[POLL] Have you seen the "SMS Bug"?

**Jerry Hildenbrand** · 01-02-2011, 08:13 PM

a1Will I Am's comment on the blog post about the SMS Bug (read that here, then here) brings up an excellent point.

We need a poll to determine how widespread this one really is. While not scientific, it can be helpful, so vote in the poll, and discuss below. Keep it friendly please

**Jerry Hildenbrand** · 01-02-2011, 08:16 PM

I voted No. I can't get it to happen. I do however, believe it exists.

**stevemobs** · 01-02-2011, 08:35 PM

With how few people have ever reported this and the fact that it unreproducible one really has to wonder if it is not user error. I voted no rather than option four just to give them the benefit of the doubt.

**snobum** · 01-02-2011, 08:38 PM

The only problem I've had has been that some messages SHOW as being sent to someone else, but the person I wanted to send it to responds so it must have gone out correctly. I don't know of any that went to the wrong person.

BTW I have an EVO

**igotsanevo4g** · 01-02-2011, 08:40 PM

Yeah it happens on my stock evo, and on any rom I use.
I hit the top text and itll bring me too the bottom, or ill send one and itll go to a completely different person.

One time i told my boss to stop jacking off on accident, i meant to send it to a friend that was running late. Yeah, that went over REAL well especially when i cant reproduce the bug to show him.

And i really dont like Chomp or handcent. I want my damn stock messaging app.

**Slashdpc** · 01-02-2011, 08:42 PM

Can one of the responses be "What SMS bug? I use Google Voice" because that's my answer.

**stevemobs** · 01-02-2011, 08:48 PM

I am not sure if people have thought of this already but is there a particular carrier this happens on more than others? I am not intimate with SMS implementations but maybe it is really carrier side? Is there some type of confirmation response to the device when you successfully send an SMS and it has a return number then Android files it under a specific thread? Just a random thought.

**_Zguy__** · 01-02-2011, 08:55 PM

Have seen contact names switched on feeds about 5 times for 5 seconds then went back to normal
But none of this bug

**DenverRalphy** · 01-02-2011, 08:56 PM

From what I've been able to piece apart from all the talk about this, I think the test should be as this...

User A should start to compose a SMS to User B. User C composes and sends a SMS to User A, and it is received by User A before he sends his composed message to User B. User A then sends his message, and see who receives it even though it was intended for User B. (it's a lot simpler than it reads lol)

My theory is that an SMS that is being composed is having it's recipient changed when an incoming SMS interrupts it.

After picking apart all the reports on various sites, that's how I see it happening. Personally, I think it's an issue of having more than one sms messenger on your device, or a SMS widget, and they're conflicting with each other.

Anybody able to replicate the bug should list the following items...

Which SMS client it affects
List all SMS clients installed on the device
List any/all widgets installed that are even remotely related to SMS
Device used
OS version
UI (sense, motoblur etc)
Any activity on the device within the previous 20 minutes (a bit long, but hey, who knows)

The key is finding a common denominator.

[edit] Another thought just occurred to me. Verify whether there are any unsent Drafts (text messages composed, but not sent for whatever reason).

**Daniel0418** · 01-02-2011, 09:23 PM

Mine happens about 2-3 times a day on my Nexus One. It also happens on my girlfriends Samsung captivate.

**igobytony** · 01-02-2011, 09:25 PM

Hasn't happened yet. Unless people just haven't been telling me about it.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

**lafountain** · 01-02-2011, 09:28 PM

I have only experienced it 1 time on my Epic. A friend of mine texted me and when I replied, it went to my wife who was sitting right next to me. When I looked on my phone it said it was sent to my friend, but he didn't get it.

Epic is completely stock.

**tejasoffroad** · 01-02-2011, 09:40 PM

I dont think ive experienced it fully on my captivate. Ive had a different name at the top of the screen but hit sent anyways. after i send then i go back to home and click on the messages icon and look to see who it sent to. it always sends to right person but sometimes it says someone different. hasn't happened for like 3 days now. Stock phone with no sideloading.

**DreamSTi** · 01-02-2011, 10:29 PM

Happened to me for the first time ever this weekend, before I ever found out about all the articles online. Droid Incredible.

**Salacon** · 01-02-2011, 10:35 PM

I voted "Maybe..." because I don't know if this counts: I've run into an issue where if I have multiple threads going, I will click on someone's but it opens someone else's. I always double check the name of the thread I'm in now, just to be sure. But it doesn't always happen.

I've never experienced sending a text to someone but it being received by someone else, though. At least not as far as I know.

**stoneworrior** · 01-02-2011, 10:47 PM

I voted maybe. I have sent text messages in the past to one person to have someone else receive it. This has happened three times I can think of but I always assumed it was user error, me not paying attention to what I was doing. I will however pay much closer attention in the future.

**Leif** · 01-02-2011, 10:48 PM

Nope, although to be fair, I've sent a whole, what, 10 text message this past year... (well, I've been using google voice a lot lately to ping)

**amoricaorbust** · 01-02-2011, 11:59 PM

I've never seen this happen on my phone (rooted EVO using stock HTC Messaging app). The only time I've seen this was on my wife's samsung feature phone. She tried to reply to a text from her friend and it ended up in my inbox. I wonder if it's a carrier problem.

**YourMobileGuru** · 01-03-2011, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by DenverRalphy

From what I've been able to piece apart from all the talk about this, I think the test should be as this...

User A should start to compose a SMS to User B. User C composes and sends a SMS to User A, and it is received by User A before he sends his composed message to User B. User A then sends his message, and see who receives it even though it was intended for User B. (it's a lot simpler than it reads lol)

My theory is that an SMS that is being composed is having it's recipient changed when an incoming SMS interrupts it.

After picking apart all the reports on various sites, that's how I see it happening. Personally, I think it's an issue of having more than one sms messenger on your device, or a SMS widget, and they're conflicting with each other.

Anybody able to replicate the bug should list the following items...

Which SMS client it affects
List all SMS clients installed on the device
List any/all widgets installed that are even remotely related to SMS
Device used
OS version
UI (sense, motoblur etc)
Any activity on the device within the previous 20 minutes (a bit long, but hey, who knows)

The key is finding a common denominator.

[edit] Another thought just occurred to me. Verify whether there are any unsent Drafts (text messages composed, but not sent for whatever reason).

This only effects the stock Android client, if the bug even exists at all which the fact that it can not be reproduced by Google and most others when they try lends to significant doubt.

If Google is reading this I have a quick solution for you: scrap the stock client (it sucks anyway) buy Handcent and rename it messaging then bundle it on the stock roms. Problem fixed.

**nikhils** · 01-03-2011, 12:56 AM

It has happened some four-five times on my Galaxy S (International version).

I have, however, found a workaround for this, which I am sure most of you also have: See who you are texting. If it's the wrong contact, kill the Messaging app using ATK or some such app. Reload Messaging app and you will send the text to the right contact now. It's annoying to do this every time it happens, but it works for me. And has made me a lot more careful when it comes to texting.

Has anyone also noticed wrong missed call notifications? I have had at least two missed call notifications from people who never called me. So I am guessing someone else called me and I got the wrong contact in my call log. Hasn't happened in a long while again.

There are many issues with Android's native SMS app. Twice over the period of seven months since I have shifted to Android, my SMS inbox has been wiped clean with no trace of old texts. It happened once when I was using Handcent. I thought it may be Handcent's error and uninstalled it. But it happened again on the stock SMS app. Anyone else facing this issue? Would really like your help on how to retrieve the SMSes.

**IceBone** · 01-03-2011, 02:38 AM

Originally Posted by VZWRocks

This only effects the stock Android client, if the bug even exists at all which the fact that it can not be reproduced by Google and most others when they try lends to significant doubt.

What about the people with Sense phones that seem to experience it?

I don't, though. Rooted Desire running Sense 2.2.

**YourMobileGuru** · 01-03-2011, 02:59 AM

Originally Posted by IceBone

What about the people with Sense phones that seem to experience it?

I don't, though. Rooted Desire running Sense 2.2.

If you read Jerry's original article from a couple days ago he is clear that the bug they are talking about is specific to the Stock client and does not effect other clients.

My personal belief is that if indeed there is a bug it isn't responsible for all of the things that people report, many of them are user error amplified by the placebo effect (people think there is bug, therefor when they mess up they assume it is a bug).

I've never had it but at the same time I haven't used the stock clients siince the moto droid. I long ago switched to hand-cent on all of my phones inducing the DInc (Sense) and Facinate (Galazy S).

**dannychaos** · 01-03-2011, 03:18 AM

I have a jacked up HTC Droid Eris and thankfully I have not experienced the bug nor any of my friends with Android phones. I also too believe that there is a problem and should geylt fixed quickly.

**dousenator** · 01-03-2011, 06:17 AM

I have not experienced this issue at all, however I haven't actively tried to recreate it either.

I use Handcent on my Droid 2 running Froyo NOT rooted.

**FractalSphere** · 01-03-2011, 07:14 AM

OK what happens for me very specific...

I will select a thread in SMS to respond to, and sometimes the phone (I have an HTC EVO running baked snack 1.8 with the stock SMS app) will select a DIFFERENT thread, and if I do not notice, then I will have typed out a message and it goes to the wrong recipient.

If, however, I DO notice which thread is brought up (about 1 in 10 misses, and it's not just fat fingers, it's a thread from MUCH lower down in the list, not next to the one I intended to select) and I bring up the correct one, it sends to the intended recipient correctly.

Hope this helps.

YES - this exactly.

Originally Posted by Salacon

...I've run into an issue where if I have multiple threads going, I will click on someone's but it opens someone else's. I always double check the name of the thread I'm in now, just to be sure. But it doesn't always happen.

I've never experienced sending a text to someone but it being received by someone else, though. At least not as far as I know.