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Android sucks at deleting messages

I just found an app called "Delete old messages" that does exactly that. You choose a length of time (1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, etc.) for which messages older than that will be deleted. It does take a very long time, but it has a progress bar and shows you exactly how many messages it will delete and how many have been deleted.

Hope this helps!
 
Downloading it now. Thanks Raider!

And to everyone else hating on the OP: He does have a very valid point. Android is the first OS I have used where you can not set parameters to delete older messages within the native app. And don't tell me I don't know Smart Phones. I will list my numerous devices if you want me too but I feel it's a waste of time. Let's just say I have owned every new high-dollar phone Verizon has put out with the exception of the XV 6900.

Got "Delete Old Messages" installed and running. Deleted three messages out of 6150 in about 30 seconds. Gonna take awhile but it is working...
 
An app called something like SMS Backup and Restore (just search sms backup) will do this. Several commands:

Back Up Messages (backs them up on SD card)
Restore Backed Up Messages (takes them from SD card, puts them back in your messages)
Delete Backed Up Messages (duh)
Delete Messages (way faster than deleting them from 'Messages', similar to the 'delete old messages' app, and way more efficient. I just deleted 1500 the other day without a problem, just took half a minute or less?)

I back up my messages, and delete the ones on my phone weekly. SMS are saved forever. Easy. Free. Try it.
 
I finally HAD to do the hard reset. Everything was going well till I went to re-download my apps. Logged into the Market without a problem and now I can not download anything. My list re-populated but it just sits there with a download bar and no download. The Browser works and I can get online but can't download apps. Not a happy camper...
 
RC Addict said:
I finally HAD to do the hard reset. Everything was going well till I went to re-download my apps. Logged into the Market without a problem and now I can not download anything. My list re-populated but it just sits there with a download bar and no download. The Browser works and I can get online but can't download apps. Not a happy camper...
Click to expand...

it seems there is a market outtage ATM
 
I have to agree with the original poster -- it's sort of crappy and well worth a complaint.

I thought the French maid comment was funny and endearing when so much snark about house keeping entered this thread.

What I'm doing now is switching my life over to Google Voice. It seems that's a way to manage SMS messages a little better and more inexpensively.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't recommend wiping out the phone without first backing things up. Not the text messages, but everything else. There's an app for backing many application settings up that's not free, but if you're doing a one time wipe, you can back up and restore to try it out and then request a refund from the app store.

A lot of settings are magically backed up and restored by Google if you wipe a phone and keep the same Gmail account associated with it as the primary account. But not everything comes through so well, and that's why the additional backup app is great.

I also used Astro (free) to backup other apps, but I don't think it captures their settings and preferences, etc.

Back to the main issue: deleting text messages.

Handcent has an option (Menu / Delete Threads) that allows you to delete all threads. It seems to share information with the native app, so I think this might actually delete all of the text messages, period.

You might want to give that a try. If it works, I think Handcent is better anyway. If it works but you don't like Handcent, you can just use it whenever you want to put on your little French maid outfit and do some dusting.

:-)
 
use an APP called Delete Old Messages
i wouldn't switch over completely to GV as it does not support MMS.
It seems that most texting programs on the Eris really blow at deleting old threads, thats why new apps were created to combat said problem =]
 
Yes, Google Voice doesn't handle MMS, but how often does everyone send and receive MMS messages to/from people who don't have smart phones?

Doesn't the Eris also have a 5 MP camera? I had a Curve for years, but when I switched to a Nexus One, I found that 5 MP cameras can take photos of higher quality and larger size than the MMS format can accomodate without squishing them.

Most of my friends have iPhones or Droids, and the small number of feature phone people in my life don't use MMS.
 
i find it humorous that the rude comments stopped because it's pretty obvious the OP was correct in posting this thread...

The eris is already slow and it is even slower deleting text messages

and the "french maid" comment was hilarious
 
carmencrishnaya said:
the rude comments stopped because it's pretty obvious the OP was correct in posting this thread...

The eris is already slow and it is even slower deleting text messages
Click to expand...

Two remarks I find not to be true.

I don't know why "rude comments" stopped, but I do know that my Eris is quick to remove texts messages and that as a smartphone device it is fast and without lag.

I've seen threads and posts all over these forums (and other forums around the internet) complaining of slow this and slow that in the Eris (and in the Droid, and in the iPhone and in the Blackberry Curve, and in the.... you get the idea).

Some say "mine was that way from the beginning." Some say, "mine got that way after I downloaded this-or-that app." Some don't say much a tall but upon questioning responses such as "I have two thousand texts and forty videos" come around. Or "I only dropped the phone a few times." Or this just sucks and I think it's a piece of poop."

Etc.

There are many, many devices out there and of so many styles and software types that it really boggles the mind.

But they all have one thing in common: users who say they "suck."

Kudos to the marketers who have been able to reach out and find and then sell their devices to such a demographic among us.
 
DFA1 said:
I'm not getting any help... just being told I need to manage myself better, and that it's my "housekeeping" skills. Nor was I asking for help. I've already researched this problem and know there is no solution to this other than wiping the entire phone. Thus I stated it was a thread to complain.

Ask yourself this, does it make sense that wiping your entire phone and restoring it to it's previous state would be 1000x faster than clearing out your text messages? In some cases texts can't even be erased, as in my case. So a phone wipe might be coming.

In most ways this phone is a big step forward, but the way it clears/stores it's texts is a big step back, further back then where cell phones even started.
Click to expand...

You aren't the first person to complain about this on this forum and I'm sure you won't be the last. However, once you wipe your phone there is a simple solution. Simply take the 8 seconds it takes to delete messages and do so before the messages reach the thousands or even hundreds.
 
I just had 2 threads that had 200 messages a piece. They deleted just fine. took about 6 seconds. Just delete messages before they get out of control and all should be good. This is my 1st smart phone so I really dont know what I am supose to be expecting but all in all I like the Eris. Not to say that in July when I am available for upgrade that i wont be getting the nexus 1 or Iphone if it comes to verizon
 
Well from my playing with the phone I am not sure why there is a complaint about this. There is a delete all threads option.

Goto messages (All threads will be show)
Select "Menu" then "Delete".
Select "Menu" again and you will see a "Delete All" option.

It worked for me!!!!

Hope this helps.:cool:
 
SirSlayer said:
Well from my playing with the phone I am not sure why there is a complaint about this. There is a delete all threads option.

Goto messages (All threads will be show)
Select "Menu" then "Delete".
Select "Menu" again and you will see a "Delete All" option.

It worked for me!!!!

Hope this helps.:cool:
Click to expand...

This doesn't help when there are several hundred or thousand messages.

I get it guys, delete messages before they get to this point. My gripe is, I've never had a phone have a problem deleting large amounts of anything, txts, pics, contacts... it was all immediate.

@Frisco
I'll rephrase my title. "The Android operating system is mostly awesome but it sucks... errr I mean is problematic at deleting large amounts of text messages at once." Is everyone happy now or would it be better to say the Android blows at deleting messages?
 
Dude you think its bad? i have over 9000 texts in my inbox haha
I cant delete a dam thing

I used to delete about 2000+ overnight every week, and it would work. Now it just freezes and i can barely delete <100.

So im going to just let em build up till i cant take it then just reset my phone i suppose. Idk what else there is ha

Trying that app now, thank you Jrz Droid.
Btw im from central JRZ
 
xNJxPlague said:
Dude you think its bad? i have over 9000 texts in my inbox haha
I cant delete a dam thing

I used to delete about 2000+ overnight every week, and it would work. Now it just freezes and i can barely delete <100.

So im going to just let em build up till i cant take it then just reset my phone i suppose. Idk what else there is ha

Trying that app now, thank you Jrz Droid.
Btw im from central JRZ
Click to expand...

I'm from North Jrz
hope the app works for you

<<<< wtf is with the user titles
 
I would also have to agree with the OP... I have never let my messages build up to over 3000, but that shouldn't really matter. I have had issues since the last update with deleting messages. I have had to deal with multiple force quits, complete phone lock ups, etc simply by attempting to delete my messages.

I have owned plenty of smartphones, but I have never had issues deleting messages!

A definite flaw in the ERIS OS.... a smartphone should be able to handle deleting the messages properly without force quits, reboots or wiping the phone.

Just my thoughts...
 
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