aai92

Q: Why do I need Cellular Data turned on to send/receive MMS?

So after over 3 hours on the phone with Verizon, Apple, then Verizon again trying to figure out why I can't send or receive mms messages unless Cellular Data is on, doing a hundred soft/hard/network/every reset imaginable, a Verizon rep this morning told me "you cannot use mms unless the cellular data is switched to "on", and there are NO PHONES that will allow you to send mms without it on".

Ok, so how come when I had flip phones that didn't even have data plans, I was able to send MMS? And the biggest question - how come I never ever turned my 3G on on my droid and yet could still send SMS? Why does the iPhone force me to keep cellular data on, eating away at my 150mb data plan that I can barely even afford and would rather only have wifi on?

iPhone 5, iOS 6

Posted on Sep 23, 2012 4:51 AM

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Q: Why do I need Cellular Data turned on to send/receive MMS?

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  • by DaveMedlin,

    DaveMedlin DaveMedlin Mar 14, 2014 5:47 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mar 14, 2014 5:47 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Okay, yes, I understand that.  I wasn't even paying attention that it was an MMS instead of an SMS even though I typed that!  But......again, that shouldn't have been an issue because wifi WAS turned on.  So are you saying that even if I have wifi turned on that if my phone goes to sleep then wifi won't work so in effect then an MMS won't come through?  And if so, why wouldn't it come through as soon as I woke my phone up and started using it with wifi on instead of not ever coming though until I turn on cellular?

     

    Plus one other question, if one is composing a text and it goes over 140 bytes, it's automatically then an MMS rather than a SMS even though there is no picture involved?

     

    This whole thing about texting kills me anyway.  Most everyone I know that insists on texting, with the exception of my one sister with the razr, has a smartphone and could just send an email just as easily but for some reason they think it's easier to send a text.  My one sister with the iPhone even pays an extra $20 for unlimited texts when she uses hardly any of her data plan and practically everyone she texts with has a smartphone with email!

     

    Thanks so much for your patience and input.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Mar 14, 2014 5:51 PM in response to DaveMedlin
    Level 9 (54,662 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 14, 2014 5:51 PM in response to DaveMedlin

    The text limit for SMS is 160 characters, (140 characters is Twitter). If you go over on an iPhone with most carriers it will start a second SMS. There is no limit for an iMessage.

     

    For group texts iOS uses MMS. If the person initiating the text message is not using iMessage you would need to have cell voice on and an active WiFi connection or cell data turned on.

  • by DaveMedlin,

    DaveMedlin DaveMedlin Mar 14, 2014 5:58 PM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mar 14, 2014 5:58 PM in response to deggie

    Thanks deggie but again.........I had wifi on but the phone may have been asleep.  But even if it were asleep and therefore negated the wifi connection by reverting to cellular, why didn't I get the message after waking the phone up and using it on and off for a couple of hours with strong wifi connection.  I didn't get the message or other recipients' replies until I turned on cellular then all of a sudden I get the original message and two replies.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Mar 14, 2014 6:00 PM in response to DaveMedlin
    Level 9 (54,662 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 14, 2014 6:00 PM in response to DaveMedlin

    If your iPhone is asleep the WiFi connection is dropped. Depending on the cell provider the initiator was using it may not resend the message to you (most don't). This is why I leave cell data turned on.

  • by FLYPino,

    FLYPino FLYPino Apr 20, 2014 9:49 PM in response to alphonse110712
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 20, 2014 9:49 PM in response to alphonse110712

    You might have found this out by now, but the "Enable 3G" option, separate from the option to toggle Cellular Data, depends on the carrier.

     

    For example, when I vacationed in another country, I used a pre-paid microSIM card there, and I was able to see the "Enable 3G" option.

     

    With my Verizon Wireless SIM card, that's not possible.

     

    By the way, every time you decide to use your iPhone in another country, let your carrier know, and they will unlock it for you. I told them the first time. I forgot the second time...

  • by mgenito,

    mgenito mgenito May 22, 2014 4:57 AM in response to FLYPino
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 22, 2014 4:57 AM in response to FLYPino

    I have the same experience with DaveMedlin. Whether or not Wifi is on, my iPhone 5S with the latest io7 cannot send or receive a group MMS, even if they are only short text messages and contain no pictures or other data, unless cellular data is turned on.

     

    I am new to the iphone. One thing I noted was that the battery life was much shorter than my previous phone (Blackberry). Since much of my day is spent within access to Wifi (home, work, etc.) I followed some tips on saving battery, one of which was to turn cell data off unless it was needed. This extended my battery life significantly.

     

    However, someone recently called me to ask why I wasn't responding to a group message he had sent earlier that day. I couldn't figure it out until I just happened to turn cell data on for another reason, and was surprised when a flood of the messages came in. This morning I had cell data off and when I attempted to send a group message of only 40 characters to two people I received a "message failed to send" with no other explanation. I was at home and my phone had a strong Wifi connection, plus I was able to send and receive emails. I turned on cell data, hit Try Again, and the message went through without a hitch.

  • by KiltedTim,

    KiltedTim KiltedTim May 22, 2014 5:24 AM in response to mgenito
    Level 9 (55,946 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 22, 2014 5:24 AM in response to mgenito

    Did you bother actually reading this thread?  What part of "MMS REQUIRES cellular data" is unclear?

  • by FLYPino,

    FLYPino FLYPino May 22, 2014 11:43 AM in response to mgenito
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 22, 2014 11:43 AM in response to mgenito

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5760

     

    This helped me to understand, because I was confused before, just like you.

  • by basil1091,

    basil1091 basil1091 Jun 9, 2014 9:53 AM in response to aai92
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 9, 2014 9:53 AM in response to aai92

    When I called Apple about this, they told me that you have to have the cellular data on so they can go to our carrier and verify that we do have MMS service available on our plan, but that it does not use any data to actually do that.  In my research on our account (and I've done ALOT) Im not seeing extra data hits when I'm sending/receiving MMS messages.  I still think it's bull crap, but it doesnt seem to be effecting the usage.  I have other issues where celluar is effecting the usage when I have WIFI on.  HOWEVER, that all said, I currently have my cellular off, and was just texting with 2 iphones, multi person text and received pictures.  So maybe something changed with an update??

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 9, 2014 10:00 AM in response to basil1091
    Level 9 (59,221 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 9, 2014 10:00 AM in response to basil1091

    basil1091 wrote:

     

    HOWEVER, that all said, I currently have my cellular off, and was just texting with 2 iphones, multi person text and received pictures.  So maybe something changed with an update??

    No, nothing has changed. For MMS, you need celluar data. However, you can send pictures over iMessage using WiFi.

  • by basil1091,

    basil1091 basil1091 Jun 10, 2014 4:44 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 10, 2014 4:44 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Then my cellular data is on, even though I have it turned off and if that's the fact, that's a HUGE issue.  I was using MMS and am 100% sure it was off.  Funny thing too, once I start squawking about things like this, they usually stop happening...big brother is watching!!

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 10, 2014 6:26 AM in response to basil1091
    Level 9 (59,221 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 10, 2014 6:26 AM in response to basil1091

    basil1091 wrote:

     

    Funny thing too, once I start squawking about things like this, they usually stop happening...big brother is watching!!

    It's amazing how effective those tin foil hats are, isn't it?

  • by MusicGuy86,

    MusicGuy86 MusicGuy86 Jun 10, 2014 11:26 AM in response to aai92
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 10, 2014 11:26 AM in response to aai92

    Facebook messenger sends pics through wifi (no data needed).  It's a little annoying not being able to do it straight through texting, but it saves data. (unless of course the recipient has imessage...then I use imessage)

  • by zorinlynx,

    zorinlynx zorinlynx Jun 20, 2014 5:31 PM in response to aai92
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jun 20, 2014 5:31 PM in response to aai92

    I don't understand why so many people have trouble getting this, so I'm going to explain it in detail.

     

    There are TWO basic services that your phone uses over cellular:

     

    - Voice

    - Data.

     

    When you call someone, you are obviously using voice. However, what most people don't realize is that when you text someone, from the network's perspective you are sending a different kind of "call", delivering the text message to their phone. This is why text messages are limited to 160 characters; they are transmitted through the call setup/signalling channel which is extremely bandwidth-limited.

     

    Data is entirely different. In order to transmit information that is not an SMS or a voice call, your phone has to use the data network. There have been several data networks in the history of cellular communications (GPRS, EDGE, etc.) but they all do the same thing.

     

    Data over cellular is transmitted through a router called an APN, or "Access Point Name". There can be different APN's for different types of data service. For example, a provider might have:

     

    - WAP APN, used for browsing the web from a cellular phone, with proxies to reduce bandwidth use. Most providers don't use this anymore since smart phones can handle the "full internet" so to speak.

    - ISP APN, used for general Internet access, such as a smart phone, or when you tether.

    - MMS APN, used for transmitting MMS messages.

     

    See that last one? MMS messages still use your data connection, but they go through a different APN. This is why your provider doesn't deduct them from your data plan. But you STILL need to have cellular data turned on because it's.. well, data (image data, and MMS texts longer than 160 characters) and you can't send that stuff over the signaling channel above.

     

    And you can't send MMS over WiFi because the MMS APN is simply *not reachable* from anywhere other than the provider's cellular network.

     

    It really is that simple. Apple isn't trying to pull one over on you, nor is your provider. The ONLY thing that can be physically sent without cellular data turned on  are SMS messages and voice calls. PERIOD.

     

    I hope this makes some sense of this for folks who are still confused.

  • by basil1091,

    basil1091 basil1091 Jun 23, 2014 9:46 AM in response to zorinlynx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 23, 2014 9:46 AM in response to zorinlynx

    Yes that all makes sense, however, I did receive a picture message while texting with 2 other people in a group message who both have Iphones, while my cellular data was OFF. So I don't know what's going on.  Also, as someone pointed out, you can transmit a picture up to Facebook without having cellular on.  Why does that differ from sending it through a text?

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