My Hangouts SMS avatar is blank - why?!

[patruns]

when not signed into hangouts even tho i can send myself a SMS and see my pic in the "from" left side lol the "to" right side is still blank

I assume your are testing this by using your own # in the to field. This will will pull a Google+ pic of you (or others) with a gmail address when signed into Hangouts. Otherwise, it functions as an ordinary SMS with no picture. (Note, it might show a picture if that contact has a picture and number already in your People app.)

 

[iN8ter]

Goggle + is just another good place to store copies of pictures automatically. I have my Google + locked down with no friends and it just a place I upload copies of pictures to.

Use OneDrive.

Now with auto upload that actually only uploads on Wi-Fi like it says and won't eat up your data overnight.

There is no reason to use Google+ for that unless you want auto awesome on your pictures.

You can't really "lock down" a Google+ account, lol.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[iN8ter]

I assume your are testing this by using your own # in the to field. This will will pull a Google+ pic of you (or others) with a gmail address when signed into Hangouts. Otherwise, it functions as an ordinary SMS with no picture. (Note, it might show a picture if that contact has a picture and number already in your People app.)

It's spastic. Sometimes works then they disappear. It's not consistent or reliable.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[jj14x]

I don't have that option either. Are you running stock and un-rooted?

I am running stock, but am rooted. The hangouts app is stock, so not sure why it would be any different. here's what I see. (I do have multiple google accounts on the phone)

 

[jj14x]

Use OneDrive.
Now with auto upload that actually only uploads on Wi-Fi like it says and won't eat up your data overnight.

G+ also has the option to upload only on Wi-Fi. Have you run into situations where it uploaded while on Mobile data (even though you had told it to upload only on WiFi)?
I just tried it - set to upload on WiFi only, disabled WiFi, enabled mobile data. Took picture - and it didn't upload yet.

 

[jj14x]

FYI this does not work I tried this a few times one day trying to figure this out

Details:
1. g+ profile pic is set and appears in the top left of notification pulldown
2. have tried changing g+ profile pic from the phone
3. have tried adding my own phone number as a contact in the contacts app with the same g+ pic
4. have tried changing the g+ pic in g+ on PC
5. This is simply an annoyance and SMS functionality still works but why is this not happening to everyone?
6. when tapping the blank user pic this page comes up:

Full URL of error is: https://plus.google.com/_sms_only_account/about/

any ideas?

Have you disabled the G+ app on your phone? Why is it not launching the G+ (instead of taking you to the URL in your browser)?

 

[iN8ter]

G+ also has the option to upload only on Wi-Fi. Have you run into situations where it uploaded while on Mobile data (even though you had told it to upload only on WiFi)?
I just tried it - set to upload on WiFi only, disabled WiFi, enabled mobile data. Took picture - and it didn't upload yet.

Google+ tried to upload 1.3 gigs of videos when I told it not to upload previous stuff, and made my Internet unusable for hours while I assumed it wasn't the issue. I had DSL, so uploading meant the download speed went from 12 mbps to < 50 speeds I.e. unusable. I've since switched to cable precisely because of what happened with that app and the trouble it caused for everyone in the house.

It also has a history of destroying data and data plans since deleting auto uploads from the Web service means that the phone will try to re-upload it (happened to me on many occassions).

OneDrive is like a 4 MB app and works flawlessly. It's what I use now. It doesn't have the bugs Google+ has, and I have enough Social Services already.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[jj14x]

Google+ tried to upload 1.3 gigs of videos when I told it not to upload previous stuff

I don't see that option in G+. Where do you see that option in G+ on your phone?

since deleting auto uploads from the Web service means that the phone will try to re-upload it (happened to me on many occassions).

Interesting - it has never happened to me. Just tried it - deleted a photo (that I took on my phone yesterday) from G+ website. The photos app still shows that everything is up to date. Have you tried this lately? Maybe it was a bug that got fixed.

 

[iN8ter]

I don't see that option in G+. Where do you see that option in G+ on your phone?

Interesting - it has never happened to me. Just tried it - deleted a photo (that I took on my phone yesterday) from G+ website. The photos app still shows that everything is up to date. Have you tried this lately? Maybe it was a bug that got fixed.

It's in the settings. You get to choose whether to back up existing media or only new media. The app ignored the setting and tried to do it anyways. Killing battery and making my Internet connection unusable for hours. I even called the ISP cause I thought they were having issues.

And since One Drive now has this and it works flawlessly I don't see a need to bother with Google Plus.

The main reasons for using that are Group Video Calls, Hangouts Picture Transfer, and Auto Upload.

You can set a Profile Picture by enabling Google Plus, setting a profile picture and then immediately disabling it.

However Hangouts only shows it sporadically when you do not have Google Plus active on your account.

Upload issue was last week. Don't remember if I checked the re-upload issue but that's secondary to the other issue.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[srkmagnus]

I just changed my profile picture from the Google+ app by taking a new photo and assigning a photo from device with no problems - change also shows in the Hangouts sms and Hangout threads. You may need to close out the Hangouts App (back all the way out or force close from settings > applications) for the change to refresh. When I open up the App the new images are shown in the conversation threads and under Hangouts Settings > Gmail account > Profile Photo.

I'm not sure what is preventing you from changing this. You might want to sign out of your Google Account (settings > accounts > google) then sign back in and try again.

 

[jj14x]

It's in the settings. You get to choose whether to back up existing media or only new media. The app ignored the setting and tried to do it anyways.

Could you share a screen print of this setting?

 

[iN8ter]

Could you share a screen print of this setting?

I don't have google+ and the app is disabled.

When you first set it up on the bottom there is a check box to upload existing media.

In settings there's an option to bulk upload everything.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[patruns]

I do have multiple google accounts on the phone

That is probably why.....

 

[iN8ter]

That is probably why.....

Friend of mine has 3 Google Accounts on his phone. 2 Personal and one Google Apps account. They all work in Hangouts and other Google Apps like Gmail. You just have to make sure you pick the account you want to integrate SMS with, which is not difficult at all.

I doubt that has much if anything to do with the OP's issue.

 

[Kuskles]

I can't get an image to appear for me in Hangouts SMS. I'm referring to the user image on the right side of the screen during conversations/threads. It just shows the generic person graphic.

If I send a txt to myself then the left-side avatar (the sender) shows up correctly (my Google+ profile image), but the right-side image is still the generic one.

At first I thought this was due to me not having an image assigned in the top part of "My local profile" when I open myself up in the People app. I assigned myself a photo but still nothing appears (after a reboot). (I did note that on the N4 there was nothing assigned to that image option either, and SMS simply used my Google+ image.)

Sorry if this explanation is unclear. Help?

I solved this by creating a Google contact with my cell phone number. Then the image on the right changed to use my G+ profile pic. Poor coding on Google's part, hopefully they'll fix it.

 

[xstinkyx]

I solved this by creating a Google contact with my cell phone number. Then the image on the right changed to use my G+ profile pic. Poor coding on Google's part, hopefully they'll fix it.

What process did you use to create a Google contact?

If I go to https://www.google.com/contacts there is already a contact for me I made awhile ago. It has various phone numbers, email addresses, etc. Under "Connected profiles" it's linked to my G+ profile. Under "Google+ profile" at the bottom it's linked to my G+ profile. It displays my G+ profile photo.

If I go into the People app on my N5 at the very top is "Me", which links to G+ profile and has my profile photo and really nothing more. If I Edit it says "My local profile" and had nothing more listed (i.e. no phones, etc.). I added my mobile phone number as a field.

I can also scroll further down on the list to find my "regular" contact, the one that appears in Contacts on the web site.

Adding my number to the "local profile" did nothing. SMS Hangout is still an empty avatar.

I actually have gotten somewhat used to it being empty. It's less visual clutter on the screen.

Related, I also don't see the green bubbles for incoming (or outgoing?) messages. I guess that's only available via regular Hangouts not SMS hangouts?

 

[MICHAEL GREAT]

Making sure my Google account was selected and NOT NOT NOT NOT the SMS account made my profile picture show as sender in SMS app. THANK YOU FOR HELP me!