SMS short segments

[hstroph]

I'm using the stock SMS app on a Nexus 4 with Android 4.4, using Net10 T-Mobile MVNO.

Somewhat lengthy texts are getting chopped up into much shorter segments of about 4 lines or so, and delivered out-of-order to my recipients. Similar lengthy responses are also being diced up and shuffled, making communications difficult.

Is this a function of the SMS client, or the carrier? A correspondent states that he experiences no such problem with others, as do they.

Is there an SMS/MMS client that would allow full continuous text to be delivered in order?

 

[funkylogik]

Is there anything in the sms app settings allowing long messages?
EDIT i just checked and there doesnt seem to be. Has it always been like that?
Im guessin its a carrier thing mate

 

[hstroph]

"Messages per conversation" for both SMS and MMS, but nothing for message length.

Any T-Mobile users concur that it's a carrier limitation?

Any Nexus 4 stock SMS users NOT experience this with any carrier?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

The protocol limit for SMS is 160 characters. Normally, long messages are just converted to MMS and allowed to pass through as-is. However, on limited texting plans, MMS counts 3-to-1 compared to SMS. If either the sending or receiving party does not have unlimited texting, some carriers will, in an attempt to "help," not convert to MMS, and just chop up the message as three SMS. Of course, this is no help if the long message was 3x the protocol limit (or just under). It is helpful though if the message was say, 162 characters. I never heard of the messages arriving out of sequence though. That sounds like like a carrier problem at the receiving end.

Message packets are timestamped when sent, so even if they did arrive slightly out of sequence at the far end, the timestamp would still be there, and the earlier messages should insert themselves in the proper place. I'm on a limited texting plan and see that occasionally. However, my plan 200/mo is just a backup for HeyWire, which is my primary texting app (and it is free and unlimited).

 

[hstroph]

... Message packets are timestamped when sent, so even if they did arrive slightly out of sequence at the far end, the timestamp would still be there, and the earlier messages should insert themselves in the proper place. ...

e.g., The timestamps are to the minute with the first three of them "19:01" out-of-order, followed by the beginning of the message stamped "19:02", the longest being 153 characters.

Strange stuff. My plan's texting is stated as "unlimited", whatever that means.

[Edit] Similar results with both wifi connectivty and 2G. [/Edit]

 

[binaryhermit]

I actually thought the limit for MMS was 1000 characters, which is a bit over 6 times the limit for SMS