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Why is my iPhone 4S breaking up SMS messages that are shorter than 160 characters?

With my iPhone 4S running 5.1, I'll tap out a message that reads on the character counter as less than 160 characters. When I press send, I hear the "sent message" swoosh sound happen twice, as it does when the phone splits a long message into multiple parts.


The recipient confirms that the message does get split into two parts even though its contents did not exceed 160 characters. Through some experimenting, I have determined that it happens with messages that exceed 120 characters. In cases of messages with lengths 120-160 characters, it cuts the last word off and sends it as a separate message.


Why is this happening?



(In addition, checking my Google Voice history also confirms that the messages get split up even though they do not exceed the character limit.)

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1, Sprint / iMessage disabled

Posted on Mar 10, 2012 6:07 PM

Reply
39 replies

Mar 10, 2012 8:50 PM in response to andwest

I am having the same problem with my iPhone 4 and even though it's not affecting me personally, I feel bad for my non-iPhone friends who are receiving one text cut into a billion pieces.


I'm pretty sure mine personally is cutting them into smaller pieces than just 120 characters; and the other day after I updated, the first text I typed, my character counter read _/70. I thought it was strange that my limit was suddenly 70, but it had returned back to 160 next time I tried.


If anyone knows anything about this please let me know.

Mar 19, 2012 8:14 AM in response to andwest

I'm having the same exact issue. I've only noticed it since I upgraded to IOS 5.1. Unless the SMS message is very short, it gets broken into at least two separate messages when I hit send. I think this is happening even if the message I'm sending is less than 120 characters.


It doesn't bother me either, but like AmZam05 mentions, I feel bad for the recipient who is now getting mulitple SMS messages from me when they would get a single SMS message prior to me upgrading to IOS 5.1.


EDIT: Wanted to add that this is with a Sprint iPhone 4S w/ IOS 5.1. I've also found some forum threads elsewhere speaking of the same problem others are having. There seems to be a "workaround" for this by adding a few blank spaces at the end of your SMS text message, then sending it.

Apr 4, 2012 11:11 AM in response to andwest

I am having this exact issue. The second message usually contains the last word of my message. I do hear the swoosh twice when sending. One of my buddies has a pre-paid plan and no unlimited messaging so he is very vocal about the issue. It's almost everytime.


I am definitely way under the 160 char limit for the most part.


Hopefully someone from Apple can chime in on this.


Cheers!

Apr 5, 2012 10:24 PM in response to andwest

I am also having this issue. Today I went to apple seeking assistance. They claimed they knew nothing of the issue, and after a network reset and a factory reset, the issue was still not fixed. They told me to go to sprint (my carrier) and they claimed they had never heard of the issue either and sent me back to apple. Bottom line neither company is taking responsibility for the issue, therefore I question whether or not it is being addresses by either of them. Also, do not factory reset your phone if apple suggests it, as it does not solve the problem and you lose everything on your phone in the process. If anyone else has had any luck in resolving the issue, I would love to hear their input!

Apr 8, 2012 8:43 PM in response to andwest

Mine has been doing the same thing. I took it into the store the other day and they hadn't heard about it yet, but supposedly more ppl have been dealing with it and it's any message over 80 characters is split into two messages, and the second message usually only contains the last word. I've heard it's a problem with the 5.1 software and hopefully they will have it fixed when they release 5.2. To get around it in the meantime though, if you put 3 spaces after the last word in your text, it will prevent the message from being split into two. Hope this helps!

Apr 13, 2012 6:39 AM in response to andwest

I am also having this problem with my Sprint Iphone 4s. I contacted Apple and Sprint and they both tried to say it was the other's fault. This problem started occuring when I updated to 5.1. I even was given a new device, because I have only had the phone for two weeks.


The problem was NOT occuring before the update to 5.1, so it seems to be the only thing that makes sense. The adding of spaces does work at the end of messages for anyone who wants to try it.

May 25, 2012 7:55 AM in response to andwest

I have found over the past couple weeks that adding one space works every time. Also, double tapping the space bar for a period also works, since it automatically adds a space after the period.


Thanks everybody! This is a relatively pain-free fix until Apple recognizes and fixes the issue (which, let's face it, might not happen)

Why is my iPhone 4S breaking up SMS messages that are shorter than 160 characters?

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