MMS question, free or not? (NEW VITAL UPDATE- tmobile scrumbag lying)

[jinjin12]

i'm on tmobile. i have 1000 minutes talk, UNLIMITED text, but NO data plan. if i send multimedia messages (MMS). do i get charged for data? people told me you either need wifi or data on in order to send mms. however, they also said that the MMS uses a different server from internet data. so if i send MMS, would i still get charged for data plan since it requires, even though i have unlimited text plan?

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update on situation - 11-10-13 ==> tmobile scumbag liars
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so after speaking to several reps asking if the MMS was free with unlimited text plan, would i be charged for data since MMS required data, all the tmobile customer support said no, i would not be charged since MMS is covered is by unlimited messaging. i even made a forum post on tmobile and an official tmobile forum rep also agreed with the customer suppport, saying that MMS requires mobile data to be on, BUT I WON'T BE charged for that data.


so after speaking to several reps, all saying that i won't be charged for MMS data, i decided to test it out. so i used my bro's iphone 3g, turned on cellular data, sent myself some MMS messages with pictures+text. then i send some MMS messages to him too. i waited a couple of hours for the tmobile account usages stats to correctly refresh, then when i checked his account, it showed he used 4.8 MB of data. WTF

so i decided to talk to a tmobile rep about this and this is the BS he gave me, so BS i just exited the support window after he fed me his crap. also, this guy is full of turd, since i gave the previous reps account specific info, and my name was not on the tmobile account since my bro never bother to add it, but my phone number is, and i provided him with the phone number. But this does not even have anything important to the question i asked but he just brought it up try to give me the run around, read the conversation and see for yourself. most of the conversation can be read in the attached pictures, some parts were edited out because of sensitive information.

but the gist of it is him saying that even though MMS is free, the data used by MMS is not, which contradicts what all the other reps told me beforehand. he tried to BS by saying they don't know my account specifics, and couldn't give me a proper answer because of this, but this is just bull because i spoke to several reps who all said MMS won't charge your data, and i gave them all specifics. this is just a BS response by the tmobilerep to try to divert the fault away from themselves. on top of that, he tried to tried to sell me data plan, wtf is that sh*t. then he ends by saying he can't remove the fee, wtf is that, i'm going to speak to another rep after this, cause that is full of crap.

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[dan1431]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

It is a bit tough to answer as MMS messages are transmitted via DATA where as TXT messages are carried via the wireless control channel.

MMS messages come from your TXT message bucket, so in theory there should not other charges as you have paid for messaging, however that is theory and NOT a guarantee.

My guess is you will incur DATA charges as a DATA session is initiated each and every time you send/receive a MMS message.

Dan

 

[jinjin12]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

It is a bit tough to answer as MMS messages are transmitted via DATA where as TXT messages are carried via the wireless control channel.

MMS messages come from your TXT message bucket, so in theory there should not other charges as you have paid for messaging, however that is theory and NOT a guarantee.

My guess is you will incur DATA charges as a DATA session is initiated each and every time you send/receive a MMS message.

Dan

i talked to a tmobile support rep and he said it was free for mms. i have to have mobile data turned on though, but he said i won't be charged for it. so whenever i get my nexus 4, i'ma test this out to see if it's really free

 

[sellmarg]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

Please keep me posted! I am on T-Mo with the smallest data allotment. I DO NOT want to incur data charges either. An additional problem I have is not being able to send/receive MMS iPhones at all, but I only got my phone today. One problem at a time.

 

[jinjin12]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

Please keep me posted! I am on T-Mo with the smallest data allotment. I DO NOT want to incur data charges either. An additional problem I have is not being able to send/receive MMS iPhones at all, but I only got my phone today. One problem at a time.

i tested out some MMS by using my bro's iphone 3g and sending myself some MMS with pictures, and now on my account it shows he used 4.8 mb of data..WTFFF . (we're on family plan). going to talk to a tmobile rep, that's bull , they freaking told me it was free if i had unlimited messaging, wtf is this.

 

[jinjin12]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

update on situation - 11-10-13 ==> tmobile scumbag liars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so after speaking to several reps asking if the MMS was free with unlimited text plan, would i be charged for data since MMS required data, all the tmobile customer support said no, i would not be charged since MMS is covered is by unlimited messaging. i even made a forum post on tmobile and an official tmobile forum rep also agreed with the customer suppport, saying that MMS requires mobile data to be on, BUT I WON'T BE charged for that data.


so after speaking to several reps, all saying that i won't be charged for MMS data, i decided to test it out. so i used my bro's iphone 3g, turned on cellular data, sent myself some MMS messages with pictures+text. then i send some MMS messages to him too. i waited a couple of hours for the tmobile account usages stats to correctly refresh, then when i checked his account, it showed he used 4.8 MB of data. WTF

so i decided to talk to a tmobile rep about this and this is the BS he gave me, so BS i just exited the support window after he fed me his crap. also, this guy is full of turd, since i gave the previous reps account specific info, and my name was not on the tmobile account since my bro never bother to add it, but my phone number is, and i provided him with the phone number. But this does not even have anything important to the question i asked but he just brought it up try to give me the run around, read the conversation and see for yourself. most of the conversation can be read in the attached pictures, some parts were edited out because of sensitive information.

but the gist of it is him saying that even though MMS is free, the data used by MMS is not, which contradicts what all the other reps told me beforehand. he tried to BS by saying they don't know my account specifics, and couldn't give me a proper answer because of this, but this is just bull because i spoke to several reps who all said MMS won't charge your data, and i gave them all specifics. this is just a BS response by the tmobilerep to try to divert the fault away from themselves. on top of that, he tried to tried to sell me data plan, wtf is that sh*t. then he ends by saying he can't remove the fee, wtf is that, i'm going to speak to another rep after this, cause that is full of crap.

Attached Conversation:
part 1:

part 2:

part 3:

 

[gone down south]

You sound like a customer service agent's dream!

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[GopherDroid]

Dude, just get a data plan

 

[gameaddict8]

Dude, just get a data plan

Cheap way = send as an email. #winning

Sent from my EVO LTE using Android Central Forums

 

[andr0idralphie]

If you believe you were mislead I would suggest filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at least if not make an attempt in small claims court. What can be used against you is Jeffery V's initial explanation, which I think is perfectly understandable. You can utilize MMS, same as web browsing or email over their network, but if ANY DATA passes through their network you will be charged $1.99/MB as per the agreement for accepting your plan with NO DATA plan. MMS is an OPTION that comes with your NO DATA plan that will cost you, as well as ALL DATA USE I'm assuming, $1.99/MB.

 

[MobileMadness002]

If they are anything like ATT, a few years back that is. Yes MMS is included in the messaging bucket and will not incur data charges when sending pictures. HOWEVER, pics are limited to 300Kb. Once the pic exceeds this 300Kb limit, it is then transmitted as data. Which if your not paying for Data, you will pay per usage. By the looks of your figures, your pictures appear to exceed that 300Kb limit.

 

[Tabs85]

If its like the UK, MMS is never free unless it specifically says "MMS messaging included". I have 1200 minutes, unlimited text, and 1 Gb data...but MMS is not a part of it.

 

[jinjin12]

If its like the UK, MMS is never free unless it specifically says "MMS messaging included". I have 1200 minutes, unlimited text, and 1 Gb data...but MMS is not a part of it.

it says in my account it's included. pictures mms are included.


anyway, these reps are so BS man. i just spoke to another rep and she said that it's free and that i won't be charged, even though the data usage shows up. god damn conflict answers. i just have to wait till my billing cycle comes and see if i get charged or not, can't trust these damn reps. until then, i ain't touching another MMS lol. anyway, at least my suffering might be useful for someone else reading this thread.

 

[CrazCruz]

Man you sound like a nightmare for any customer service employee, I understand they are scrumbags but you were just giving Jeffrey the worst moment of the week

 

[sellmarg]

Oh no no no, I am T-Mobile's WORST NIGHTMARE. I could be a star on the reality show "Extreme Cheapskates"!

 

[jinjin12]

Oh no no no, I am T-Mobile's WORST NIGHTMARE. I could be a star on the reality show "Extreme Cheapskates"!

very productive post. making a new account cause you're too cowardly to say that in your main account is also cool.

 

[sellmarg]

Re: MMS question, free or not? read body before answering please

Au contraire, I am a newbie and offended. Why would I do that if I got my Nexus 4 yesterday.

 

[saeufer]

Whisky Tango Foxtrot...

I've had a pay-as-you-go T-Mo prepaid plan for five years, mostly as a 'backup' phone in case I'm travelling and I break or lose my 'real' one. I've sent and received countless MMS on three different phones and have never been charged for data. As a matter of fact, I don't think my data connection even works for anything else, though I do see the EDGE connection go live and then drop when sending or receiving MMS. For the record, two of those phones are 'dumb' phones originally sold in Europe and one was my old Samsung Exhibit II running Gingerbread that was also my 'real' phone for a while. I also had my 'dumb' phone from Europe on a postpaid T-Mo plan without data for a few months and, despite sending literally hundreds of MMS in that time, never paid a dime for data.

The guy mentioning the 300k limit may be onto something, as my N4 definitely sends MMS over 300k whereas my older phones didn't. But data for MMS still goes through the MMSC, so T-Mo shouldn't be billing for it. Normally messages larger than the limit are just rejected by the MMSC, though I think the current limit is 1MB.

Now, all that said, OP, it's not clear from your post where you're getting the idea that you've used X megs of data. If it's from the phone, that makes sense--the phone doesn't discriminate between data used for MMS and for other purposes; my N4's data use app shows that messaging has used 7 megs in the last 2 weeks. The carrier's network does discriminate--data for MMS goes through a separate path than web browsing, pandora, etc. Even if it's the T-Mo "my account" app, I'm not sure that knows the difference either. Since it's not even your account, it looks like you don't actually know whether anyone's been billed for it or not.

To add another data point, I was on vacation in Australia with my Exhibit II and a prepaid SIM that charged 5c/MB for data and some price per MMS. I was hellbent on not having to top-up after the initial credit, so I watched my usage like a hawk and can confirm that even an Australian MVNO selling SIMs at 7-11 is capable of billing me for the data I used for web browsing and Google Maps and not billing me for the data used to send and receive MMS.

Way to freak out and be rude to the customer service people over a problem you don't even know exists yet.

ETA: protip. If it's not your account, please don't waste customer service's time. They can't do ANYTHING.