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How to download photos from text messages?

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Ace II x (GT-S7560M).  I am on the $15/month plan and was previously with Virgin.  I have never been able to download and view pictures that have been sent to me via text message.  All I get is a text message with a 'Download' button to press.  When I press the 'Download' button, there is a status bar and and it says 'Downloading'.  But it never is able to complete the download.  I've tried to download with the wifi on and also with the Data on.  Both don't work.  Is there something that I need to do with my phone's setting?  How do I get this to work?

30 REPLIES 30

BEER
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@elhota wrote:

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Ace II x (GT-S7560M).  I am on the $15/month plan and was previously with Virgin.  I have never been able to download and view pictures that have been sent to me via text message.  All I get is a text message with a 'Download' button to press.  When I press the 'Download' button, there is a status bar and and it says 'Downloading'.  But it never is able to complete the download.  I've tried to download with the wifi on and also with the Data on.  Both don't work.  Is there something that I need to do with my phone's setting?  How do I get this to work?


Sell the Galaxy and get an iPhone, even a used one, and that will solve all your problems. LOL

CS_Agent
Customer Support Agent

Hey @elhota,

Please try to check if you have enough space on your phone to download the photo. It may be that the file is too large or corrupted, but if you still have mobile data and space, your downloads will be successful.

 

Have a good one 🙂

jimbobs
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@elhota wrote:

... Now all I have to do now is to test to see if I will be able to receive photos via text message.


Just remember there is a difference between MMS (multimedia) and SMS (text).  SMS should work everywhere you have cellphone coverage; MMS will only work if you have Internet coverage as well.  Also, the network will continue to attempt to deliver SMS messages but not necessarily MMS messages.


@elhota wrote:

I finally figured out how to set the radio button to appear.  It was in the APN type.  I had it set to MMS only, but when I selected 'internet + mms' the radio button now appears for the new APN that I added.  So now I have internet and there is a symbol 'H+' that appears in the top of my screen.  Now all I have to do now is to test to see if I will be able to receive photos via text message.


@elhota  Good job, I think you will be pleasantly suprised.Smiley Happy

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I finally figured out how to set the radio button to appear.  It was in the APN type.  I had it set to MMS only, but when I selected 'internet + mms' the radio button now appears for the new APN that I added.  So now I have internet and there is a symbol 'H+' that appears in the top of my screen.  Now all I have to do now is to test to see if I will be able to receive photos via text message.


@elhota wrote:

yes it does.  It's the $15/mth plan


@elhota  Since you manually selected and registered with PM you should be able to select the APN. Maybe it's hidden under advanced settings or another hidden menu. Not sure why it's not letting select the proper APN. Once you are able to select the correct APN it shoud work.

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

yes it does.  It's the $15/mth plan


@elhota wrote:

I tried manually selecting the network and selected Public Mobile.  It said that 'you are now registered on Public Mobile network'  But after that I still don't have internet.  


@elhota  Does your plan include data?

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I tried manually selecting the network and selected Public Mobile.  It said that 'you are now registered on Public Mobile network'  But after that I still don't have internet.  


@elhota wrote:

Yes I restarted it and turned off the wifi.  It still doesn't work. I don't have internet.and 3g/4g doesn't show up


@elhota   Is there a setting that allows you to select the mobile network? So instead of auto select set it to manual and select the APN that you created 

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Yes I restarted it and turned off the wifi.  It still doesn't work. I don't have internet.and 3g/4g doesn't show up


@elhota wrote:

I followed the instructions in the link and reset to the default APN.  and then I added the APN details as recommended.  After I saved it the new APN that I added still does not have the radio button.  So even though it shows the new APN, the phone is not allowing me to select it.  


@elhota  DId you restart your phone after the change? Did you also turn off WiFi to see if 3G or 4G shows up on your notfication bar?

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I followed the instructions in the link and reset to the default APN.  and then I added the APN details as recommended.  After I saved it the new APN that I added still does not have the radio button.  So even though it shows the new APN, the phone is not allowing me to select it.  

One more thing to throw in here: Depending on the messaging app, its last update and its settings you might need to turn off WiFi / force the phone to a data connection to receive MMS.

 

When I had that problem ages ago (not a Samsung phone, though) I switched from the stock messaging app to Android Messages which solved the problem.

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @geopublic hits it out of the park again!

 @elhota and see step 6 for finding 3G 4G etc here.

That site has more too.

There's a possibility that you have a slightly different variation of model.


@elhota wrote:

I turned the data on but there is no indicator for 3G, 4G, or LTE at the top of my screen. How do you erase all the APN listed?  There were 2 originally listed (both Telus). I modified one to the settings as recommended in this thread.  It doesn't seem to allow me to add or delete the APNs.  Also as soon as I modified one, the radio button to select that one doesn't exist anymore.  And then when I selected the radio button for the other one (Telus), I can no longer deselect it.  So the radio button for that one is always on now.  


@elhota  Click here  the link shows you step by step on how to add an APN. Hopefully it works for you.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@elhota wrote:

I turned the data on but there is no indicator for 3G, 4G, or LTE at the top of my screen. How do you erase all the APN listed?  There were 2 originally listed (both Telus). I modified one to the settings as recommended in this thread.  It doesn't seem to allow me to add or delete the APNs.  Also as soon as I modified one, the radio button to select that one doesn't exist anymore.  And then when I selected the radio button for the other one (Telus), I can no longer deselect it.  So the radio button for that one is always on now.  


I no longer have the Android 4 phone I had. I recall there being a preferred network or something under settings somewhere. That's where the 3G and other variants should be able to be scanned for and chosen.

When you touch the 3 dots (if you have those in the upper right corner), is there not a delete option?

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I turned the data on but there is no indicator for 3G, 4G, or LTE at the top of my screen. How do you erase all the APN listed?  There were 2 originally listed (both Telus). I modified one to the settings as recommended in this thread.  It doesn't seem to allow me to add or delete the APNs.  Also as soon as I modified one, the radio button to select that one doesn't exist anymore.  And then when I selected the radio button for the other one (Telus), I can no longer deselect it.  So the radio button for that one is always on now.  

Anonymous
Not applicable

@elhota wrote:

I tried entering those apn settings and it still doesn't work. I also am not able to access the Internet with data turned on.  I can only access the Internet with wifi.

 


Even more leaning towards APN.

I have seen reports of people not including the /mb in the aliasredirect line.

I have seen port 8799 after the 74. etc IP address.

I have seen several variations in the APN Type line.

 

Are you able to select a 3G (HSPA, WCDMA) kind of network as well?

Maybe you could screen-cap and post the APN screens.

I've seen what Tony8 said work too.

I still question the phone itself but you say it works for voice and text so I guess some references have it wrong.

Tony8
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Hi, First verify Data is on, with Wifi Off you should see "LTE" or "4G"or "3G" beside the signal bars on top of your phone.

Second, you may need to erase all the APN listed, select "default settings" , and manually re-enter the APN settings.

I hope it works .

 

 

@elhota 

Maybe double check the APN settings.  Needs to be exactly as shown, including upper and lower caps.  

 

Could also try network reset.  As last resort, you could also try factory reset (make sure to back up any important information)

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I tried entering those apn settings and it still doesn't work. I also am not able to access the Internet with data turned on.  I can only access the Internet with wifi.

 

jimbobs
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@geopublic wrote:

@elhota wrote:

The phone is working for voice and non picture texting.  The OS is Android 4.0.4


@elhota  In order to receive picture texting you need to turn data on and setup the APN with the values provided by @Anonymous  above.


These are not text (SMS) messages. They are MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) messages and to receive them correctly, you need data switched on even though you don't use or need data service.


@elhota wrote:

The phone is working for voice and non picture texting.  The OS is Android 4.0.4


@elhota  In order to receive picture texting you need to turn data on and setup the APN with the values provided by @Anonymous  above.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@elhota wrote:

The phone is working for voice and non picture texting.  The OS is Android 4.0.4


So how about the couple ideas you've had so far? I suspect APN. But others have added some ideas.

Does internet browsing work?

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

When I try to download there is a message that says 'Currently unable to download. Please try later'

 

elhota
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

The phone is working for voice and non picture texting.  The OS is Android 4.0.4

porcupine
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle
elhota
Good Citizen / Bon Citoye
How to download photos from text messages?
 
 
click on the picture and at the bottom of the picture  it will say save . click on save it will save your picture .then go to gallery and there it is

geopublic
Mayor / Maire

@elhota wrote:

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Ace II x (GT-S7560M).  I am on the $15/month plan and was previously with Virgin.  I have never been able to download and view pictures that have been sent to me via text message.  All I get is a text message with a 'Download' button to press.  When I press the 'Download' button, there is a status bar and and it says 'Downloading'.  But it never is able to complete the download.  I've tried to download with the wifi on and also with the Data on.  Both don't work.  Is there something that I need to do with my phone's setting?  How do I get this to work?


@elhota  Maybe the picture gets downloaded on your phone and it's just a matter of locating the download folder  Does the phone have a file explorer type app that you can launch?

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @elhota 

Which OS version is the phone running?

Edit: Is this phone currently working for voice? Non-picture texting?

 

Find your phone on this list:
Officially Recognized APN Reference

If your phone isn't there maybe these might work:
APN Settings:
Name: Mobile Internet
APN: sp.mb.com
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://aliasredirect.net/proxy/mb/mmsc
MMS proxy: 74.49.0.18
MMS port: 80
MCC: 302
MNC: 220
Authentication type: Not set
APN type: default,mms,agps,supl,fota,hipri,dun
APN protocol: IPv4
APN roaming protocol: IPv4
APN enable/disable: APN enabled
Bearer: Unspecified
MVNO type: GID
MVNO value: 4D4F

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