Why does text convert to picture message

[G-UNIT1]

I have a question i dont kno if this happens to everyone but after a certain amount of charecters on my text like 3 message legths it just turns my regular text into and sends it as a picture message!? DOes anyone kno why this occurs? i just think its aqward for it to change to a picture message for no reason

[benthomasg1]

idk but it kinda makes me mad, just my own thought is that from reading post and issues with the texting on the phone it seems there is an issue with sending multiple text in a short amount of time so maybe this was a know issue and this is there way of trying to get around it. idk but it kinda makes me mad.

[XDViPeR]

why are you sending messages that long? send one then write another one...

[benthomasg1]

why are you sending messages that long? send one then write another one...

that's dumb to have to do that.... some of the points to having a full keyboard is to be able to type fast and type a lot... I may want to get my full point across before the person texts me back. I would say more then 2 or 3 msg does not happen very much but still if i want to type that much i should be able to.

[Paging Dr B]

that's dumb to have to do that.... some of the points to having a full keyboard is to be able to type fast and type a lot... I may want to get my full point across before the person texts me back. I would say more then 2 or 3 msg does not happen very much but still if i want to type that much i should be able to.

amen. it makes no sense to me either.

[brokeoutangel]

Just a shot in the dark but as it is named SMS (Short Message Service) eluding to the size of content I would assume that when the data reaches a certain threshhold it converts using different protocals that are built to handle that level of data..ie mms that sends music pic and text...just an idea though

[G-UNIT1]

probaly it jus weird to me becuase u should be able at times wen you are mad or jus fustrated every now and then to get ya poin across in one text but i could understand the point of too much data in one message but had never happened to me on any other phone ever lol this is supposed to be the phone dat does it all lol

[brokeoutangel]

Might be a service character limit were you with tmo previously

[rmyc]

with windows mobile i send liek 5~6 all the time..

Andriod is nice, but it has way too many flaws, and soo much lag

[meetheed]

i have a few thoughts on why this may occur and personally prefer it this way.

firstly cost, clearly this isnt a problem if your on an unlimited sms package but if your not or your on a flex plan then why pay to send 5xSMS at 10p each to get your point accross when you can send the same message for 20p as an MMS? i think android is doing us a favour as once the cost of the message goes over 30p it converts it to an MMS giving you almost unlimited space to write your message for 20p.

secondly there's reliability. you write a large sms and you have to rely on 5 or so messages getting to the recipient, 1 mms can do the same job. i regularly have issues with tmobile in terms of sms not being delivered or only part of a multiple sms getting to the destination. on which network the problem lies i dont know for sure but id rather have 1 mms message be sent than rely on 5 sms to get there.

maybe the above are the reason this is done and i certainly wouldn't consider it a flaw.

[petertheface]

I looked this up before. Supposedly, there is a fixed limit for SMS which limits it to 4 messages in one max or something, but I know that on WinMo, it doesn't do this, so I've just assumed that it was a physical limit before, but now it's been unofficially removed or something... It's annoying.

[extorian]

Ok, a normal SMS message using a 7-bit character set (normal for English language) can be up to 160 characters. It depends on what language you're using - for example it can be as low as 70 characters in some alphabets.

Modern phones support concatenated (or multi-part) SMS messages, which are essentially 2 or more SMS messages stringed together into one big one. When this happens, some of your 160 characters may be needed to provide the information to the recipient phone as to indicate it's a multi-part message and what order to reassemble it. So, you may only have 156 characters for each part, for example.

When you send a multi-part SMS message, you will usually be billed for each part. So a 3 part SMS message will usually cost the same as 3 text messages, or it'll use 3 from your allowance.

Theoretically, you can have up to 255 parts to a multi-part SMS message. But, different handsets and the network can limit these to typically 3 parts to 6 parts.

Also, on a lot of tariffs, 3 SMS messages is the cut-off point where it becomes cheaper to send an MMS message, which can be much bigger. Some handsets limit the size of the text of an MMS message (e.g. 1000 characters). Some networks limit the size to something much bigger (300K, or roughly 300,000 characters). But, for example, here in the UK, a typical cost of a text message is usually 10p, where the cost of a typical MMS message is 30p. It varies between tariffs and allowances of course. But if you send 1000 characters by SMS message it would cost the price of 7 text messages (70p in the UK). If you sent it by MMS it would only cost 1 MMS message (30p).

As such, given that a lot of phones won't handle multi-part SMS messages which have more than 3 parts, and for a lot of people an MMS message is cheaper once you get to 3 parts or more, the phone automatically converts to using an MMS message when you get to more than 3 SMS messages worth of characters.

[JustSuds]

That's all well and good, but for someone like me, who sends a lot of really long, well punctuated mesages, where text messages are free, and MMS's are 50c, this is REALLY irritating. I couldn't even bash out my PC specs (yes, real nerd) in the 3x sms limit.

The last phone I had didn't have any form of reachable upper limit. At one stage, I sent a full chapter of a novel via SMS, about 4,000 words worth of characters.

This is the single worst "feature" of the G1. I need a fix or workaround, anyone?

Please and thankyou

[extorian]

The thing is, that most networks cap the limit of multiple texts that it will string together... It can be 1 text (as in, just a single text and no support for multiples), but in a lot of cases I've seen it being as low as 3. For most networks it's 5.

There wouldn't be a lot of point in Google changing the limit on the phone unless most networks allowed more. Otherwise you'd have a load of people complaining that they sent an really long text message, got charged for all 10 parts, but their mate only received 3.

The only workaround I can think of is to hit send before you get to the end of the third part (the phone indicates this by displaying the number of characters and parts you need to send it in the bottom corner as you get close to the limit).

[XDViPeR]

The thing is, that most networks cap the limit of multiple texts that it will string together... It can be 1 text (as in, just a single text and no support for multiples), but in a lot of cases I've seen it being as low as 3. For most networks it's 5.

There wouldn't be a lot of point in Google changing the limit on the phone unless most networks allowed more. Otherwise you'd have a load of people complaining that they sent an really long text message, got charged for all 10 parts, but their mate only received 3.

The only workaround I can think of is to hit send before you get to the end of the third part (the phone indicates this by displaying the number of characters and parts you need to send it in the bottom corner as you get close to the limit).

Right, usally you'd see something like 2/160 meaning it's two messages and you have 160 charcters to work it. Use that when sending long messages.

[extorian]

That's the one... Thanks for clarifying XDViPeR. Hit send before the 2nd number says 0 when the first number is 3 (third part).

[JustSuds]

Google should have made it an accessible option somewhere in the message settings. or provided easy accessors to it for software devs.

[Labinopper]

I have to wonder why Tmo make it easier and cheaper for PAYG Customers (who, i point out, can leave Tmo at any time) to send text messages, and yet Contract Customers (who are tied in) have to pay out MORE, to do the SAME...?

I had a phone before, either a Nokia N81, or an LG Prada, i could send 20 SMS's in one Message, why can my G1 not do that?

Tmo could atleast give their customers an option as to whether they would rather pay the extra to send an MMS, or whether they'd rather just send messages as SMS's.

I send Jokes all the time, usually ranging between 5 and 10 SMS's long. The day i bought my G1, first thing i did, find a Jokes Program (Funny Jokes, its a great program!) saw it had a simple to use "Send as Text" button, thought great, my friends'll love this, so i did it, saw it converted to MMS, i thought well, its automatic, they can't charge for it so i'll do it, 11 out of 16 people replied to me saying, what did you send? i can't see it? obviously people don't always have their phones set up to send/recieve MMS's. Ooh, and i also got a nice £50 charge just for sending MMS's. When i'm told i have unlimited Text messages, and i click the New Message button, and write an SMS, i don't want to see it changed into an MMS and me charged for something i should get free. Am currently in the process of disputing ownership of the Contract, no the basis that it is, in my opinion, Faulty. So far as i'm concerned i got a ridiculous bill for sending, although not SMS messages, Text Messages, and i didn't know, and wasn't informed of the difference, and i have refused to pay it.

I have also decided against getting any other Google phones, due to such bad experiences with the flawed Text Message Program.

Apologies for the Rant, felt good to get it all out,
Labinopper.

[hwhankins]

A bigger problem for me is the truncation of incoming text messages. Several people who send me messages send them longer than the G1 limit (or maybe it's a tmobile limit) and it just truncates them.

[DanGrover]

I came across this thread having just experienced this problem. Firstly, XDViper, saying 'you shouldnt want to do that' is never helpful and always makes you sound like a massive ****. Just saying.

As it happens, its not a network thing - its hardwired into the messaging app. I know this because ChompSMS sends four or more text messges fine. Its a shame its so much laggier than the default messaging app or else id use it. As it is, im just keeping it installed for those occasions that i need to send more than three - simply write it in Messenger, then copy and paste it to chomp. Not ideal but it works!

[Arkilus]

this is absolutely the worst thing in g1, I used to have a (not good) n95, that allowed me to send very long messages by joining them into lots of sms messages. Here in brazil MMS messages are very very expensive (around $3 each), while SMS messages are usually free.
I came to this thread hoping to find a software fix, not a lot of ppl saying this problem cannot be solved.
gotta change it by myself?

[extorian]

There are a number of replacement messaging apps, such as Handcent SMS, that are free. I'm sure one of them can change this setting.

[OKC-G1]

MMS is for files that are over a certain size.

SMS turns to MMS, once that entire SMS text reaches a certain size.

If you are worried about MMS charges, Use the email feature on the phone, and send the email as a text to the other person's phone.



another thing that may happen to you, is if you get a MMS message from someone, and there is no picture. This may be due to that person's phone not supporting threaded texting. And in this case, when they just quick reply to a picture or MMS you send them, their reply is sent back as an MMS, and will kind of look funky inside your message window.


either way, a text message (text or pic) is a text. You either have unlimited, or 400. they both count as the same. Send a pic message, you now have 399 texts left.

No harm, no foul

[extorian]

The problem is the fact that, as you said, SMS turns into an MMS after you reach 3x SMS worth of text. This is best for MOST people, but not for everyone.

It is not true to say you either have 400 or unlimited. Every plan is different in every country. Here in the UK you can get plans that give anything from 0 free SMS messages to Unlimited, depending how much you pay and which network you go with. Some plans include MMS in the free messages, some don't.

As Arkilus said, for example, in Brazil MMS are not free and cost around $3, so sending any text over 480 (that's 3x 160) characters will suddenly increase the price by a factor of 10.

In the UK, the opposite is true. An SMS message costs around 10p, and an MMS around 30p, so if you send more than 3 SMS messages it is indeed cheaper to convert it to an MMS. In this case, Android works well.

On an Unlimited plan, however, it will NEVER be cheaper to send an SMS message, as you can send an unlimited amount of text for free as SMS, so converting to MMS is a bad idea.

Email, while a solution for some people, is not really a good solution. Not everyone you're sending to or replying to has access to email on their phone, or choose to use it on their phone.

The bottom line is people want to be able to manually set the number of SMS messages to allow before it converts to an MMS, and whether it converts at all. Some people want it never to convert, some people want it to convert after 2, 3, 5, 10 messages.

[OKC-G1]

you send an email to someones phone...as a text message. not an email.

[extorian]

But you're speaking of how stuff works with your provider.

T-Mobile in the UK, for example, charge the customer for every "email" received via text. As an email takes up multiple text messages this can quickly add up.

Not all providers support receiving of emails via SMS.

Not all customers know their provider supports this.

Not all providers allow you send emails via SMS (I know mine doesn't).

Other phones either use SMS messages for SMS messages (no automatic changing to MMS), or require you to manually change to an MMS, or allow you to set the number of SMS messages to fill up before it automatically converts it.

Or, you can send an email using an MMS message, but this still costs more money for many people.

Android is at fault here. It forces you to use an MMS message as soon as you hit the 480 character limit and there's no way around that or any way to configure this limit.

I agree using email makes much more sense, but unfortunately not everyone can.

[Butterz4]

I have a question i dont kno if this happens to everyone but after a certain amount of charecters on my text like 3 message legths it just turns my regular text into and sends it as a picture message!? DOes anyone kno why this occurs? i just think its aqward for it to change to a picture message for no reason

In one example, my text message turned into a picture message when I included a subject. Otherwise, the text message without a subject stayed a text message.

[extorian]

A text (SMS) message will turn into a picture (MMS) message at either 480 characters (the length of three SMS messages - for many people an MMS message becomes cheaper at this level), or when you try to do something with the message that is only supported by an MMS message. This includes adding a picture, or any other file attachment, or adding a subject (because SMS messages don't have subjects).

[mln2c]

I have sent several MMS inadvertently when I thought I was actually sending SMS. Is there any way to block the automatic SMS to MMS conversion?

Regards,
Manuel

[extorian]

No. It's a function of Android at present, that many people complain about. I can't speak for custom ROMs like Cyanogen's - maybe it's different there.

[sinistersai4d]

Just hit send after 3 messages and type the rest and it send again. It doesn't matter since the receiver gets them as separate messages anyway.

Also, when I text my mother long messages her phone only gets the first two.. and when she sends me long messages her phone only sends the first two. I'm assuming other phones do this, so theres no point in raising the limit, just so people could b*tch about the recipients not getting the whole message.

[extorian]

It depends highly on the network and handsets involved. On T-Mobile UK, I've had no problem sending huge SMS messages. They're received as one big one.

Many years ago, I used to get informed when the first one arrived and it used to say [Some text missing] at the bottom, until the next one arrived. It would then suddenly appear.

I've never had a problem where I've only sent or received the first two.

I agree, however, that you can just hit send before it converts to an MMS.