loftylloyd
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: I can only send MMS through imessage. won't send via sms and I always get 'not delivered' message.

Hi helpers.

I have just upgraded from an iphone 4 to a 16g iphone 6s running ios9. The 4 had a problem with sending MMS. It would only send via imessage and not via sms which meant I couldn't send photos to Android devices or iphones with imessage turned off. I would always get 'not delivered' message.

I thought upgrading phones would fix the problem but it hasn't. I have the same problem with the new 6s.

I backed up the iphone 4 on itunes and then transferred everything across to the new iphone 6s so whatever the problem is has transferred across from the 4.

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem could be and how to resolve it?

 

I've spent hours with my carriers in-store technicians and no one knows what the problem is. I'm thinking I should perform a factory reset and try sending MMS before restoring anything back on the phone. Could it be one of the apps that's causing it?

Do I set up as new phone?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for your time.

iPhone 6s, iOS 9.1

Posted on Nov 10, 2015 3:54 AM

by Ingo2711,Solvedanswer
Ingo2711 Ingo2711
Level 7 (26,073 points)
iPhone
A:

You're welcome

If you start from the scratch again, you can be sure that no other 3rd party app and the iOS did not change any settings.

Deleting apps that already have been installed could leave some settings intact that prevent you from sending MMS.

Posted on Nov 10, 2015 11:01 PM

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loftylloyd

Q: I can only send MMS through imessage. won't send via sms and I always get 'not delivered' message.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Ingo2711,

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Nov 10, 2015 4:06 AM in response to loftylloyd
    Level 7 (26,073 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 10, 2015 4:06 AM in response to loftylloyd

    I guess that you already made sure that "send as SMS if iMessage is not available" is enabled in Settings/Messages?

     

    To make sure that this is not software related, set it back to factory settings, without using any backup data afterwards. Set up the rest of the personal settings manually and see if you can text to Android phones, just don't activate iMessage yet.

    If texting works, activate iMessage, then try again.

    If you still can send both ways, restore from the latest backup. If the problem comes back, the backup data contained corrupt data, causing your issues.

     

    Use iTunes to restore your iOS device to factory settings - Apple Support

     

    Maybe check this article again, to compare your settings:

    If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

  • by sanjeev05,

    sanjeev05 sanjeev05 Nov 10, 2015 5:12 AM in response to Ingo2711
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 5:12 AM in response to Ingo2711

    You can easily handle this. Just don't write anything in 'subject' field.  Write inside the message box only.

    When there is some content inside "subject" it will be sent as MMS. If there is no content in "Subject" , it will be sent as SMS.

  • by IdrisSeabright,

    IdrisSeabright IdrisSeabright Nov 10, 2015 6:07 AM in response to loftylloyd
    Level 9 (59,764 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 10, 2015 6:07 AM in response to loftylloyd

    What you don't mention is if your carrier checked to make sure that MMS was properly enabled on your account. If you're having the same problem on this phone as the previous phone, that seems likely. Call your carrier's customer service and have them check. Then, make sure that the setting to send MMS is enabled in Settings>Messages>MMS Messaging>On.

     

    "Send as SMS if iMessages is unavailable" has nothing to do with sending messages to non-iPhones so it doesn't matter how it's set.

  • by loftylloyd,

    loftylloyd loftylloyd Nov 10, 2015 6:03 PM in response to Ingo2711
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 10, 2015 6:03 PM in response to Ingo2711

    Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I really appreciate it.

     

    All phone settings have been triple checked and turned on and off in different combinations by both myself and the phone technicians and all are good.

    My carrier (Telstra - Australia's largest carrier) have checked at their end several times and assure me that everything is ok there too.

    I've never actually written anything in the 'subject' field before so I'm reasonably sure that wouldn't have had any influence on it but, it's something I never would have thought to check.

     

    I think, Ingo, that's exactly what I need to do.

    If it works ok after a reset but before I restore anything then it's clearly something corrupt from the old phone.

    If I then restore one app at a time and try it after each one, then I should be able to find the offending app/data and get rid of it.

     

    I wonder if it would work in reverse!! If I was to delete one app at a time! Might be worth a try.

     

    Thanks again for your help everyone.

  • by Ingo2711,Solvedanswer

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Nov 10, 2015 11:01 PM in response to loftylloyd
    Level 7 (26,073 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 10, 2015 11:01 PM in response to loftylloyd

    You're welcome

    If you start from the scratch again, you can be sure that no other 3rd party app and the iOS did not change any settings.

    Deleting apps that already have been installed could leave some settings intact that prevent you from sending MMS.