NoBite
Level 1 (10 points)
Mac OS X

Q: SMS Message Troubles after Updating

I recently updated to IOS 9.3 and to OS X 10.11.4. Since these updates, I have been having difficulties sending SMS messages.  iMessages transmit briskly. But, I often get failure-to-send errors three and four times in a row when trying to send an SMS message longer than a single short sentence.

 

I have friends with non-Apple devices that I text frequently. Prior to the latest updates, my SMS messages to them would transmit quickly. Not now.  I am not sure how to make Apple aware of this situation. I did send a direct message to @AppleSupport on Twitter. Not sure how effective that will be.

 

Anyone else having this problem?

 

Note to Moderators: Not sure where to list this question. Please move to appropriate board. Thank you.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), 2013 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 iMac

Posted on Mar 25, 2016 12:14 PM

by ChitlinsCC,Solvedanswer
ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC
Level 6 (8,172 points)
Notebooks
A:

Curious...

 

Short Message Service (SMS) has a 160 character limit (includes spaces, BTW) - this limit is extended by Multimedia Message Service (MMS) that is pretty much like an email

...

MMS messages are delivered in a different way from SMS. The first step is for the sending device to encode the multimedia content in a fashion similar to sending a MIME message (MIME content formats are defined in the MMS Message Encapsulation specification). The message is then forwarded to the carrier's MMS store and forward server, known as the MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Centre). If the receiver is on a carrier different from the sender, then the MMSC acts as a relay, and forwards the message to the MMSC of the recipient's carrier using the internet.[4]

Once the recipient's MMSC has received a message, it first determines whether the receiver's handset is "MMS capable", that it supports the standards for receiving MMS. If so, the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end. An SMS "control message" containing the URL of the content is then sent to the recipient's handset to trigger the receiver's WAP browser to open and receive the content from the embedded URL. Several other messages are exchanged to indicate the status of the delivery attempt.[5] Before delivering content, some MMSCs also include a conversion service that will attempt to modify the multimedia content into a format suitable for the receiver. This is known as "content adaptation".

...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service

So, what this means is that your iDevice is "deciding" that the problematic messages need to be MMS messages (because of the character count) and going about "encoding" it, then sending it off to your carrier's store & forward server.

 

I am wondering if there may be some wisdom in contacting your carrier about this.

Posted on Mar 25, 2016 1:38 PM

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NoBite

Q: SMS Message Troubles after Updating

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  • Helpful answers

  • by razmee209,

    razmee209 razmee209 Mar 25, 2016 12:28 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 7 (33,776 points)
    Mar 25, 2016 12:28 PM in response to NoBite

    NoBite wrote:

     

    I recently updated to IOS 9.3 and to OS X 10.11.4. Since these updates, I have been having difficulties sending SMS messages.  iMessages transmit briskly. But, I often get failure-to-send errors three and four times in a row when trying to send an SMS message longer than a single short sentence.

     

    I have friends with non-Apple devices that I text frequently. Prior to the latest updates, my SMS messages to them would transmit quickly. Not now.  I am not sure how to make Apple aware of this situation. I did send a direct message to @AppleSupport on Twitter. Not sure how effective that will be.

     

    Anyone else having this problem?

     

    Note to Moderators: Not sure where to list this question. Please move to appropriate board. Thank you.

    Why would you want to make Apple aware of a program that has nothing to do with them or the update.

     

    SMS/ text message has always been a carrier feature and not apple.

     

    if you're unable to send/receive text you can look here If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

     

    if that doesn't work then contact your cell phone provider and ask them why their feature isn't working on your phone.

  • by ChitlinsCC,Solvedanswer

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 1:38 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 1:38 PM in response to NoBite

    Curious...

     

    Short Message Service (SMS) has a 160 character limit (includes spaces, BTW) - this limit is extended by Multimedia Message Service (MMS) that is pretty much like an email

    ...

    MMS messages are delivered in a different way from SMS. The first step is for the sending device to encode the multimedia content in a fashion similar to sending a MIME message (MIME content formats are defined in the MMS Message Encapsulation specification). The message is then forwarded to the carrier's MMS store and forward server, known as the MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Centre). If the receiver is on a carrier different from the sender, then the MMSC acts as a relay, and forwards the message to the MMSC of the recipient's carrier using the internet.[4]

    Once the recipient's MMSC has received a message, it first determines whether the receiver's handset is "MMS capable", that it supports the standards for receiving MMS. If so, the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end. An SMS "control message" containing the URL of the content is then sent to the recipient's handset to trigger the receiver's WAP browser to open and receive the content from the embedded URL. Several other messages are exchanged to indicate the status of the delivery attempt.[5] Before delivering content, some MMSCs also include a conversion service that will attempt to modify the multimedia content into a format suitable for the receiver. This is known as "content adaptation".

    ...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service

    So, what this means is that your iDevice is "deciding" that the problematic messages need to be MMS messages (because of the character count) and going about "encoding" it, then sending it off to your carrier's store & forward server.

     

    I am wondering if there may be some wisdom in contacting your carrier about this.

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 12:35 PM in response to razmee209
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 12:35 PM in response to razmee209

    with due respect, the iPhone does some of the work (see my other post)

  • by razmee209,

    razmee209 razmee209 Mar 25, 2016 12:37 PM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 7 (33,776 points)
    Mar 25, 2016 12:37 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

    ChitlinsCC wrote:

     

    with due respect, the iPhone does some of the work (see my other post)

    Sorry SMS/MMS are all carrier feature, nothing to do with Apple or Apple devices.

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 12:40 PM in response to razmee209
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 12:40 PM in response to razmee209

    I know - read the RED part of the wikipedia quotation

  • by jgmachine,

    jgmachine jgmachine Mar 25, 2016 12:45 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mar 25, 2016 12:45 PM in response to NoBite

    I've had a similar issue. I've only had the problem since the last update a day or so ago. SMS (non-imessage) texts are either taking a long time to send, or aren't going through at all. I have an iPhone 6s Plus. Please post an update here if you figure anything out.

  • by razmee209,

    razmee209 razmee209 Mar 25, 2016 12:47 PM in response to jgmachine
    Level 7 (33,776 points)
    Mar 25, 2016 12:47 PM in response to jgmachine

    jgmachine wrote:

     

    I've had a similar issue. I've only had the problem since the last update a day or so ago. SMS (non-imessage) texts are either taking a long time to send, or aren't going through at all. I have an iPhone 6s Plus. Please post an update here if you figure anything out.

    Again, if you fail to read the other replies... contact your cell phone provider ask them why their service isn't working on your phone and then report back with your update.

  • by ChitlinsCC,Helpful

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 1:31 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 1:31 PM in response to NoBite

    go here > http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

     

    choose "bug report" from the Feedback Type menu

  • by NoBite,

    NoBite NoBite Mar 25, 2016 1:37 PM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 1:37 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

    ChitlinsCC - thank YOU for such considerate replies. With all due respect to razmee209, the only reason I thought to make Apple aware of this issue is that the only variable that changed in my equation was the IOS and OS X updates. I have, regularly, been able to send SMS and MMS messages to Android devices, specifically to the one particular friend that I attempted to converse with this morning. Prior to the recent updates, my texting correspondences were brisk and without delay. I'm obviously not as well-versed in the intricacies of the SMS/MMS service, but I can look at a problem logically and see what's changed. It may be that AT&T has a glitch with these updates and, perhaps, they are the ones that need to take action. Thank you for alerting me to that possibility.

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 1:54 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 1:54 PM in response to NoBite

    You're welcome - I'll be glad to hear that you get it resolved somehow, though.

     

    With your logic + my logic = we seem to have isolated the issue to the step in the iPhone process of "decision-making" on the the method needed and encoding it appropriately = there is every possibility that that process is struggling and/or 'making a mistake' before it sends it away from your iPhone (you report "slow" and "Fail")

     

    If I were you, I would Contact Apple Support and let 'em have it! (I was able to simulate your issue in the process and get to contact method choices in about 20 seconds)

     

    https://getsupport.apple.com/ < click here now

  • by NoBite,

    NoBite NoBite Mar 25, 2016 2:35 PM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 2:35 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

    Again, thanks for the handy link. I am online with the Apple rep now. On hold, actually. AT&T has reported nationwide text outages today. Sprint has reported spotty outages. The Apple rep is now calling AT&T to see if my issue is within their outage issue. The Apple rep agrees that SMS messages are actually behaving appropriately. It is the longer MMS messages that are getting hung up. So, when she comes back I should learn if I have an issue that Apple can address or if it is entirely a carrier issue.

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 2:50 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 2:50 PM in response to NoBite

    I, for one, will be quivering with antici...................................pation awaiting news!

  • by NoBite,

    NoBite NoBite Mar 25, 2016 2:53 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 2:53 PM in response to NoBite

    So, the issue appears to be with AT&T. If, however, it is not resolved in 48 hours, I am to call Apple back for further support.

     

    ETA:  I had a very helpful, friendly Apple rep. Now, if I were to have to call AT&T...

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Mar 25, 2016 3:23 PM in response to NoBite
    Level 6 (8,172 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 25, 2016 3:23 PM in response to NoBite

    Pardon my skepticism... but alas, whaddayagonnado? I'll look for your progress report in my email notices