iPhone won’t send pics to Android

This is a known problem across the spectrum, so surely you have some solutions versus more questions. Happens regardless of any wi-fi network, cellular or other. All settings are correct. What's the problem?

I figured it out! I went out and bought a nice photo printer plus ink and photo paper. Then I went home and spent a few hours installing it. Then I printed my photos by attaching my new photo printer to my fancy iPhone. Then I got in my car and drove my photos to my friend, who happens to have an android. He lives 300 miles away, but my boss gave me 2 days off to deliver the photos. Then my friend used their fancy android phone camera to take pictures of the printed photos and viola! The photos were magically transferred from my iPhone to their android. The future of tech is awesome.

I too am having this same problem. I’m sitting next to my wife on the couch and trying to share pics and nothing goes through. Been that way since the update.

I don’t even bother reporting it since like you all I get is more questions and no support.

I’ve done all the MMS/SMS and wi-fi moves, power off/on, disabled iMessage, etc and nothing works.

Just another example of a mandatory ‘upgrade’ that robs us of the most basic functionality of a phone.

Hey Sara,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you can send messages to Android but photos do not go through.

Great troubleshooting so far. What happens exactly when you try to send a photo to an Android user? Is there an error message? We recommend all steps from If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If the same thing happens, does it happen on a certain network or with a particular contact?

Thanks!

This is probably what the store did, and you can do it yourself:

Back up the phone first, of course:

1. How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
2. Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support
3. Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

Sara,

OK, thank you. Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when that happens? Try another network and see if the same thing happens then. If you have trouble sending images specifically on cellular data, make sure that your cellular data settings are correct using View or change cellular settings on iPhone.

Cheers!

My wife’s iPhone XR on iOS 14.3 was having the same issue.

After days of troubleshooting on my own, I finally got T-Mobile on chat and they fixed it.

It was the APN setting. You will also need to turn on MMS in Messaging once you’re done with these steps.

Steps

1. Select settings

2. Select Mobile Data

3. Select Mobile Data Network

4. Scroll to and select Reset Settings

5. Select Reset

6. Select Settings again

7. Select Mobile Data

8. Select Mobile Data Network

9. Enter MMS information

Here's the MMS information for T-Mobile. Google for other carriers info.

APN: fast.t-mobile.com

Username:

Password:

MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc

MMS Proxy:

MMS Max Message Size: 1048576

MMS UA Prof URL: http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf

I’m sorry, but this post is just rude.  And for the record, I used to work in a cell-phone store and it’s not uncommon for only a handful of people with certain models of certain iPhones to have issues after a software update!  Apple took back a bunch of iPhone 7 and 7 plus models after a software update a couple years ago.

https://support.apple.com/iphone-7-no-service

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/04/apple-aware-of-iphone-7-mic-issue-ios-11-3/amp/

I have spent so much time on Twitter, voice and AT&T forums that they have credited my bill some for the hassles.

Here is what I believe:

It is the quality of the upload cellular signal.

Download an app called "Coverage Map". Turn off WiFi. Open the app. Click the alarm clockish looking icon at the top and measure the signal.

In my case at my house in the heart of Silicon Valley I am getting .1mbps up AND down. POINT 1!

When I go 5 blocks Southwest, two bars, no issues.

Now, want to try something bizarre?

1. Open an image in your albums and get ready to message an Android friend.
2. Put the phone flat on your desk.
3. Take a 12-16 OZ filled bottle of water. The plastic bottles. Put it on the desk upright at the top of the phone just above the ear speaker slot.
4. Turn ON airplane mode
5. Wait 30 seconds - maybe 45.
6. Turn OFF airplane mode
7. Your phone will search for the cellular network. In my case I get 2 bars
8. Immediately send your image
9. After about a minute give or take the phone will drop signal strength and will fail to send images again.

Now, maybe that is just me. But it works when I get frustrated enough or MUST send an image via MMS to an Android friend. Apologies if any of this posted in the previous 8 pages. Have not read that all in a while.

As I don’t know what you have read in the thread so far, I’ll review it:

• Do you have Cellular Data turned on, and do you have at least 2 bars of signal? MMS can only use cellular data, it can’t use Wi-Fi
• Go to Settings/Messages
• Do you see a switch for MMS?
• YES, the switch is there: Turn it on. If it is on already, turn it off, and turn it on again
• NO, there is no MMS switch: Contact Verizon and tell them that MMS is not “provisioned” on your account
• If Verizon says it is, tell them to reprovision your entire account

I just read through the entire thread. There were a lot of posts from people who fixed it, and the fixes were different, indicating that the problems were also different. Problem sending MMS is a symptom, not the problem, and can have several possible causes, based on the ways that different people fixed their version of the problem. Some basic ones:

• Weak cellular signal; moving closer to a cell tower fixed it
• Had Cellular Data off - it must be on for MMS to work
• Reset Network Settings - worked for some
• Turn on Airplane Mode, restart the phone, turn Airplane mode off worked for several
• Reset All Settings - worked for some
• Restore iOS in the phone - worked for everyone who tried it
• Turning off Wi-Fi fixed it for one user, although this is really odd
• Switch to 3G from LTE - probably because the LTE signal was too weak
• Sending to an Android that replaced an iPhone - iMessage wasn’t turned off before switching

Same problem almost--also put this in a separate question:

My iPhone has overnight (with no sign of an update) begun to refuse to open Camera icon from within messages, when sending to Androids. I can take a picture and attach it to the same person, but the icon in Messages remains disfunctional and unresponsive.

I see similar problems with others since Nov. This began morning of 26 Dec 2020. According to my software updates, my phone does not YET have IOS 14.3, so I assume it is running 14.2.

I am having the same issues with the camera icon suddenly being dysfunctional in text and the ongoing issue of not being able to text photos to android users or people on a different cellular network. This is crazy. What is going on @Apple?

I am having the same problem as other users in that I can’t send texts or photos to Android users. This started on December 23, 2020. I have tried every solution that Apple provides yet nothing will fix this issue. I was running on IOS 14.2 and thought 14.3 might fix the issue. I ran the software change and it has NOT fixed it. What caused this to happen and what are you going to do to fix it?

My wife and I have brand new iPhone 12s, and we are both experiencing this same problem that everyone else is experiencing: pictures will not send to Android devices, even though they do send to Apple devices. It seems disingenuous for Apple Support to respond to Customers by listing insultingly-obvious *check-your-wifi* or *enable-SMS-and-MMS* solutions when so many people are suffering this known problem, and the aforementioned settings are all already correct.