MMS sending and receiving issues

[DaveO3]

Bob-mmk - See earlier post on 02-19-2020 for Samsung fix to be coming in March?

[Cdcarlini]

Oh I sure hope so! I'm still very unhappy with Xfinity. Does Anyone know of a carrier that does NOT do this? I saw over the internet that the other large carriers are doing the same...cant send pics on wifi.

[mdeebs1]

Just to be clear on my earlier post....I can send MMS picture images when I am on any wifi network when I am not in my home. My wife and I cannot send a picture message with wifi on when we are in our home and connected to my Xfinity wifi. I can walk down the street out of range of my home network and send just fine. I was at the Xfinity mobile store and was able to send a picture message from there also. The nice young lady said I would not be charged while other source tell us picture messages are chargeable data messages. Why the mixed messages about chargeable message data. @ComcastChrisL 

@JCarruth130 seems to have found the only solution which requires new hardware. Personally I rent my modem/router from Xfinity and in typical Xfinity HCS fashion (Horrible Customer Service) it's bundled so there is no line item listing on my bill that tells me how much it cost per month. I know I can find it if I worked at it but it really shouldn't be that hard to find stuff on my bill. I guess.  upgrading and owning my own hardware will be a good thing and actually save in the long run. It might be best to only subscribe to Blast internet and get my TV through Apple TV and Hulu.  

[rmcmullen]

Then how do you explain the reason I get failed messages when just sending text? I have been having these issues for months, I try turning off wifi and it still fails, ultimately I end up re sending a few times put the phone down and forget about turning the wifi back on. I guess that's why I pay by the gig? I've been wasting my data and thinking about switching back to Verizon where this wasn't an issue. I have tried several times to contact Xfinity via text, Facebook messages and if it does go thru I still dont hear back. The phone option is unreliable as well resulting in dropped calls anytime I am on wifi as well

[freesteamin]

This problem seems to have a whole variety of flavors so I'll add my own unique one. 

I have three Samsung A50s in my household, all bought at the same time and all udpated to the same level of Android and apps.  My wife started to have MMS issues a couple of months ago so I dug into the problem through online searching with no definitive answers. Here's my situation.  All phones normally use Textra. 

1. My A50 has no problem in sending or receiving MMS, either at home or anywhere else that I have cellular service.  On my phone WIFI is always on and data is always turned off. 

2. My wife's A50 cannot send MMS unless WiFi is turned off. We haven't tried to send MMS with WiFi on but connected to a non-home network or someplace where WiFi is not available. Data is always off on her phone. This behavior started a few months ago. 

3. Our third A50 exhibits the same behavior as my wife's phone. 

So I am puzzled.  Three idential (as far as I can discern) phones using the same app.  One phone can send MMS reliably with data on or off, with WiFi on or off.   Two phones can't send (but can receive) MMS unless WiFi is turned off. Data on or off doesn't matter.  I have also tried the stock Samsung messaging app and the Verizon messaging app with no difference in behavior on any of the three phones. 

[bob-mmk]

DaveO3

Saw that but not sure I buy it as some people are saying that they have the same issues with iPhones, and had a friend who has an S10 on Verizon, and he does not have an issue.

[Finster77nc]

My wife and ao. Have iPhone and have no issues. Only my note10. Makes me thing the samsung update Chris mentioned may be legit. Though i had an up to date samsung with sprint and didnt have this issue so... a new modem only fixes the issue at home. Not an acceptable fix IMO

[Finster77nc]

So just spoke to cornelia via chat. She said Samsung's march update will address the issue, but the workaround before and after the update is to connect to LTE, which cannot be done while connected to wifi. So what is the update and how does it address the issue??? This is garbage. I'm cancelling

[bob-mmk]

So the question is whether if your connected to wifi and mobile data if you will be able to send photos via MMS.  Still do not understand how this is not an issue for Verizon users and how a Samsung update will resolve what appears to be a Xfinity issue. Heading over to the local Xfinity store in the morning to see what they have to say.

[Finster77nc]

According to corina you cannot connect to LTE, which is required for MMS, and wifi at the same time. You must turn off wifi to connect to LTE. This will be required before and after Samsung's "update". Had a note I with sprint and did not have this issue. Wife's iPhone send imessages, but she cant send me a picture either. My bet is imessages is different from mms, so it just appears to work on iPhone. This is 100% xfinity

[Jscafidi]

Same issue here. My wife and I have S10's that don't work at home. My Son has iPhone no problems

[bald271]

This bug has been coming and going for year(s) on my Samsung S8 on xfinity mobile, sometimes getting worse, sometimes getting better, from time to time, update to update.   It is a software problem with root-cause(s) that reside both inside "MMS gateways"  as well as the phones  OS & native apps & third-party apps.   The "MMS gateway software" has to be smart enough to handle every possible customer phones, on every possible software version, each acting a bit differently with regard to this "MMS-over-wifi" stuff both at the phone OS and app level.   As we customers have seen, it is very difficult.    These software problems are faced universally across all carriers - so changing carriers is a like a dice game and you will inevitably see occasional similar problems on every cellular carrier & MVNO as they update software.    

Possible workarounds include:  toggling wifi on and off and on, toggling airplane mode on and off, toggling cellular radio on and off and on, and putting phone into airplane mode with wifi on - and then reboot the phone.  

iPhones are subject to similar bugs but one reason they are not as observable is that most iPhone people enable iMessage.    iMessage software has much more functionality than MMS & SMS while also supporting MMS & SMS.        So iMessage using its own smarts and this tends to "mask" the unreliable-by-design behavior of cellular's SMS & MMS.  All of the underlying unreliability and bizarreness of MMS & SMS can affect iPhones too - especially if you disable iMessage.  

[Finster77nc]

When is this months update so I know how much time I have to find a new carrier? Because despite what we are told, I just switched to comcast and had 0 problems with Samsung devices with other carriers. Makes me think it's not the phone. Reading prior posts, it appears a fix is always "next month". I get that a new carrier is like rolling the dice, but I can name 2 major carriers that I can confirm do not have this issue. Glad to share if anyone is sick of this garbage

[Finster77nc]

Here is a shocker. Update pushed to April now, per comcastcares on twitter. How much you want to bet in April it gets pushed to May?

[bshclh]

I'm sooo not a Comcast employee. But I am a Level-2 network troubleshooting/support specialist. A CCIE for those who know what a CCIE is. If not, no biggie, just an FYI.

Personally, I believe (at least my problem) is the Android OS push update (to Android 10) that was done by Samsung in Feb of 2020 (Feb of 2020 for me. Your timeframe may vary). I'm hoping the next OS update will fix the problem.

Problem Description (for me): Phone will not send, or receive, MMS over WiFi. With mobile data OFF - no sending/receiving of MMS at all. With mobile data ON and connected to WiFi - phone uses cell network to send the data (so uses data from a pay-by-the-gig data plan). Yes it benefits Xfinity financially since pay-by-the-gig customers will likely use more moble-data. But it does not "feel" like the problem/situation has been induced intentially by Comcast

I have two phones

Samsung s9+:

• Problem Started: Feb of 2020 and still exists
• Text Messaging App: It came with Verizon Message+ as texting app when purchased a year (??) ago from Xfinity-mobile.
• WiFi APs: Problem exists with all WiFi APs. I use non-Xfinity, Netgear router/APs at home and have tested when connected to 2.4gig WiFi & 5gig WiFi of a LOT of APs.
• Current Adroid Version: Android 10

Samsung s8:

• Problem Status: Problem appeared a year ago (??) after an OS update (forget the before and after Android versions) and changing from the default text messaging app to Version Message+ cleared up the problem regardless of the WiFi A.P. I'm connected to.
• Text Messaging App: Currently Verizon Message+ app. Came with some other default app when purchased about 3 years ago from Xfinity-mobile.
• WiFi APs: NO problems (MMS over WiFi works) with all WiFi APs. I use non-Xfinity, Netgear router/APs at home and have tested when connected to 2.4gig WiFi & 5gig WiFi of a LOT of APs.
• Current Adroid Version: Android 9

I have the same problem description and status posted in Samsung support. If "home" for samsung support is in China, with the coronavirus being what it is, I expect a new OS that might fix the problem could take a while. I have changed my S9+ to Unlimited date and turned mobile date ON until there is an OS push or some other thing to try (a Google Messaging update, etc (??)) that might fix the problem.

@Comcast_Support : PLEASE keep people updated on the status (I'd personally recommend email updates to customers, not just updates here). Doing away with the Gen-1 pay-by-the-gig plans was one thing (I did actually expect that to happen, but only drives the cost from ~$5.xx/month to ~$20.xx/month-guessing on the taxes and fees that will be over & above the $12). But people HAVING to keep mobile-data turned ON (incoming MMS is lost with mobile-data turned OFF, even if you can deal with turning it on for a moment when sending MMS) will result in customers moving to other vendors.

[bald271]

The MVNOs who do fancy stuff like gatewaying MMS over wifi are responsible for building or subcontracting all the functionality into their own backend MMS-gateways plus every supported android handset OS & every integrated app.      With Apple handsets there is just one OS for all the phones.    MVNO can write IOS apps but is not allowed near the IOS source except via API/APN/profile such as you see used for the xfinity-hotspot-app.   With android handsets the MVNO is required to own the source and support and proprietary programming for every handset's different android OS and the OS-integrated apps.   Android third-party apps "should" work it is hit or miss.     So many different android handsets - so many android OS versions - so many source code trees.   The result is many more bugs on android phones especially for MVNOs with arbitrary proprietary functionalities like MMS over wifi.      Not trying to make excuses, because bugs are bugs!   

ps - The customers here in this forum are ALL OVER THE BALL technically.   Please do continue all the great investigations & detailed problem reports - they are awesome.      

[bald271]

bashcli-ish person, your point about the previous "free 100M" vs the current "you are going to use 1G and pay for it" is especially well-taken.   

Possibly consider that a result of this change are that there are now up to 1G of discrepant-bytes allowed before the most observant customers SCREAM whereas previously there were only 100M of discrepant-bytes allowed before the observant customer will notice the problem and SCREAM.    

[Carolinep70]

I've had the same issues, my husband and I both just switched from AT&T.   He doesn't seem to be having any issues.  So far I have reset my network settings, didn't work, and then went to the store and they installed a new SIM card, and I thought it worked because I was getting texts from the certain individuals I wasn't before, but now I just realized, there are still issues obviously, because somene else can't respond to my texts.  Frustrating.  I guess will have to go and install the 3rd party app Textra.  

[commodore_dude]

I have been unable to receive any MMS at all today, it was working as recently as yesterday. Phone restart, turning airplane mode on/off, wifi on/off, nothing seems to help. I have the option to tap to download on the appropriate contacts, but messages never download and eventually time out.

[bshclh]

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@commodore_dude wrote:

I have been unable to receive any MMS at all today, it was working as recently as yesterday. Phone restart, turning airplane mode on/off, wifi on/off, nothing seems to help. I have the option to tap to download on the appropriate contacts, but messages never download and eventually time out.

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What phone, android version and texting app are you experiencing the problem with? It is odd that it just started today as the Android 10 OS, that seems to be "known bad" for this issue, was pushed out back in Feb of 2020. But the phone, android version and texting app you're using will be of interest/use to a number of folks that are following the thread I would think.

[commodore_dude]

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@bshclh wrote:

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@commodore_dude wrote:

I have been unable to receive any MMS at all today, it was working as recently as yesterday. Phone restart, turning airplane mode on/off, wifi on/off, nothing seems to help. I have the option to tap to download on the appropriate contacts, but messages never download and eventually time out.

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What phone, android version and texting app are you experiencing the problem with? It is odd that it just started today as the Android 10 OS, that seems to be "known bad" for this issue, was pushed out back in Feb of 2020. But the phone, android version and texting app you're using will be of interest/use to a number of folks that are following the thread I would think.

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In my case I suspect it was a network issue, as it is resolved today. For reference I have a Pixel 2 on the latest Android version with regular Messages app.

[bob-mmk]

Received the latest samsun patch the other day and still cannot send MMS while connected to Internet when connected to the Xfinity/Comast Interet. At my vacation home which has Spectrum as the Internet provider it works just fine. I use the same modem and router at both locations.

[bshclh]

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@bob-mmk wrote:

Received the latest samsun patch the other day and still cannot send MMS while connected to Internet when connected to the Xfinity/Comast Interet. At my vacation home which has Spectrum as the Internet provider it works just fine. I use the same modem and router at both locations.

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That is odd. Should have nothing to do with what cable-modem and/or router you're connected to. What rev of Android are you on now (after the patch)?

[mdeebs1]

It is an issue that is tied to your home network. I cannot send picture text messages from in my home when wifi is turned on, but I can when wifi is off and mobile data is on. If I walk outside and go down the street I can send messages with wifi on.  

[bshclh]

With limited information, and not actually troubleshooting, it could be a big assumption that it's the WiFi, or underlying network infrastructure supporting the WiFi, that is "the" (implying only one), or "a" (implying one of multiple) problem causing the issue.

Based on my read-though of a number of the instances of MMS over WiFi not working when mobile-data is OFF, some could be WiFi-A.P./network-infrastructure caused and a great number more point to within the device (interaction between the OS and texting app(s) ). 

[BDWallace]

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@ComcastChrisL wrote:

Hello everyone,

I wanted to provide an important update to this issue.

Samsung is currently working on a software update to address this issue; this is anticipated to be available beginning in March. More details will be provided by Samsung in the coming weeks.

The issue stems from the operating systems themselves, Android 9 and 10.

Please be on the look out for the incoming update that should bring resolution to this issue. Thank you again for your continued time, and support.

Chris

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Hi @ComcastChrisL , 

I just found your post.  I just got off the chat with someone from support and they stated: "Very well, I checked and it seems like there is not a way in which MMS can be set to be sent using a wifi connection."

Is there or is there not going to be a resolution to this and how will we be notified.  As you you can tell from this (any many other forums), you have some pretty angry customers, especially since this has been going on for two years. 

[Roheid]

Well, it's now the 22nd of MARCH. A full month since this post and I see no resolution for this. I am STILL limited to sending only text and racking up nice hefty fees to increase Xfinity's income. Sadly I'm stuck with a 2 year contract or I'd be gone already.

[bshclh]

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@Roheid wrote:
Well, it's now the 22nd of MARCH. A full month since this post and I see no resolution for this. I am STILL limited to sending only text and racking up nice hefty fees to increase Xfinity's income. Sadly I'm stuck with a 2 year contract or I'd be gone already.

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One thing I did, that a prefious poster mentioned, was go in and disabled mobile-date (Allow background data usage) for every...single..app (yea, there are a LOT) accept my texting app (I personally use Verizon Message+) and JUST a couple of others I want alerts from, so apps are not using mobile-data unless I actually OPEN/RUN them. It's tedious to go through every app and do that. But, I'll know in a month how much data I actually use with most of the apps set that way.

[bob-mmk]

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@bshclh wrote:

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@bob-mmk wrote:

Received the latest samsun patch the other day and still cannot send MMS while connected to Internet when connected to the Xfinity/Comast Interet. At my vacation home which has Spectrum as the Internet provider it works just fine. I use the same modem and router at both locations.

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That is odd. Should have nothing to do with what cable-modem and/or router you're connected to. What rev of Android are you on now (after the patch)?

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Android Security Patch March 1, 2020

Build QP1A.190711.020.G973USQS3CTB5

[bshclh]

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@bob-mmk wrote:

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@bshclh wrote:

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@bob-mmk wrote:

Received the latest samsun patch the other day and still cannot send MMS while connected to Internet when connected to the Xfinity/Comast Interet. At my vacation home which has Spectrum as the Internet provider it works just fine. I use the same modem and router at both locations.

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That is odd. Should have nothing to do with what cable-modem and/or router you're connected to. What rev of Android are you on now (after the patch)?

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Android Security Patch March 1, 2020

Build QP1A.190711.020.G973USQS3CTB5

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Thanks much for passing on the patch. That is the first I've heard of that patch.

What's the Android Version? That's under Abount Phone -> Software Information (on current phones this is typically "8", "9" or "10").

[theohall]

Okay... after reading through this...

My girlfriend has an S8 running Android 9.0.  She was able to send pictures via wifi until about 3 months ago.  Took it to an Xfinity store.  They said to reset network settings, which fixed it for about 2 days.  Resetting network settings would sometimes fix if after that, but this wasn't a reliable fix.  So... talked to a Customer Service rep today who stated she had to be using Cellular data and not on wifi to send pictures via MMS which confused me, since she and I are on the same wifi network and I could send pictures just fine...

Well, my phone is a Motorola moto e5 play running Android 8.0, which probably explains why mine works when sending photos via MMS and wifi and hers does not.  So... what happened in the Android updates after 8.0 (Oreo) that messed this up specifically with the Xfinity Mobile service?

[bshclh]

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@theohall wrote:

Okay... after reading through this...

My girlfriend has an S8 running Android 9.0.  She was able to send pictures via wifi until about 3 months ago.  Took it to an Xfinity store.  They said to reset network settings, which fixed it for about 2 days.  Resetting network settings would sometimes fix if after that, but this wasn't a reliable fix.  So... talked to a Customer Service rep today who stated she had to be using Cellular data and not on wifi to send pictures via MMS which confused me, since she and I are on the same wifi network and I could send pictures just fine...

Well, my phone is a Motorola moto e5 play running Android 8.0, which probably explains why mine works when sending photos via MMS and wifi and hers does not.  So... what happened in the Android updates after 8.0 (Oreo) that messed this up specifically with the Xfinity Mobile service?

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Trying to add some helpful data below. I'm soooo not an employee of Comcast. But I am Level-2 network (LAN/WAN not Cellular) support for a different company. Apologies for the length.

Having followed this thread for a while, I'm completely convinced that depending on the support rep you're talking to, you'll get different recommendations on how to be able to send MMS (I.E.-Pictures and group text messages) over WiFi, if it's not working what might fix it (including but not limited to the "there is a patch and/or new rev of Android in the works that will fix it", or "you have to send MMS over the cellular network-I.E.-mobile-data <- this is B.S. by the way since it works find on one of my phones that is on Xfinity-mobile too). So be very careful trusting what a support rep tells you as Gospel.

@theohall For your situation I'd recommend using Verizon Message+ as your text messaging App (if you have not tried that already). I have an S8 on Android 9 and some time ago, that's what I needed to do to be able to send MMS over WiFi (which is still working). I also have an S9 on Android 10 that will NOT sent MMS over WiFi (even with Verizon Message+ as the texting App).

On my S8 (Android 9), I just allowed the March 1, 2020 Andoid Security Patch update to be installed and I'm still able to send MMS over WiFi with mobile-date off!

On my S9: MMS over WiFi had been working for over a year (but it came with Verizon Message+ as the text messaging App...hummm), until an update from Android 9 to Android 10 this Feb of 2020.

In my situation, there is enough evidence for me to be "comfy" with some version of Android 9 requiring Verison Message+ to send MMS over WiFi. But have yet to find a way to send MMS over WiFi on Android 10 (on my S9). "Some people" LOL...are hopful that a new rev of Android (a patch or a update to Android 11, don't know) will fix the problem (yes, hands-down this is a "problem", something "broken", not a "feature" or "limitation" to me).

Net-net -

• If you're on Android 9, try using Verizon Message + as your default text messaging App and cross your fingers (it actually is a nice App in and of itself).
• If you're on Andoid 10 and have a fix/app that works, please pass it on. Else, cross your fingers, toes and everything else you can.

Additional Data for Reference on MMS over WiFi not working

I have two phones

Samsung s9+:

• Problem Started: Feb of 2020 after an Android OS update, and still exists
• Text Messaging App: It came with Verizon Message+ as texting app when purchased a year (??) ago from Xfinity-mobile and worked with it until Feb of 2020 (as mentioned in above bullet)
• WiFi APs: Problem exists with all WiFi APs. I use non-Xfinity, Netgear router/APs at home and have tested when connected to 2.4gig WiFi & 5gig WiFi of a LOT of APs.
• Current Adroid Version: Android 10

Samsung s8:

• Problem Status: Problem appeared a year ago (??) after an OS update (forget the before and after Android versions) and changing from the default text messaging app to Version Message+ cleared up the problem regardless of the WiFi A.P. I'm connected to.
• Text Messaging App: Currently Verizon Message+ app. Came with some other default app when purchased about 3 years ago from Xfinity-mobile.
• WiFi APs: NO problems (MMS over WiFi works) with all WiFi APs. I use non-Xfinity, Netgear router/APs at home and have tested when connected to 2.4gig WiFi & 5gig WiFi of a LOT of different APs when away from home (including the auto-connect Xfinity WiFi A.P.s in the area)
• Current Adroid Version: Android 9 with the March 1, 2020 Android Secuity Patch