NICEVILLE, Fla. —
QUESTION: This is out of your normal sphere, but you have been so helpful in the past I thought I’d give it a shot. My Samsung Galaxy S22 cell phone stopped receiving most text messages about two months ago. I use text messages solely for the purpose of two-factor authentication from financial sources. An ATT store couldn’t resolve the problem, and a text message it sent did arrive.
I asked relatives to send me a text, and they did arrive. I think the relatives used Gmail. Could Gmail have somehow captured my phone? I have found workarounds (voice via conventional phone and email), but they are inconvenient at best.
Because I use the phone only for the above and contacting my wife when separated in a shopping mall, this is an important issue.
Incidentally, my AskSam program I wrote you about a couple of years ago (Geek Note: I.G.T.M. #621, June 16, 2019) still works fine on Windows 11.
– Doug B.
Niceville, Florida
THE GEEK’S ANSWER: Well, hello again, Doug. I’ve found myself saying various versions of this a lot lately: No, this isn’t outside my normal sphere.
In fact, with the precarious position in which I find my 17-year-old column thanks to some shortsighted visions of one or more newspaper employees (nobody local), I don’t think anything even remotely related to technology is outside my sphere.
To put it bluntly, readers, I’m desperate for your questions!
I know I’ve handled this lightheartedly in the past, but honestly, I don’t know how few or how many of you are still reading this, but not too many are submitting questions. Without people asking questions, I foresee It’s Geek To Me devolving into nothing more than me rambling on about whatever topic crosses my mind (gee, kind of like this column so far) and the column’s Facebook page full of tech memes and Geeky history videos.
I never intended the column to look like that. So seriously, readers, please send me your questions—whether or not you think they’re in my lane. I’ll do my best to help, as I always have.
Okay, Doug, let’s talk a little about your problem.
I think the first thing we need to do is discuss terminology. Your phrase “text messages” could mean one of several things. I can think of at least eight types of text messages right off the top of my head, and I’m sure there are others. But when most people talk about text messages, they mean Short Message Service or SMS messages. These are the classic messages that date back to phones without alphanumeric keyboards.
They are limited to 160 characters, although modern smartphones can automatically break larger messages down and reassemble them to stay within the 160-character limit—oftentimes without you ever knowing.
The thing is, SMS messages are generally sent to a phone number rather than an email address. That said, it’s possible to send either to or from an email address, but it’s not the “normal” way to do it if there is such a thing.
When someone sends a text message to an email address, the phone carrier creates an email ID using your phone number. The recipient sees this ID when they receive the message. Of course, for this to work, the phone number must somehow be associated with the email address.
So, I’ll ask you: when you say your relative “used G-mail” to text you, do you mean they sent the message from a Gmail account or to a Gmail account? Similarly, when the AT&T representative sent you a text message, did they send it from a phone to your phone number, i.e., the “normal” way?
Your answers to these questions could shed some light on any problems you’re having.
To wrap up this topic, no, it’s not possible for Gmail to “capture” a device (whatever that would even mean). While Gmail is a powerful communication tool, it doesn’t actually take control of a device.
Oh, and I’m happy to hear your AskSam program is still chugging along. It seems my opinion, in which I deemed it “a far sight more likely to work on a modern operating system,” has held up over time. Hang on to the rest of what I said, though. If Windows ever does decide to stop running it, the other ways we discussed will still work.
To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question of your own, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)
Jeff Werner, a software engineer based in Niceville, Florida, has been writing his popular “It’s Geek to Me” tech column since 2007. He shares his expertise to help readers solve everyday tech challenges. To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question, visit ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!).
