One phone call to Verizon can get your Pixel 5a 5G receiving texts like it should

The recently released Pixel 5a has a problem that affects users who are customers of one specific wireless carrier in the U.S. According to Reddit users and those posting on the Pixel Community forum (via PiunikaWeb), some subscribers to the number one wireless carrier in the states, Verizon, are not able to receive text messages using their Pixel 5a.

For example, a Reddit subscriber with the handle "u/Zenthor2112" noted that his new Pixel 5a does everything perfect except receive text messages. Not one of the two Verizon technicians he spoke with on the phone, nor the one rep he visited at his local store had a clue as to what was wrong.

Posting on the Pixel Community forum, a Pixel 5a owner named Notmai Realnaim wrote "I upgraded from a Google Pixel 3a to a Google Pixel 5a today. After setting up my new phone, I am unable to receive text messages from any source. I can send text messages with no problems. I can send and receive calls with no problems. Only receiving text messages is not working."

Sure, this sounds familiar as does the final lines of his post which reads, "My cellular provider is Verizon. I spent a couple hours working with their customer support, where they had me change multiple setting on the phone, as well as them changing multiple backend settings. None of the changes worked, and they are out of ideas on their end."

But this is where Gold Product Expert Jason Stanton (unknown if he is related to Giancarlo Stanton) stepped up to the plate. In a response to Mr. Realnaim's post on the Pixel Community forum, Stanton said that while he works for Verizon, he could only pass along an unofficial response containing his personal theory about what is affecting the Verizon Pixel 5a's ability to receive texts."

Stanton wrote, "The 5a is the first Pixel that does not use CDMA service at all, so for Verizon the line needs to be configured as a CDMAless device. This is a fairly known issue with Verizon Tech support so you should be able to get it resolved quickly...Once the line is updated to no longer try to use the CDMA network systems everything should come through just fine."

Sure, calling Verizon and asking them to have your Pixel 5a classified as a CDMAless device is one thing you can try. Or, you might go ahead with another workaround. If you put an older Verizon SIM card into your Pixel 5a, it might not be configured for 5G use. As simple as this fix is, asking Verizon for a new 5G SIM card seems to be the best response according to both Realnaim and Stanton.

But Silver Product ExpertJim Dantin wrote on the forum, "The Google Pixel team has investigated this issue, and as noted by Jason Stanton above, the team also suggested that users experiencing this issue should reach out to Verizon to get a new SIM and ensure the CDMA-less feature is provisioned on their account." In other words, if you are a Verizon customer and your Pixel 5a is not receiving texts, call Verizon and let them know that your Pixel 5a is CDMAless and while you have them on the phone, request a new SIM card that is compatible with 5G.

While Pixel handsets have a reputation of launching with some bugs out of the box, this time it doesn't appear that the problem is related to anything that Google did wrong. In fact, it would appear that Verizon is totally at fault when it comes to this issue.