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  • flightsimmer

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    We have been having a problem with my wifes phone, it has been going on for a long time now. It involves (Call forwarding). Every morning when we get up we have to dial *73 to shut it off or we cannot make or receive calls. It appears to be a problem at Straight Talk because we never use call forwarding, yet erery day it is the same routine, dial*73 to shut it off.

    Straight Talk says that everything on their end checks out OK but they will investigate further and get back to me (maybe ).
    On my end, we have done a factory reset on several occasions but the problem pursist.

    Has anyone else had this experience?
     

    T.Lex

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    Do you know what number it forwards to?

    And you've looked at the Call Settings to make sure the automatic forwarding is disabled, right?

    Also, do you use Google Voice for voicemail? I think when I used that back in the day, it tried to provide a different number for me to use.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    Wife runs straight talk on an iphone. works beautifully.

    got another phone you can swap sim cards with?
     

    flightsimmer

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    "And you've looked at the Call Settings to make sure the automatic forwarding is disabled, right?"

    It doesn't forward to any number, it just ties up the calls going in or out.

    I've not seen any such setting.
     

    T.Lex

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    "And you've looked at the Call Settings to make sure the automatic forwarding is disabled, right?"

    It doesn't forward to any number, it just ties up the calls going in or out.

    I've not seen any such setting.

    Interesting.

    Well, you might also check the Do Not Disturb Mode is on, if you aren't receiving calls (but I don't know why *73 would turn that off).

    In terms of the setting, if you open up settings, there should be a search bar at the top. (I'm running new Android OS, so I'm not sure if this will be exactly the same.) You should be able to start typing "forward" and have any applicable settings pop up. See if any are enabled.

    If you pull up the phone app, there should be 3 "dots" along the top that will pull up a menu that you can select "Settings" and go right to the phone settings. You might look around there, and especially if there's an "Advanced Settings" or "More Settings" choice.

    You have me curious - how did you discover that the *73 fixes the problem? :)
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Interesting.

    Well, you might also check the Do Not Disturb Mode is on, if you aren't receiving calls (but I don't know why *73 would turn that off).

    In terms of the setting, if you open up settings, there should be a search bar at the top. (I'm running new Android OS, so I'm not sure if this will be exactly the same.) You should be able to start typing "forward" and have any applicable settings pop up. See if any are enabled.

    If you pull up the phone app, there should be 3 "dots" along the top that will pull up a menu that you can select "Settings" and go right to the phone settings. You might look around there, and especially if there's an "Advanced Settings" or "More Settings" choice.

    You have me curious - how did you discover that the *73 fixes the problem? :)

    I have an Android (6.0.1) and it doesn't have the search bar or any Call Forwarding setting. Under "More Settings" it only has TTY Mode and Hearing Aids. I also use Straight Talk, but I've not had any issues like the OP.
     

    T.Lex

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    Hmm... interesting.

    Heya flightsimmer - do you guys turn the phone off at night, then turn it back on and need to *73?

    This was for T-Mobile S6, but I would think it would be similar:
    [h=3]Cancel call forwarding[/h] [h=4]Android 6.0 Marshmallow[/h]
    1. From any Home screen, tap Phone.
    2. Tap the MORE icon.
    3. Tap Settings.
    4. Tap More settings.
    5. Tap Call forwarding.
    6. Tap Always forward.
    7. Tap Turn off.

    I think the "More Icon" is the 3-dot thing.

    This may sound like a strange question, too, but what dialer are you using? It might be worth skimming through the apps on the phone to see if there's a "Dialer" or "Phone" app different from what you're using and see if the settings are available through that.

    And if the carrier tipped you off to *73, I suspect they know what the real fix is. Or, have had enough people with the problem to know the workaround, and there isn't a real fix.
     

    rosejm

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    And if the carrier tipped you off to *73, I suspect they know what the real fix is. Or, have had enough people with the problem to know the workaround, and there isn't a real fix.
    This is the truth.

    Those aren't just numbers on the phone, as I'm sure you have to press send/call to make that occur. So the odds of this being a setting/software on the phone are low.
    Because you "dial" this number, the change happens on the carrier side to allow the calls through.




    Question: Is this a pre-paid/pay-as-you-go thing? The carrier could require you to "register" your phone on a network to "activate" that day's service or "sign-in" to a OTA network they don't normally do business with.

    Long, long ago in the days of wireless briefcase phones where all the networks were isolated, you would have to make any call out, before you could then "be found" on a network and receive incoming calls.
     

    flightsimmer

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    Hmm... interesting.

    Heya flightsimmer - do you guys turn the phone off at night, then turn it back on and need to *73?

    This was for T-Mobile S6, but I would think it would be similar:


    I think the "More Icon" is the 3-dot thing.

    This may sound like a strange question, too, but what dialer are you using? It might be worth skimming through the apps on the phone to see if there's a "Dialer" or "Phone" app different from what you're using and see if the settings are available through that.

    And if the carrier tipped you off to *73, I suspect they know what the real fix is. Or, have had enough people with the problem to know the workaround, and there isn't a real fix.

    We'll my wife often runs it dead and then plugs it in without turning it back on.
    Frankly she should never be allowed anywhere around electronics. But in all honesty she's had trouble with it probably from day one. I just don't remember all the details.
     

    T.Lex

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    Is there an icon or something that tells you when to hit *73? Like a phone and an arrow?

    Or is it something you have to do to make/receive calls?

    If your phone dialer looks like this, then can you do the checklist #3 if you hit the button with the 3 dots in the top right?

    c618c5ba-5d48-4ded-98bd-318a741739ff.jpg
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    When I hit the 3 dots, then Settings, then #4, numbers 5, 6 and 7 aren't there. I think it's the same for flightsimmer. Doing #4 gives me TTY and Hearing Aid and that's it.

    Cancel call forwarding

    Android 6.0 Marshmallow


    1. From any Home screen, tap Phone.
    2. Tap the MORE icon.
    3. Tap Settings.
    4. Tap More settings.
    5. Tap Call forwarding.
    6. Tap Always forward.
    7. Tap Turn off.
     

    Cameramonkey

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    More troubleshooting:
    let it die tonight. put it on the charger and turn it on in 15 minutes. if it forwards unforward and let it die again. Barely charge it, let it die again sometime during the day tomorrow. Does it forward if it dies, say, at 11am and then power it back up after charging at 12?
    What happens if you turn it off and back on again before overnight? Does it do go into forwarding mode just by powering it off?
    What happens if you leave it powered up on the charger overnight? does it forward overnight anyway without going dead?

    If all else fails I have a spare iphone or android galaxy S5 you can borrow to test against your sim. Move the sim to the test phone and see if the behavior repeats on a different handset.
     

    flightsimmer

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    More troubleshooting:
    let it die tonight. put it on the charger and turn it on in 15 minutes. if it forwards unforward and let it die again. Barely charge it, let it die again sometime during the day tomorrow. Does it forward if it dies, say, at 11am and then power it back up after charging at 12?
    What happens if you turn it off and back on again before overnight? Does it do go into forwarding mode just by powering it off?
    What happens if you leave it powered up on the charger overnight? does it forward overnight anyway without going dead?

    If all else fails I have a spare iphone or android galaxy S5 you can borrow to test against your sim. Move the sim to the test phone and see if the behavior repeats on a different handset.

    My phone is a s5 and hers is a s6, can I swap the sim cards?
     

    Cameramonkey

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    My phone is a s5 and hers is a s6, can I swap the sim cards?


    As long as they are the same size and both Straight Talk, I dont see why not. I just upgraded my wife's phone and all I had to do was insert her sim in her new phone. (and add the ST services APN config) They both used the same size so it was a simple swap. the card is what actually ties the handheld to the phone number.
     
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