I switched from RW to US Mobile in August. There were a few initial startup glitches but otherwise the service has been fine.
Just yesterday I started getting the “MMS timeout/can’t download/tap to retry” message.
I’d tap, after a while, I’d get the error message again.
The only thing I did recently was turn on WiFi calling. I turned it off.
I tried the usual stuff – WiFi off/on, Airplane mode off/on, clear cache, restart, etc.
The strength of the data signal is the usual amount.
I also tested my phone – calls went through fine. Texts, photos, etc were fine, when sent from my other phone.
A few messages on a family group text eventually came through, but completely out of order. No photos. The error message still continues.
Today I still have the same issue–getting the error message.
Looking at US Mobile info – I found this:
Please note that for an MMS, the attachment should not exceed1200 KB in size for our Warp 5G SIM
A family member recently had a baby, so maybe it was a photo that was too large?
Thank you – that’s the US Mobile help article that I read – where it mentions the 1200 kB limit.
I don’t use the “Messages” app – I use Textra, which has been great for years.
A friend sent me a text today asking something about a photo she sent. The photo(s) didn’t come through and I was still getting the timeout.
Finally, after a long spell, her photos came through – 3 photos on one text. So I can see why that MMS might timeout and give an error message.
Typically, what is the max number of photos that can/should reasonably be sent?
I usually sent 1-2 max, so it doesn’t take forever to send/receive.
Is this issue better if you have one of the big 3 as your carrier – that you can send more photos per text/group text? (I’m not sure that would be enough of a reason for me to change carriers)
By the standards of most current messaging apps, MMS is almost non-functional.
You might want to see if you have any third-party messaging apps (WhatsApp, Viber, or such) in common. Most such apps have much larger photo file size limits than MMS.
No matter which SMS/MMS app you use, it cannot overcome the MMS limits of your carrier or the MMS spec. If the photo is too large, you get an error at one end or the other. Some SMS/MMS apps can sneak around the limit the same way the dedicated message apps do, by using the data connection for others using the same app, thus removing SMS/MMS from the equation.
I was only thinking of one-to-one sessions as I can count the number of group SMS/MMS messages I’ve received in my life without taking off my socks. Yes, group chats based on a non SMS/MMS app require all parties to be on the same app. There are exceptions in the form of apps that can link multiple services, but most of these services will terminate your use of the service if you are caught using software that they did not supply. The few SMS/MMS apps that side-step the carrier systems still have the same requirement of others needing the same app for photos and such that the carriers cannot handle, and may send compressed files over carrier links to non-app users, an iffy process at best.