DQOTD: Group Text Message Fault?

[Midpack]

Buddy of mine set up a group text message with 11 numbers (as opposed to entering each number individually). He has a Verizon Android phone, the rest of us various providers with Androids and iPhones. When a group text is sent out all 11 of us see it, and 10 can reply and we see it. For some reason when I reply it does not go out, but I don’t get a message fail (unless I try to send a picture)? I’ve tried resetting my network, full factory reset and even asking Verizon with no solution. [Verizon manager told me it’s a common problem stemming from Android v Apple, and he’s resorted to using a third party group message app himself to group text with his own employees!]

Thought I’d ask here on the off chance someone else has seen a solution?

 

[JoeWras]

This not a DQ. It is a fairly common issue and can be quite irritating and certainly not a dumb area to ask about.

I don't have an iPhone, so my discussion below is for Android, although I understand there are equivalents on the iPhone.

For Android, you drill down like this:
- Settings->Network->Your Mobile Network->Advanced->Access Point->Your carrier

Quite cumbersome to just find the settings. There you have APN and Proxy and MMSC and all kinds of settings. Your carrier should have a web page to describe what you should set, or you can call and they will guide you. OR, they may even push it to your phone automatically (best option).

For group texting, the keys are "Server", "MMSC", "MMS proxy" and "APN type". If your APN type is missing "mms,' that's a fail right there.

I can't tell you exactly what to set except to say your carrier should have pushed it or will give you guidance. Don't change these randomly or you may really hose your phone.

And one more thing, if this all looks OK, press them to assure they have it set up on their side properly. Last year we had one guy in a group who had all this stuff set correctly. He finally bugged his carrier to find out that certain group text features were silently turned off on the carrier's side. This happened because he transferred a very old w*rk account to his personal account when he retired. He inherited some carrier-side locked down features that his Megacorp thought the plebs shouldn't use!

 

[ERD50]

Not an answer, but some info that might help, if you don't already know:

Any sort of group text (even simple text without pictures/media), is sent over the data channels. And texts with pictures/media are sent over data channels. It is different from a simple text - a simple text does not require any data channel at all. At least that's the way it was, not sure with the latest networks.

I recall a bunch of settings for all this, look under settings/ access point names? (edit - the stuff JoeWras is talking about in more detail)

-ERD50

 

[Cobra9777]

I think the Verizon manager was correct. Group texting across different OS platforms and different networks/providers is notoriously unreliable. In addition, some MVNOs don't enable all aspects of group texting, depending on OS and network. And some users have changed settings, or have older phones, that don't always work correctly with certain aspects of newer group texting functionality. There are just too many variables when using your native text messaging app. Troubleshooting will likely just end in frustration.

Third party apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, and even Facebook Messenger are an easy solution. Our immediate family has used Hangouts for almost 10 years and it works perfectly. Hangouts also works with SMS/MMS for people who don't have the app. But it works best when everyone has the app on their phone.

For important information and/or large groups, where everybody is not on the same app, then it's best to just use email in my experience.

 

[JoeWras]

I think the Verizon manager was correct. Group texting across different OS platforms and different networks/providers is notoriously unreliable. In addition, some MVNOs don't enable all aspects of group texting, depending on OS and network. And some users have changed settings, or have older phones, that don't always work correctly with certain aspects of newer group texting functionality. There are just too many variables when using your native text messaging app. Troubleshooting will likely just end in frustration.

Third party apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, and even Facebook Messenger are an easy solution. Our immediate family has used Hangouts for almost 10 years and it works perfectly. Hangouts also works with SMS/MMS for people who don't have the app. But it works best when everyone has the app on their phone.

For important information and/or large groups, where everybody is not on the same app, then it's best to just use email in my experience.

But, but, it is kind of important to know that your MMS are getting out on the bare metal, just in case you get engaged in that matter. Maybe it is just my bias, but no way in hell is Facebook Messenger ending up on my phone.

Many of the MVNOs default with this stuff switched off. They will usually gladly help you turn it on.

 

[target2019]

WhatsApp is a good solution, as there is end-to-end encryption. But all would need to use it. For my family it works like a charm. One cool feature is the web interface, which is very handy if you're on a desktop or tablet and don't want to pick up a phone every 30 seconds to answer the text message on a phone.

But JoeWras solution is worth a try first.