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Help Android group MMS trouble

Have you receive group plan text messages that come through as MMS that won't download?

  • Never

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  • Always

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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M

mebrittan

Lurker
Android group MMS trouble

When I receive some group text messages even if they are not a multimedia messages displays as an MMS message with a box “New MMS message to download: size is 1KB, expires on X/XX, X:XX XX. ''Message not downloaded. Touch to retry” However it always fails.

The Web is littered with people experiencing this same problem who are using every manner of Android phone over multiple Android OS versions on every major cell phone carrier and where applicable, a mind numbing number of APN setting variations. God knows I have.

I have seen accounts of people switching from Apple to Android try to blame Apple for the issue as well as people who have never been Apple users who have this problem. I have never been an Apple user and I have the problem so I don’t buy it!

This sure looks like an OS problem and I believe Google owns it. How can we get this FIX?
 
It is an option in the senders messaging app. It annoys me too as we don't have great service here so I never receive them. I have got a few people to change it. If you get them to go into messaging app, settings and somewhere in there there will be an option to send group texts as MMS, they can just uncheck that and it will send a single text to each person in the group instead.
 
The Apple problem is something different (and very real - even Apple admit it, though it took a class action to get them to do anything about it).

Can you receive MMS generally? If not you may need to check your APN settings (many carriers have a separate APN for MMS).

As SavageRobot says, group texts being sent as MMS is down to the sender's settings. But your not receiving them is something at your end.
 
Nah. I see that all the time on several phones, not only Android. That's what happens when you don't have the MMS APN settings for your provider correctly activated.

This occurs on people switching from Apple because iMessage is a chat service, and since Apple blocks iMessage for Android, their servers send it out as an MMS. If the receiving Android does not have MMS set up properly, it gets this error/message. Weirdly though, this should be automatic. The only times I usually see this are on prepaid accounts who don't have automatic MMS subscription. Although it could be different in the US, since I live in another country.
 
chanchan05 said:
Nah. I see that all the time on several phones, not only Android. That's what happens when you don't have the MMS APN settings for your provider correctly activated.

This occurs on people switching from Apple because iMessage is a chat service, and since Apple blocks iMessage for Android, their servers send it out as an MMS. If the receiving Android does not have MMS set up properly, it gets this error/message. Weirdly though, this should be automatic. The only times I usually see this are on prepaid accounts who don't have automatic MMS subscription. Although it could be different in the US, since I live in another country.
Click to expand...
 
I have not changed my APN settings since signing up with Consumer Cellular but this MMS issue seem intermittent. MMS messages were received just fine at first and then for some reason stopped for a time and then begin working again. No changes were made to my APN setting and I always exchange messages with the same group of people. Just seems really flaky.
 
It is a factory unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 (model I337) not a Consumer Cellular phone. Also I am using the standard Google messaging app.

Any insight would be helpful even though I am not experiencing this issue at the moment.
 
Well, from my experience with unlocked phones, it can be inconsistent at times. I've had to fiddle with APN settings on some carriers so maybe just double check the APN settings for Consumer Cellular.

Also, an alternate messaging app may be another option.

Good luck and I hope it stays working.
 
mebrittan said:
It is a factory unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 (model I337) not a Consumer Cellular phone. Also I am using the standard Google messaging app.

Any insight would be helpful even though I am not experiencing this issue at the moment.
Click to expand...

So it seems to have fixed itself for the moment? If it's intermittent and periodically not working, could be a network problem with the carrier then. Might be worth checking with them. If the APN is wrong, MMS just won't work at all.
 
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