BT landline receives texts as voice

[Piers66]

My BT landline phone always used to receive texts fine (like, for a decade!), but some time in the last year or so it's stopped working. Now, whenever someone texts me the phone rings and I get the automated voice text service reading the texts to me.

Caller ID seems to be working fine.

How do I get it back to texts coming in as texts?

Thanks.

[NeilO]

Hi @Piers66 welcome to the community and thanks for posting, please can you send a text with #2# to 00000

This makes sure that the text service is set up to receive the message as text instead of voice.

Thanks

Neil

[Piers66]

OK, I sent #2# to 00000 as suggested.

I then got a voice call saying that my settings had been changed (couldn't write it down fast enough), so I then sent my self a test text, from my landline to itself. It came in as voice again!

[JohnC2]

Hi @Piers66, thanks for trying that and posting back.

Would you try sending *1# and to 00000 and see if that fixes the issue.  

Set up and use BT Text | BT Help

Post back and let me know how you get on.

Cheers

John

[Piers66]

I tried *1#, and as with #2# I got a voice message saying that my delivery options had changed.

I then sent a text from my mobile, and similarly it arrived as a voice message...

Would you expect a delay for the settings to take effect?

[JohnC2 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Piers66, thanks for trying that as well and I wouldn't expect a delay in the changes taking effect.

I've sent you a Private Message so you can get in touch with us and we'll be happy to help you get this fixed.

Cheers

John

[ann-ywaun]

I have tried both the options given in this thread to get texts to revert to texts being shown as such rather than being voice calls. Following sending the texts #2# or  *1# to 00000 I get a text message back with a blue tick and FD then the message. Test texts sent from my mobile are still coming through as voice calls though! 

This happened to me several years ago and I was able to remedy it then but I can't remember how I succeeded in changing back to proper texts then! !

I would be grateful for any advice, though I am beginning to think I might just use the phone's menu to switch SMS off - but would that make any difference? 

[Ali_A]

Hi @ann-ywaun 

Can you try *2# to 00000 to change to receive all your messages as Voice Texts. 
Then send #2# to undo this back to messages as written texts, and test? 

You can find the other option at Using BT Text | BT Help

Ali

[truCido]

Worth pointing out the latest guidance on the help page...

BT Text will be closing. It is not available to new customers. From June 2025, existing customers will still receive messages, but they will arrive as voice messages. From October 2025, you’ll no longer be able to send text messages through your home phone.

[ann-ywaun]

Thank you. I saw that the service is going to be discontinued when I logged in to the Help site which was referred to in the previous reply. So I don't think it is worth trying to change it now. I only get texts very occasionally anyway when someone has inadvertently sent one to the landline rather than my mobile. Personally I would be happy to scrap the landline now but my husband is keen to keep it as it would involve notifying so many people of the change and he is also a very reluctant mobile user!