When is an SMS not an SMS?

[Dogtrousers]

A while ago I was out for a ride. As is my habit I sent my wife a couple of progress updates by SMS when I had short stops. When I got to my destination I looked at my messages and both had failed to send.

More investigation found it had failed to send because I didn't have a data signal when I sent them. WTF? It's an effing SMS! It only needs GSM. That's the whole bleeding point of sending an SMS.

It turns out that what I thought was the SMS app on my Motorola Android phone has some super useful extra features, which require a data connection. They add absolutely nothing whatsoever as far as I can see but route the message over the internet not the phone network. And their only noticeable effect is to mean that if you don't have a data connection at the time of sending the message doesn't get sent.

Here, look, here's a very simple and resilient service. Let's fart around with it, add nothing and break it. Great idea.

I found it in the settings and switched it off.

 

[Gunk]

The reason data is used, is to stop you being charged by your provider for a picture message.

if you have an iPhone and the 4g signal is poor, if you decide send a photo via SMS instead of iMessage you get charged, and it’s expensive.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The reason data is used, is to stop you being charged by your provider for a picture message.

if you have an iPhone and the 4g signal is poor, if you decide send a photo via SMS instead of iMessage you get charged, and it’s expensive.

SMS is text only. You need to send MMS for pictures. My view is that MMS is generally crap and if I want to send a picture I'll send an email or a whatsapp or something else requiring a data connection.

I was only sending text. SMS is the perfect medium for that. And they are free in my contract (up to a limit I think) So they decided to break it. Well done, chaps.

 

[Dogtrousers]

That could be useful. Whereabouts in settings, please? I never send pictures and am like you - MS don't go when I'm out in the wilds.

It's a Motorola Moto G(9) plus running Android 11. Knowing how they like to fiddle with things these instructions may or may not work on your phone.

Go to the Messages app. On the first screen there are three dots top right. Click and get a menu. Choose "Settings". From the settings screen choose "Chat Features". Switch off "Enable chat features"

This says "Use Wi-Fi or data for messaging when available". What it fails to add is "When not available, just don't bother to send any messages".

 

[Alex321]

It's a Motorola Moto G(9) plus running Android 11. Knowing how they like to fiddle with things these instructions may or may not work on your phone.

Go to the Messages app. On the first screen there are three dots top right. Click and get a menu. Choose "Settings". From the settings screen choose "Chat Features". Switch off "Enable chat features"

This says "Use Wi-Fi or data for messaging when available". What it fails to add is "When not available, just don't bother to send any messages".

My Samsung S10 has very similar setting, so looks like Motorola haven't messed too much with that. There is also a setting further down the list for "Default Message Type", which you probably want to set to "Text or multimedia" rather than "Chat".

 

[Alex321]

Thanks.
I'm on Samsung so the screens are different.
I went into message Settings and saw Conversation Categories rather than Chat features. I switched it off. Don't know if that will have the same effect.
maybe someone more techy than me will Know.

Chat Settings is above conversation categories on my S10. You have to tap on that to see the "chat Features".

 

[Dogtrousers]

My Samsung S10 has very similar setting, so looks like Motorola haven't messed too much with that. There is also a setting further down the list for "Default Message Type", which you probably want to set to "Text or multimedia" rather than "Chat".

I don't have "default message type" in my settings. Or else it might be right there under my nose and I'm too stupid to see it.

Funnily enough I thought to myself "I bet there's a default message type" when I first started looking.

 

[presta]

Thanks.
I'm on Samsung so the screens are different.
I went into message Settings and saw Conversation Categories rather than Chat Features. I switched it off. Don't know if that will have the same effect.
Maybe someone more techy than me will Know.

I'm always wary about changing settings if I don't know what they are, because I can guarantee that by the time I notice that something's stopped working a week or two later, I'll have completely forgotten that I changed anything at all, let alone what it was or how to undo it.

 

[FishFright]

Thanks.
I'm on Samsung so the screens are different.
I went into message Settings and saw Conversation Categories rather than Chat Features. I switched it off. Don't know if that will have the same effect.
Maybe someone more techy than me will Know.

Turn off your mobile data and wifi then give it a shot.
Leave it off until its both sent and received as it could be buffered until a data connection is reenabled

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks... I hadn't noticed the chat setting; I have turned it off now.

 

[Bollo]

I've run into similar problems with iMessage in the Jobosphere. Once your iPhone has decided that it can only use vanilla SMS with a recipient it can take a huge amount of persuasion to change its mind, even if both sender and receiver then re-enable/re-establish a data connection.

 

[Blue Hills]

For simple bog standard texts the odd emergency call when out cycling I'd be inclined to get an old 2g phone and a PAYG with someone like Asda.

 

[Gunk]

You still can’t beat an old Nokia 6310i

 

[classic33]

You still can’t beat an old Nokia 6310i

Preferred Ericsson's myself.

 

[Blue Hills]

You still can’t beat an old Nokia 6310i

Only a matter of time before it's relaunched in carbon as a fashionable back pocket cyclist's phone.
(Or you could use an old Samsung like I do - great little phone, no worries about updates/hacking)