:23 -0400
        Re: "Emergency service only" sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2015-06-18 07:08 -0700
          Re: "Emergency service only" danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> - 2015-06-18 15:29 +0000
            Re: "Emergency service only" Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid> - 2015-06-18 14:16 -0500
          Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-18 18:34 -0400
  Re: "Emergency service only" Tekkie® <Tekkie@comcast.net> - 2015-06-17 16:18 -0400
  Re: "Emergency service only" sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2015-06-18 06:58 -0700
    Re: "Emergency service only" micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> - 2015-06-18 18:28 -0400

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