Why are operators always blamed when there are problems with WeChat?

Early in the morning of November 11, my circle of friends was flooded with a message. This message had nothing to do with shopping, and the content was only 11 words:

Make a phone call using WeChat phone book, it’s free!

In other words, using this software to make calls is free. Clicking on the link, I found that WeChat has launched a new version of its mobile app. As long as you use this app, if both parties are online, you can talk directly over the Internet.

Real-time calls with WeChat friends is a feature that has already been implemented (WeChat video calls are the same as phone calls if the video is turned off). The purpose of the WeChat Phonebook 3.0 launched this time is just to integrate the commonly used address book and dialing functions in mobile phones. Free communication is just new wine in old bottles and there is not much new. However, many people did not understand the facts and thought that WeChat had once again taken action against operators just by the word "free". What's more, some people even wrote articles such as WeChat Phonebook once again challenged operators. For a time, the circle of friends exploded, and many people downloaded it as soon as possible. Some people pointed the finger at the operators because they had not received text messages from Tencent for the time being, accusing the operators of blocking WeChat's verification text messages.

One is free, the other is paid. WeChat and operators have always maintained an irreconcilable relationship. Whenever WeChat has any problems, the operator is often blamed (although several WeChat failures have nothing to do with the operator). WeChat obviously enjoys such support. This time, it used the name of the operator to achieve a large number of installations without spending a penny. However, just as not all products are half-price in the true sense during Double 11, WeChat Phonebook's challenge to operators with "free" is a complete misunderstanding. So what misunderstandings have occurred in the middle?

Operators block WeChat phone book? You're overthinking it!

Since WeChat Phonebook requires a verification SMS when registering, many people who did not receive the verification SMS had no choice but to give up registration. Under the friendly reminder of WeChat Phonebook "Please check whether the registration SMS failed to be sent due to arrears of mobile phone fees, etc.", many friends who did not owe money pointed the finger at the operator, accusing the operator of using technical means to intercept the SMS, and voices denouncing the operator on Weibo were heard one after another.

Unfortunately, this matter has nothing to do with the operators. At the beginning of this year, due to the problem of too many spam text messages exposed by CCTV, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology required the three operators to reallocate and manage third-party short message number resources, and limit the number of short messages sent by numbers that have not applied for large-scale short messages. Generally speaking, the number of short messages that a third-party number can send per hour is limited. If the number exceeds the prescribed number, it may be judged as suspected of sending spam text messages and then restricted. Since the number that sent the verification text message in the WeChat phone book sent a large number of short messages without applying in advance, the system suspected that it sent spam text messages and therefore restricted it. Such restrictions have also caused a large number of users to fail to obtain verification information. It can be said that the inability to receive the verification text message is entirely due to the fact that WeChat did not apply in advance, and it has nothing to do with the operator. It is nonsense to accuse the operator of "blocking".

Is it free to make calls using WeChat phone book? There are no prerequisites!

There are a lot of headline-grabbing news these days, and the promotional headlines for WeChat Phone Book are no exception. If ordinary people mistakenly think that using WeChat Phone Book to make calls is free after seeing the promotional introduction, they are completely wrong. To use WeChat Phone Book to make free calls, there must be two prerequisites. First, the other party must have the WeChat Phone Book software installed, and second, both parties must be online (regardless of mobile network or WIFI). Both are indispensable, and there is no essential difference from the free call function supported by mobile QQ and Yixin.

What if these two conditions cannot be met at the same time? At this time, using WeChat Phone Book will directly switch to the original dialing interface of the mobile phone. You have to pay as much as you want. It is impossible to be free.

If these two conditions are met, is it really free? If you are not using WIFI, then you have to worry! If you don't use WIFI or a data package with enough traffic, it is not cost-effective to use data traffic to make calls.

Undoubtedly, WIFI is not available everywhere. In places without WIFI coverage, the "free call" function of WeChat Phone Book cannot be realized. In its promotional advertisements, WeChat Phone Book did not emphasize the prerequisites for "free" calls, nor did it explain the possible charges for making calls without meeting the prerequisites. It can be said that it is somewhat misleading.

WeChat Phonebook challenges operators? Find out the product positioning first!

Since there are many prerequisites for "free phone calls", what is the product positioning of WeChat Phone Book? The answer is simple: it replaces the existing "phone" and "contact book" functions in users' mobile phones.

So what are the benefits of doing this? Occupying the "Phone" and "Contacts" windows is only the first step. Next, WeChat Phone can legitimately block and restrict the promotion and use of other apps as the mobile phone's desktop, while firmly binding users to WeChat. By seizing several of the most important entrances to mobile phones (calls and Internet access), WeChat has a very strong voice in the mobile Internet era, and the benefits that follow are naturally very considerable.

It seems that after WeChat almost killed SMS and mobile QQ, the next goal of WeChat Phonebook is to occupy the desktop of smart phones and block the throat of major apps. As for the operators? Their fate is no longer in their own hands, and the revolution is only a matter of time.

To quote a famous quote from "The Three-Body Problem": I will destroy you, and it has nothing to do with you!

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.