Database Info

[Q] MMS in Apps other than Hangouts

Hello all,
For starters, some preliminaries:
ROM: ViperRom 3.2.1
Firmware: Latest (4.4.4)
Kernel, radios: Stock
Has anyone been having trouble with group MMS beyond the Hangouts app? The Hangouts app works like silk when it comes to group MMS - I can send/receive to all my friends (regardless of whether they have a smartphone or cell phone), it can play GIFs within the thread and it doesn't deliver messages at the wrong time (a 5:09pm message gets delivered before a 5:06 pm message). The problem with Hangouts is that it is slow and has odd kinks that drive me insane (when you send a message it doesn't show it unless you exit and reenter the message thread, three second delay to display contact when searching for number). The glaring issue is that it is an app that I simply do not use for it's native purpose - which is to create Hangouts and not use SMS. Nobody I know uses Hangouts, so I only use it for SMS.
I have tried literally every SMS app there is - Handcent, GOSMS, 8SMS, Hello, Textra, ChompSMS, Evolve SMS, Messaging (stock KitKat modified), HTC Messaging.
These apps all have a consistent problem - I cannot communicate with my cell phone friends in group chats. They receive blank messages and cannot read my replies. I've tried modifiying my APN but I am unable to create a new profile in Settings>Networks>APN. This is honestly strange to me because Hangouts works so flawlessly compared to all these other apps. Any suggestions?

genheals said:
Hello all,
For starters, some preliminaries:
ROM: ViperRom 3.2.1
Firmware: Latest (4.4.4)
Kernel, radios: Stock
Has anyone been having trouble with group MMS beyond the Hangouts app? The Hangouts app works like silk when it comes to group MMS - I can send/receive to all my friends (regardless of whether they have a smartphone or cell phone), it can play GIFs within the thread and it doesn't deliver messages at the wrong time (a 5:09pm message gets delivered before a 5:06 pm message). The problem with Hangouts is that it is slow and has odd kinks that drive me insane (when you send a message it doesn't show it unless you exit and reenter the message thread, three second delay to display contact when searching for number). The glaring issue is that it is an app that I simply do not use for it's native purpose - which is to create Hangouts and not use SMS. Nobody I know uses Hangouts, so I only use it for SMS.
I have tried literally every SMS app there is - Handcent, GOSMS, 8SMS, Hello, Textra, ChompSMS, Evolve SMS, Messaging (stock KitKat modified), HTC Messaging.
These apps all have a consistent problem - I cannot communicate with my cell phone friends in group chats. They receive blank messages and cannot read my replies. I've tried modifiying my APN but I am unable to create a new profile in Settings>Networks>APN. This is honestly strange to me because Hangouts works so flawlessly compared to all these other apps. Any suggestions?
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Have you tried Verizon Message+ ? That is what I am using and works well for me. I'm usually not a fan of Verizon Software, but the messaging app has a lot of options and doesn't seam to lag.

jsaxon2 said:
Have you tried Verizon Message+ ? That is what I am using and works well for me. I'm usually not a fan of Verizon Software, but the messaging app has a lot of options and doesn't seam to lag.
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I tried that app. Super clunky, definitely looking for a better alternative.

Interesting.
I have been running Viper also ( until yesterday actually).
I have been using Handcent and group messaging seems to work fine. At least no one has told me otherwise.
I do notice, with Handcent that from time to time SMS/mms messages seem to get hung up for quite a few minutes( see the spinning wheel next to message). I always though that was a network issue. You have me thinking otherwise now..
I have never tried hangouts for SMS. I might give it a whirl.

genheals said:
I tried that app. Super clunky, definitely looking for a better alternative.
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Click to collapse
Super clunky, okay. That's one way to describe it. lol. But did it work for group messaging? Have you tried a different rom? Viper is an international rom that has changes made for Verizon to work. Maybe there is a setting or library missing from Viper. Have you asked in that thread to see if anyone else has the same issues on Verizon?

jsaxon2 said:
Super clunky, okay. That's one way to describe it. lol. But did it work for group messaging? Have you tried a different rom? Viper is an international rom that has changes made for Verizon to work. Maybe there is a setting or library missing from Viper. Have you asked in that thread to see if anyone else has the same issues on Verizon?
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Click to collapse
I used CleanRom before this...really have no interest in switching ROMs but I see what you mean about it being international. I always had used Hangouts without compliant but it took a serious speed hit when it got updated/I updated to Viper

Tried many of them and constantly been sticking with Textra.

MoNsTeReNeRgY22 said:
Tried many of them and constantly been sticking with Textra.
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I recently discovered this app. Love it, its like what the new google messaging app should have been.

MoNsTeReNeRgY22 said:
Tried many of them and constantly been sticking with Textra.
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+1 on Textra. I had group messaging problems too until this app. There is an option under settings to use MMS for group messaging. I think it's off by default. Try switching it on and see how it goes. It fixed my probs, particularly when texting to/from iDevices.
Sent from my Gunmetal Grey M8

Does textra have gif support in the message threads?

madzozs said:
Does textra have gif support in the message threads?
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Looks like it does. Successfully sent and received one.
Sent from my Gunmetal Grey M8

Textra does not work on Viper, tried that one as well

genheals said:
Textra does not work on Viper, tried that one as well
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UPDATE: Some of the issues I have were actually due to me disabling animations in Developer Settings. Once I re-enabled animations, the issues with Hangouts "hanging" at the second to last message, rather then displaying my newly sent message, went away. The app also seems much smoother on the whole. I guess that disabling animations is a bigger detriment than benefit when it comes to Hangouts.
I still have the same group MMS issues in apps other than Hangout (people with basic feature phones only receive blank lines, rather than text). Hangouts remains the only texting app that works flawlessly with group MMS. It's a shame, because Textra is such a beautiful app.

MMS issues

Heads up, I love iOS and Android, I think both OS provide excellent features to suite their respective users. With that said, he's my deal breaker as to why I may be returning my S6 within my 14 day return policy to go back to my iPhone 6 Plus.
1. MMS: Now with iOS you get Apple's proprietary iMessage which does not limit the quality of the picture you are sending out, it does however, limit the length of the video though but not the quality. The problem with Android is that it does limit the quality based on your carriers send size limit which in this case for me is 1mb per AT&T. I just couldn't believe it, it wasn't something I was aware of due to the fact that I've been with iOS for a few years now but when I attempted to send numerous pictures I had just taken with my brand spanking new S6 via Textra (Msg App), it kept throwing errors indicating it was out of memory or the file was too large! I was really disappointed to say the least, I mean damn I could send numerous .GIF images just fine via iMessage and can't even do that with the stock SMS app or with Textra - what gives?
2. Group Messaging: I text a lot, I also have quite a few group messages going during any given day at a time and to me group messaging is a big reason why I loved iOS + iMessage. To this day, I just can't comprehend how Google hasn't been able to come up with a solution to oppose iMessage.... It really baffles me... Everyone has their preferences when it comes to phones and OS, not everyone will be on an Android device nor will everyone be on an iPhone. I didn't think this would bother me as much but it is, now if this isn't a big deal to you then that's fine, again this is my preference and my personal opinion but how in the world are we in year 2015 and Android still can't get group messaging right is beyond me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, again I'm not bashing the S6 or Android, I was just unaware that these were still issues after all these years.
Thanks!

When you open your messaging app go into the settings and try to see if you have to enable group messaging.

Anyone else have this issue? Ive tried everything and I just cant recieve group texts, everyone gets mine but I cant get theirs. This happens on all messaging apps.

This issue only cropped up a week ago for me

Any solutions yet?!
I've recently gone to the S6 from iPhone. I've de-registered my number from the imessage app on apple's website, turned off imessage and facetime on my old iPhone, downloaded textra and numerous other messaging apps, and I still cant send or receive group messages to/from other iphones! When I send a group message, the text goes to the receivers individually. When they text me into a group message I don't receive anything.
Please any help or suggestions?!

thannan said:
Any solutions yet?!
I've recently gone to the S6 from iPhone. I've de-registered my number from the imessage app on apple's website, turned off imessage and facetime on my old iPhone, downloaded textra and numerous other messaging apps, and I still cant send or receive group messages to/from other iphones! When I send a group message, the text goes to the receivers individually. When they text me into a group message I don't receive anything.
Please any help or suggestions?!
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I had some issues with MMS messages (including group messages) and a Sprint rep had me go into Settings->System Update->Update Profile and it fixed it. Give that a try.
As for your group messages going out as individual messages, this is typically an app settings. Group messages are MMS and send over mobile data, not over cellular like SMS (I might be using the wrong terms there). Most apps don't presume to use up your precious data and will instead send a group message as multiple SMS messages (using up your SMS quota rather than your data quota).
I just checked both Google Hangouts and Chomp SMS that I have on my phone, and both have a checkbox in their settings for something like "Use MMS for Group Messages."

flu13 said:
I had some issues with MMS messages (including group messages) and a Sprint rep had me go into Settings->System Update->Update Profile and it fixed it. Give that a try.
As for your group messages going out as individual messages, this is typically an app settings. Group messages are MMS and send over mobile data, not over cellular like SMS (I might be using the wrong terms there). Most apps don't presume to use up your precious data and will instead send a group message as multiple SMS messages (using up your SMS quota rather than your data quota).
I just checked both Google Hangouts and Chomp SMS that I have on my phone, and both have a checkbox in their settings for something like "Use MMS for Group Messages."
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I don't appear to have the "update profile" setting anywhere on my S6?
But I do have the MMS for group chat activated on my app.. :/
Any other suggestions?
Or can android simply not group chat with iphones?
Thanks for replying though!

thannan said:
I don't appear to have the "update profile" setting anywhere on my S6?
But I do have the MMS for group chat activated on my app.. :/
Any other suggestions?
Or can android simply not group chat with iphones?
Thanks for replying though!
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I believe the problem is that iChat is a proprietary (closed) group messaging system.

Stock SMS app vs. 3rd party ones on Nougat, pros and cons?

I did the Nougat update, and was wondering the pros or cons of using a third party SMS app. I've used Handcent for very long, and more recently Textra, but I see the stock app is rather good and has many options.
Just looking for feedback, thanks in advance.

I use google messenger. Fast, simple. Can change chat colors.

I'm a big fan of Google Messenger and Yaata. I've always disliked Textra, and I can't stand that the stock client doesn't open links in a browser, but in a preview window.

entropism said:
I'm a big fan of Google Messenger and Yaata. I've always disliked Textra, and I can't stand that the stock client doesn't open links in a browser, but in a preview window.
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Reading about both, and Google Messenger seems like a good option.

I use Android Messages. Google just changed the name of their messenger app. But I love it because it's fast easy to use and handles everything I need.

Anth0ny229 said:
I use Android Messages. Google just changed the name of their messenger app. But I love it because it's fast easy to use and handles everything I need.
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Just out of curiosity, does any 3rd party messaging app support texting over WiFi? I know the stock Samsung one does, but would something like Android Messenger or Textra work using T-Mobile? I never knew if this was an app-specific feature or if it was related to the network.

mpeclipse03 said:
Just out of curiosity, does any 3rd party messaging app support texting over WiFi? I know the stock Samsung one does, but would something like Android Messenger or Textra work using T-Mobile? I never knew if this was an app-specific feature or if it was related to the network.
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Some do, but as far as I know it's carrier dependent.
As to my original post, I still haven't decided on an app. Textra was real good on my old phone, so it's either it or Google Messages.

No one mentioned it but I've used Chomp for years. Texting over wifi works 90% of the time. Not sure why it doesn't work all the time but my wife uses the stock app while I use Chomp. Neither of us have any complaints.

RCS in Android Messages

So I was thinking about using Android messages as my text app and have read it is supposed to have RCS function just like the default app on our Note 8 does. But Everytime I send a text as a test to my fiance there's never a delivered, read or any other RCS notable features. So I'm wondering is this app issues or carrier?

With Textra, this is available. I turned it on and it works. They are fixing the issue with Live messaging right now. I am with AT&T.

Where at in Textra do we turn on RCS? Didn't know that was available yet

I used textra at a time but I really want to use android messages since it seems to be the only app that lets me use Google keyboard to it's fullest. As far as bitmoji and gifs go lol

powerstroke said:
Where at in Textra do we turn on RCS? Didn't know that was available yet
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Same. I remember them talking about it an eternity (more than 6 months) ago, but never saw a mention of it going live; and I'm one to usually read their changelogs. Only reason I havn't set Textra as my default messaging app like I want to.

Poetique said:
Same. I remember them talking about it an eternity (more than 6 months) ago, but never saw a mention of it going live; and I'm one to usually read their changelogs. Only reason I havn't set Textra as my default messaging app like I want to.
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Yeah I messaged support and they said it's on the table but hasn't been officially added yet

According to Textra's Twitter, Google haven't released the API so it's not going to happen until they do

KingVekxin said:
So I was thinking about using Android messages as my text app and have read it is supposed to have RCS function just like the default app on our Note 8 does. But Everytime I send a text as a test to my fiance there's never a delivered, read or any other RCS notable features. So I'm wondering is this app issues or carrier?
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Click to collapse
Anyone have an answer to the OP's question? I was wondering the same thing.

brandon_powell said:
Anyone have an answer to the OP's question? I was wondering the same thing.
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AT&T only supports an older version of RCS (not Universal Profile) at the moment. AT&T has it integrated into the bundled samsung messages app so it works there, but Android Messages only supports the current version of RCS (Universal Profile). Hopefully AT&T will upgrade their RCS system soon...

KingVekxin said:
I used textra at a time but I really want to use android messages since it seems to be the only app that lets me use Google keyboard to it's fullest. As far as bitmoji and gifs go lol
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FWIW - It does work to its fullest in Textra. I've been using both for months, and I can insert emoji, GIFs, everything.

But the stock Samsung Messages app does not allow you to message users on iPhone without compressing the hell out of everything. So I don't think RCS is fully up yet on AT&T's side. From everything I've read, universal RCS allows for message sizes similar to iMessage. That's the only thing I miss from iPhone and is why I use Facebook Messenger or Allo for texting now. I'm sick of not being able to send gifs, videos or pictures of decent quality. No apps including Textra work for me without the crazy compression or other limitations.

Pixel 3a on Verizon - the Google Messages app doesn't handle verizon group texts very

I was invited into a group chat with 3 other Verizon users, we all have Android phones - but they all use the official (God awful) Verizon Message+ app and I'm using Pixel's default (Google) texting app, which I really like so far. Problem is... When I first was invited into the group text, it worked - kind of. I got text messages and stuff, but instead of replacing the phone numbers that prefixed the messages, it'd just show the phone numbers.
So I asked them what they used, and downloaded the Verizon texting app and switched to that - I could see avatars, the background picture, it read my contact info for each user correctly, etc.. But the app is terrible, I mean a truly god awful piece of garbage - you can't even save images to your phone, just to "Verizon".
Anyways, rant aside - I switched back to Google's texting app and now I'm not getting any messages in the group text - and I asked in person, they're still sending messages, they're just not coming through for me.
So my main question is: How do I fix not receiving group texts anymore? I tried deleting cache + data for the google texting app like I saw being recommended, but that didn't fix it. I really don't want to switch back to the Verizon message+ app if I can help it because it really is terrible.
Any help would be appreciated. I'd even accept another texting app suggestion if it has feature parity with the google app, I just want to do everything I can to avoid Verizon's app.

Jogee said:
I was invited into a group chat with 3 other Verizon users, we all have Android phones - but they all use the official (God awful) Verizon Message+ app and I'm using Pixel's default (Google) texting app, which I really like so far. Problem is... When I first was invited into the group text, it worked - kind of. I got text messages and stuff, but instead of replacing the phone numbers that prefixed the messages, it'd just show the phone numbers.
So I asked them what they used, and downloaded the Verizon texting app and switched to that - I could see avatars, the background picture, it read my contact info for each user correctly, etc.. But the app is terrible, I mean a truly god awful piece of garbage - you can't even save images to your phone, just to "Verizon".
Anyways, rant aside - I switched back to Google's texting app and now I'm not getting any messages in the group text - and I asked in person, they're still sending messages, they're just not coming through for me.
So my main question is: How do I fix not receiving group texts anymore? I tried deleting cache + data for the google texting app like I saw being recommended, but that didn't fix it. I really don't want to switch back to the Verizon message+ app if I can help it because it really is terrible.
Any help would be appreciated. I'd even accept another texting app suggestion if it has feature parity with the google app, I just want to do everything I can to avoid Verizon's app.
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Does your device have a "dual messenger" option anywhere in your system settings?
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

No promises, but you might try Textra. I think the problem come from Verizon's app can send over Wi-Fi (desktop apps) and is not really sms compliant.

Thank you both, but sadly no option for dual messaging and I've used Textra and wasn't a huge fan. As awful as the Verizon app is, I may just have to keep using it ?