Major iPhone MMS bug?

philiporeilly · June 28, 2009 3:15PM

I recently sent a plain text message (101 characters) to my Dad and he called me back to say that he couldn't receive MMS messages as his handset is really old. This alarmed me as I couldnt understand why I would get charged for an MMS instead of plain text message.

Apparently if you send a message to more than one contact, they are automatically sent as group MMS messages and it doesnt matter even if you use just plain text and under 160 charracters. I checked my account online and yes I am being charged for 11 MMS messages that should have been plain text messages. Thank god my Dad told me and I spotted this early.

I have sent a message to O2 Ireland and logged the issue on Apples Developer bug reporter website but I am interested if this is effecting others when sending texts to more than one contact.

For those of you worried about being overcharged you can disable MMS in SETTINGS > MESSAGES > MMS MESSAGING > OFF

iPhone Os 3.0

16Gb 3G

O2 Ireland Carrier

hill60 · June 28, 2009 5:11PM

Did people listen when others were telling them that MMS was a waste of time and email is better...

...no they just continuously argued that without this fairly awful feature the iPhone wasn't complete.

I tested the quality by sending the same video clip from a 3GS to a 3G via both MMS and email, the quality of the one sent by MMS was really poor due to the compression required by the networks.

Thanks for the heads up I never used MMS anyway so will turn it off.

philiporeilly · June 28, 2009 5:16PM

Its a feature that I will never / rarely use but still nice to be able to have if needed. Although I would prefer not to have MMS on the iPhone than paying almost 3 times as much for sending a MMS text message compared to a standard message.

mac voyer · June 28, 2009 5:35PM

I suspect MMS was originally intended for sending crappy camera phone pictures, not video. I would think it better to upload your video to Youtube and send the link via MMS.

philiporeilly · June 28, 2009 5:42PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac Voyer

I suspect MMS was originally intended for sending crappy camera phone pictures, not video. I would think it better to upload your video to Youtube and send the link via MMS.

Thats a better option for sending Video but would definately recommend disabling MMS if being charged almost 3 times as much for sending plain text as MMS

hill60 · June 28, 2009 6:07PM

That defeats the whole purpose of the "MMS is essential because people can't connect their phones to the Internet or receive emails" argument.

Which seems to be the only valid reason to require MMS, apart from phone networks making extortionate amounts from small bundles of data.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac Voyer

I suspect MMS was originally intended for sending crappy camera phone pictures, not video. I would think it better to upload your video to Youtube and send the link via MMS.

fruitymac · June 29, 2009 12:48AM

seems to work ok for me..

with the exception that rather than for example the name of the sender being showed (provided they are in my contacts), its the number being shown only...

So unless you know the senders number, its a pain trying to work out who it came from.

bug +1.

philiporeilly · June 29, 2009 2:44AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fruitymac

seems to work ok for me..

with the exception that rather than for example the name of the sender being showed (provided they are in my contacts), its the number being shown only...

So unless you know the senders number, its a pain trying to work out who it came from.

bug +1.

I've had a few responses to say that it doesnt effect all users on iPhone 3.0 Os. i've disabled MMS by default to be careful but it always switches to MMS ater I select second contact.

iPhone 16Gb 3G

iPhone 3.0 Os

O2 Ireland Network (Apple authorised)

Non jailbroken phone

amorya · June 29, 2009 6:11AM

Mine only switches if I add an email address to the To field. I'm on O2 UK.

philiporeilly · June 29, 2009 7:33AM

Had a few responses from other O2 Ireland users and it doesn't effect everyone. One Apple staff member contacted me and said he had two iPhones and only one of them was causing problems with MMS. Hes investigating it and I will post a solution if I am sent one.

philiporeilly · June 29, 2009 6:24PM

Its not an ideal solution but I did a complete restore and then selected restore from backup and all is now working as it should be. Its still an issue for some but this should fix it.

big-blue-wolf · June 30, 2009 7:36AM

Solution: Send one text message at a time. Might not be as convenient but you won't get "overcharged".

MMS is essential for me. My wife and son do not have phones which can receive email. If I need to send them a picture then MMS is the only way to go. MMS was never designed to send or receive high-res pics, its just for fun. Does anyone remember fun?

fruitymac · June 30, 2009 5:19PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-blue-wolf

Solution: Send one text message at a time. Might not be as convenient but you won't get "overcharged".

MMS is essential for me. My wife and son do not have phones which can receive email. If I need to send them a picture then MMS is the only way to go. MMS was never designed to send or receive high-res pics, its just for fun. Does anyone remember fun?

Good thing here in Australia, unlimited calls/messaging...

Means I spend less time messaging, and just call instead. Either way its included.

oculus · February 15, 2011 12:33AM

Am suddenly experiencing the same issues with Optus/iPhone in Australia - being billed for MMS whenever I send SMS to single recipient, never mind to multiple. After SIM card tests with Optus i was yesterday supplied with a replacement iPhone but the same issue persists. Have now switched off MMS - an easy fix - but this certainly looks like an iPhone software problem.

iPhone 3G / OS 4.2.1

mfterka · February 15, 2011 1:54PM

I just checked my settings and I have the Group tab off but I know I've sent to multiple recipients before??

Major iPhone MMS bug?

Comments