I want my SMS "low funds" reminders!

A while ago we stopped getting those helpful reminders from China Mobile when our cellphone started approaching zero in the funds department. After a couple months of sheepish thank you's to the wife for helping us recharge, we thought it was about time to get them back.

It turns out to be a simple matter of sending an SMS of "10086" to 10086, China Mobile's customer service number and navigating the Chinese-only menus. We discovered that the essential steps are as follows:

1. Send "1113" to 10086.
2. Wait to get a message back.
3. Reply with a number to choose when you want to be notified, "1" at a balance of 30 RMB, "2" at 15 RMB and "3" at 5 RMB.

That's it. Another handy function is to send "101" to 10086 to check your remaining balance.