Unable to Text More Than 160 Characters?

[P. Doeboy]

If you use the app airdroid (very necessary app) you can manage your nex from your computer -including sending text messages. And through airdroid one can send super long messages and somehow they get broken up to multiple texts.. just the way you like it

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[tde vm]

Hello! I'm new in this forum. I've downloaded the handcent and yes it did increase the number of sms characters. However, group text messaging does not work. Can you advise how to fix this?

 

[trooper54]

My Hero, OG EVO, Epic, blackberry and every other sprint phone I had does this. They post a ?/160 notifier in the text app, and will split messages into "pages". I'm not aware if GSM carriers do this as well, but Verizon which is also CDMA will split large messages into 160 char pages.

(Other sprint phones i've owned that did this Evo3d, Evo 4gLte, Galaxy Nexus, Palm Pre, Iphone, BB8330 and BB Bold)

 

[engineergreg]

Ive had an EVO 4G on Sprint for a couple of years and used Handsent for most of that time. I have a tendency to send long messages. if the recipient has Android w/ Handsent on Sprint they get everything in one message every time. If they have Android w/ another app on sprint they get the message in one piece some of the time. If they are on another network they rarely get in in one shot. Those that don't get it in a single message get 160 character chunks, not necessarily in the proper order. I recently installed Go SMS Pro because of an unrelated issue with Handsent. On my phone Go busts up every message every time. I'll probably go back to Handsent until I can find something that does what I want.

I'm not sure how Handsent is doing it but it is something it does well. Perhaps they send the message as MMS or through their own network or just use the Sprint network to greater advantage but, credit where it's due, it works.

EG
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[Zeinzu]

You have a Nexus...

Root that biatch and push a stock based text application modified to auto split to your system to replace the one you have.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[prolongExistence]

You have a Nexus...

Root that biatch and push a stock based text application modified to auto split to your system to replace the one you have.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Not exactly sure what you mean by a stock based text application but I agree with the point you are trying to make. I'm using a custom ROM (XenonHD) which is based on AOSP 4.2.2 and I like the stock messaging. I used to use chompSMS mostly to fix the 160 char limit but now I'm using stock. It has reply directly from the notifications with a quick reply pop up and auto splits messages at 160 char. Only thing I don't like is that it doesn't have repeat notifications to remind me that I didn't read a new txt.

 

[ratsttam]

Not exactly sure what you mean by a stock based text application but I agree with the point you are trying to make. I'm using a custom ROM (XenonHD) which is based on AOSP 4.2.2 and I like the stock messaging. I used to use chompSMS mostly to fix the 160 char limit but now I'm using stock. It has reply directly from the notifications with a quick reply pop up and auto splits messages at 160 char. Only thing I don't like is that it doesn't have repeat notifications to remind me that I didn't read a new txt.

I think what Zeinzu is trying to say is this. "You have a NEXUS (even though we don't get updates, we still have the ability to MODIFY IT), and if you like the "stock" messaging app, but something doesn't work the way you want it to, find a copy of the stock messaging app that has been modified with your feature." They're out there. It will look and behave almost exactly like the stock app, but better. The same with the Dialer app. The stock one, if you start keying numbers in, it just dials the number. The most common modification is T9, where you can start to "type" a name right in the dial screen, instead of having to dig through contacts." For me, that was the most jarring change. I've had feature phones for YEARS that could T9 dial a name. I had the Samsung Intercept, they had touchwiz on 2.1, and when they upgraded it to 2.2, they made it stock, and I was completely floored that I couldn't dial a name.

 

[tobywoo]

I have loved Handcent ever since the first day I got my Evo 4G (second day it was offered). However, I recently ran into it not wanting to send messages longer than 160 characters. I found, if I split them...it would work ok. That, however, is a complete pain. Anyway...I finally found the SPLIT 160 option in settings/ send message settings. Somehow, it had gotten changed. I activated it, and I am back to boring my friends and family with novellas via SMS. Hope this helps.

 

[ddillon80]

I am w/ Sprint and have an HTC One. I started a similar thread in the HTC One forum and I am still not sure what the correct answer is. I came across this thread while doing a Google search. I am not going to rehash what has been said many times already. What I want to know is - Is there an app that allows SMS or MMS messages > 160 characters to be delivered to the recipient in a single uninterrupted message w/o splitting it up into individual blocks of 160 characters? It is ideal for the recipient of a message > 160 characters to receive it in a single message because sometimes the broken-up messages get delivered untimely and out-of-sequence. Handcent is a good app and I like a lot of the features but it does not solve the issue of the the recipient receiving broken-up messages when th length exceeds 160 characters. Is there an app that takes care of this problem or is it just something you have to deal with if you have Sprint (or are on a CDMA netowrk?) as your carrier?

 

[ratsttam]

I am w/ Sprint and have an HTC One. I started a similar thread in the HTC One forum and I am still not sure what the correct answer is. I came across this thread while doing a Google search. I am not going to rehash what has been said many times already. What I want to know is - Is there an app that allows SMS or MMS messages > 160 characters to be delivered to the recipient in a single uninterrupted message w/o splitting it up into individual blocks of 160 characters? It is ideal for the recipient of a message > 160 characters to receive it in a single message because sometimes the broken-up messages get delivered untimely and out-of-sequence. Handcent is a good app and I like a lot of the features but it does not solve the issue of the the recipient receiving broken-up messages when th length exceeds 160 characters. Is there an app that takes care of this problem or is it just something you have to deal with if you have Sprint (or are on a CDMA netowrk?) as your carrier?

SMS is limited to 160 characters. Period. Some skins (touchwiz/sense/blur) add an auto split into the message, even some older feature T9 phones had a split programmed in. If your carrier provides for it, a message may be split seamlessly, and re-assembled at the other end, with no intervention from you. So you may be able to send 160+ messages to one person and they get one message back, and another person gets it in 2 messages.
The Vanilla android phones, like the Nexus, did not have the auto split put into their messaging application, so they will actually stop you from using more than 160 characters without sending and continuing on.

 

[prolongExistence]

I am w/ Sprint and have an HTC One. I started a similar thread in the HTC One forum and I am still not sure what the correct answer is. I came across this thread while doing a Google search. I am not going to rehash what has been said many times already. What I want to know is - Is there an app that allows SMS or MMS messages > 160 characters to be delivered to the recipient in a single uninterrupted message w/o splitting it up into individual blocks of 160 characters? It is ideal for the recipient of a message > 160 characters to receive it in a single message because sometimes the broken-up messages get delivered untimely and out-of-sequence. Handcent is a good app and I like a lot of the features but it does not solve the issue of the the recipient receiving broken-up messages when th length exceeds 160 characters. Is there an app that takes care of this problem or is it just something you have to deal with if you have Sprint (or are on a CDMA netowrk?) as your carrier?

I believe that the answer you are looking for isn't as easy as it may seem. The limitation is caused on the receiving end as well as the sending end. You may find an app that will allow you to send >160 char as a single message & that will look all well & good on your screen. But the message is still being sent in multiple 160 char chunks so if the recipient's app isn't programmed to piece those chunks back together then it's not going to work. Most likely, there is NO app that can/will do that since there is no way for it to know that the multiple chunks are supposed to be together in the first place.
The technology is known as Short Messaging Service and therefore designed to only send short messages in 160 character chunks. If you want a longer message then you can possibly opt to send it as a MMS message (I know chompSMS allows that) but sometimes that can be awkward for the recipient. Or, for long messages, send an email. It's a limitation of the technology, not the device or app.

 

[Ethan Grimes]

I believe that the answer you are looking for isn't as easy as it may seem. The limitation is caused on the receiving end as well as the sending end. You may find an app that will allow you to send >160 char as a single message & that will look all well & good on your screen. But the message is still being sent in multiple 160 char chunks so if the recipient's app isn't programmed to piece those chunks back together then it's not going to work. Most likely, there is NO app that can/will do that since there is no way for it to know that the multiple chunks are supposed to be together in the first place.
The technology is known as Short Messaging Service and therefore designed to only send short messages in 160 character chunks. If you want a longer message then you can possibly opt to send it as a MMS message (I know chompSMS allows that) but sometimes that can be awkward for the recipient. Or, for long messages, send an email. It's a limitation of the technology, not the device or app.

That's accurate but not entirely. Apps like Handcent and ChompSMS can let you send messages that are longer than 160 characters, it simply gets broken down into multiple text messages. I know with Handcent that you can specify if you want it to separate by word or character (so you don't get a message that ends with the first letter of a word and continues with the rest of the word in the next message). The receiving system doesn't care that the message is longer than 160 characters, there is a flag on their end (not always) that will tell them if there are "x" number of messages coming in. If you exceed 480 characters in your total message, it will be converted into an MMS and sent as one text via that method which isn't restricted like SMS is. Point is though that recipients app or carrier doesn't matter, the messages go out as separate texts. Worst case scenario and something that does indeed happen is if you send a long message that goes out as three messages is that it can arrive on their side in a different order, but most people are able to identify that when they see it (especially if the flag is there stating that they're looking at message 2/3, then 1/3, then 3/3).