Is a data plan required to send mms?

[savage_sage]

I'm wondering if a data plan is needed to send mms? As all of the pictures I try to send end up failing.The message will try to send for five miniutes and then fail. I'm using a nexus 6p on android 8.0. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[stonechucker]

Ahhh, thanks for pointing that out @srlawren.  I have too much data... I can leak some 😉

[computergeek541]

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wrote:

Sounds like what happens with my Asus Zenfone which is limited to 6.0.1, I still dont' know if data has to be on for SMS to come thru, maybe with pub mobile it does(?) 

What bothers me is if my data has to be turned on 24/7 to even notify me if a MMS comes in? Then wouldn't that slowly eat away at my data with whatever runs in the background? (I still see Google Play eating up data for some reason).  As for background apps, that' the reality of them since allowing them to run in the background is required for notification purposes.  When it comes to the Play app store, automatic update downloads can be disabled.

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SMS doesn't require data to be turned on - for any carrier.  Any messages received that requires data is no longer considered true SMS.

MMS does require data to be turned on.  The data used for MMS does not use up any of your data plan amounts.

[srlawren]

@stonechucker I don't mean to speak for @savage_sage, but I think they are more worried about incidental data usage while mobile data is turned on, rather than worried that MMS would count toward their data usage (which, as you rightly pointed out, it does not).  I guess they turn their mobile data off when not actively using it in an effort to prevent mystery background usage by processes syncing data to the cloud etc etc.  

[stonechucker]

@on2wheels, you do not need data to send or receive an SMS message.

To send an MMS message on Public Mobile, you require your data to be active, HOWEVER it does not count towards your data usage.

[on2wheels]

Sounds like what happens with my Asus Zenfone which is limited to 6.0.1, I still dont' know if data has to be on for SMS to come thru, maybe with pub mobile it does(?)  Today I seem to getting my sms from most of if not all my contacts, whereas last weekend very few sms got through to me.  I've got a new Xiaomi phone on order to hopefully solve this.

What bothers me is if my data has to be turned on 24/7 to even notify me if a MMS comes in? Then wouldn't that slowly eat away at my data with whatever runs in the background? (I still see Google Play eating up data for some reason).

Previously when I was with Rogers and my phone was working properly, if a picture message came in, i'd hear it like a normal message and the button to download told me to turn data on to recieve the picture. Starting about 6months ago that stopped working and this Asus phone would decide when I'd get messages or even get them at all.  I joined Pubmobile last week and really hope my problems are gone when the new phone arrives.

[srlawren]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

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Interestingly enough, I had the OP's problem with Android Messages several times a couple of weeks back (I'm on an older phone with Android 5.1 and I reboot it every second day, APN settings had worked flawlessly before, were not touched and are accurate, problem persisted). Turning WiFi off every single time I wanted to upload or download a MMS did the trick but I got tired of it. Changed back to the stock messaging app and haven't had the problem since.

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Thanks for sharing that, @wetcoaster.  I was going to mention that my mother's phone--A Nexus 5 on Android 6.0.1 I believe, on Fido--has that same issue.  If someone sends her an image via MMS and she's conencted to WiFi, it just spins and spins saying it's downloading but it never works.  The only solution seems to be turning off the WiFi connection and then it downloads quickly after.  It's a bit annoying because she doesn't always remember to turn it back on after.  

[wetcoaster · Accepted solution]

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@imm1304 wrote:

SInce your sim works fine in another phone, the culprit is likely to be the Messaging app on your phone.  There are several 3rd party sms/mms apps available from the playstore/appstore.  Textra, Andorid Messages, GO sms etc are examples of some popular ones

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Interestingly enough, I had the OP's problem with Android Messages several times a couple of weeks back (I'm on an older phone with Android 5.1 and I reboot it every second day, APN settings had worked flawlessly before, were not touched and are accurate, problem persisted). Turning WiFi off every single time I wanted to upload or download a MMS did the trick but I got tired of it. Changed back to the stock messaging app and haven't had the problem since.

[imm1304]

SInce your sim works fine in another phone, the culprit is likely to be the Messaging app on your phone.  There are several 3rd party sms/mms apps available from the playstore/appstore.  Textra, Andorid Messages, GO sms etc are examples of some popular ones

[savage_sage]

So strange, I just put my sim into another phone and it worked. Maybe I'll just copy the apn settings from it. As after a reboot that still didnt work...

[imm1304]

hey @savage_sage,

Go back to the APN settings and enter the following:  APN Type = default,mms,supl

Save changes and reboot.  Test.  Hope this helps.  

[savage_sage]

I've added the apn as your info gives me, still no luck. Thanks for all the help guys!

[NDesai]

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@savage_sage wrote:

Ok, that's strange then. I have cellular data turned on, and set to lte. I must have to change something in the apn settings.

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Once you configure correct APN, also try a different texting app like Textra or Android Messages. 

[savage_sage]

Ok, that's strange then. I have cellular data turned on, and set to lte. I must have to change something in the apn settings.

[closng]

As long as you have an active text plan, you should be able to send/receive MMS messages. 

1. Ensure that your cellular data is enabled when sending/receiving MMS.

 2. You'll need to verify that your APN has been properly configured. Add the following APN to get it to work:

Name: CA - Public Mobile MMS

APN: sp.mb.com

Authentication Type: PAP

APN Type: mms

[NDesai]

No, data is not required to send or receive MMS, but data must be turned on. You also need to have correct APN settings, so make sure your APN settings are correct. 

[shartomjam]

I believe the answer is no but you do need to have cellular data turned on in order for it to work.