One (1) Text Message Arriving in Segments...WHY?!

[monicakm]

OK, I've set out to find out WHY some (not all) of my text messages are being sent out in segments. And don't tell me it's because they're too long. I have sent messages that are longer than the entire length of my S5. I have seen this happen on text messages I've received and wondered why people sent one message in 2 or 3 segments...now it's happening with mine. Can't be a phone or provider specific thing since mine have always sent out "whole" until today. Oh, and also today, sometimes the message is duplicated (recipient gets two of the same message). Don't like this one bit!
ps...Verizon text FAQ says that texting can only support 160. Anything over that will be deleted. Well we know that's not so

 

[Rukbat]

Texting apps can be set to handle a long text as individual 160 character texts (that's the longest single text that can be sent) or as an MMS of a text file with the entire text.

Evidently some of the people sending you long texts have their texting apps set to NOT send them as MMS (if you have unlimited texts and limited data, it makes sense) and your texting app doesn't paste the individual texts back into a single message.

What Verizon should be saying (or you're misunderstanding what they are saying) is that the protocol used for texting allows only 160 characters per transmission. Anything over that, if your texting app is set to not send longer texts as MMS, will be sent as additional 160 character texts. It's as physically impossible to send a text of more than 160 characters as it is to put more than 32 ounces of milk into a quart milk bottle. You can put a gallon of milk into 4 quart bottles, truck them to a warehouse, then pour the milk into a single gallon container, but you can't put the whole gallon of milk into a single quart container. Texting's "container" is 140 octets (groups of 8 bits) long. A character in texting is 7 bits. 160 X 7 / 8 = 140. So putting 161 characters into a single text leaves 7 bits with no place to put them - if you're limiting to a single text (IOW, one container), anything over 160 characters "spills on the floor" - gets deleted. That's not how it's done - the extra character, even if there's only 1, gets put into the next 140 octet bundle to get sent as an additional text.

Try using a different texting app, one that can handle long texts sent as SMS, not MMS.

As far as the duplication, that can be the app glitching, your finger glitching on the Send icon, Verizon messing up, the recipient's app (or carrier) messing up - you can't fix a symptom, you have to determine the cause, and we can't do that on the forum, someone has to trace the data from your phone, through the network(s), to the recipient's phone, to find out where the duplication is happening, so they know where to look to see why it's happening. If your car doesn't start, you don't fix "the car doesn't start", you see if you have gas, if it's getting to the engine, if the battery is turning the engine over, if you're getting sparks at the plugs ... replacing the starter, when it's your distributor that's shot, isn't going to fix the problem.. Or, if you don't know anything about cars, you hire a mechanic. But "the car doesn't start" doesn't tell anyone about the problem, only about the symptom.

Both of your complaints are symptoms, not problems.

 

[AZgl1500]

Monica,

on our Verizon S5s, you can set the phone to send out whole message length blocks, or to automatically break it up in 160 character messages.

None of the text is supposed to be truncated off.

Interesting side note on Verizon today, I got an email that says they and all other carriers are now going to sell our aggregated usage data. Location, URLs, specific info, etc....

They just claim it will be stripped of HIPPA stuff, no SSNs, no names, no home addresses, no email addresses, no phone numbers....

but they said that they can specifically push ads to us on our phones while we are in the Target store.

love it, don't cha?

 

[Rukbat]

on our Verizon S5s, you can set the phone to send out whole message length blocks

Whatever they say, if the message is SMS, each block is limited to 160 characters. If they're sending a 200 character as a single block, they're sending it as MMS - a file - not SMS.

 

[monicakm]

Rukbat, you've done this before haven't you

So apparently my text app (Verizon's Messages+) has been set to (or it's a default setting) send a text as a MMS since, until today, they've always been sent as one long text??? I just put the words of a recent text into Open Office and did a word/character count...535 characters. A couple texts sent tonight (after the string of texts sent earlier today that were segmented) were 273 and another was 284. Nothing indicated they were MMS
Here is what I do (and don't) know.

*I don't know where to find the settings, as AZ pointed out, to set the phone to send out whole message length blocks, or to automatically break it up in 160 character messages. I've looked in the settings and advanced settings of Verizon's Messages+ but I can tell you I've not made any changes to the settings .

*I do know that my messages have always sent out as one single text no matter what size until today. Then a couple I sent later tonight (over 160 characters) were again, delivered in one text.

*I do know there is no notification that I'm sending a MMS when I send a long text message with or without an emoji.

*I do know that if I tap on a long text, the message info says type-text message...does that mean it's a SMS and not a MMS?

You said it's "...physically impossible to send a text of more than 160 characters..." Texts are SMS. And then said "Try using a different texting app, one that can handle long texts sent as SMS, not MMS". I'm confused.

I'm not getting any kind of notification when I send these long texts that says I'm sending a MMS. Wouldn't I? From what I've read tonight, there are additional charges set by the carrier for MMS. I haven't had any overage/additional charges.

The duplication issue I figured was a glitch in someone's system.

 

[monicakm]

AZ, I'm using Verizon's Message+. I don't have (or can't find) the options you're talking about (whole message length blocks). I've looked in the app it's self and in the phone's Settings and Application Manager. I DO see that option if I was using Samsung's Messages.

I didn't get that email. Are they selling our data for commercial use? Can we opt out? Good thing I don't shop at Target

 

[AZgl1500]

Monica, my phone is in the bedroom and the wife is asleep.... shhhhhhh!

It is in the Settings/applications "somewhere" will get back on it tmw.

 

[AZgl1500]

Well, I finally found it... in my mind the settings page was in a "brown color" and sure enough it was when I found it because I have Textra set in a brown theme 24/7 because I hate white backgrounds. Especially in the dark, the glare hurts my eyes.

I will just throw up the screenshots instead of writing it all down twice. Textra offers a lot of control over how the SMS-MMS control is handled. Even turning on the data radio for MMS if necessary.

.

 

[monicakm]

AZ, so all these screen captures are in the settings found in Textra?
Under Settings/Applications/Application Manager, I don't have any of these options.
Under Settings/Default Applications/Messages, I don't have any of these options
Under Settings/Messages, I don't have any of these options UNLESS I revert back to the Samsung default Messages.
In the Message+ program, I don't have any of those options in Settings or Settings/Advanced.

Would be interesting to find out WHERE those settings are for Messages+ Obviously sending messages over 160 characters
(in one long text) is possible with no intervention on my part. What made them go out in multiple texts yesterday, I may never know.

 

[AZgl1500]

All of those screenshots are of the Textra options for SMS/MMS.

I likewise scoured the Settings/.../... and cannot find anything relating to SMS/MMS control.

Must be one of those things you don't need to worry about as long as nothing goes wrong. Right?

I also logged into Verizon Wireless online to see if anything there mentions the subject.

Nope.

 

[monicakm]

I'm on the line with a Verizon tech rep to discuss the possible MMS charge. She had to look it up. No, I'm not being charged for sending MMS texts. It's part of (my) plan that includes unlimited texting. MMS texts are included.
Yes, it's one of those things that I don't need to worry about unless it goes south...which it did yesterday, hence my concern and questions

 

[CMcGILL]

I was having this problem, as well. After several calls to Sprint's technical support, they did a soft update which did not affect any of my phone's content. This did not help, as I sent a text message to several of my friends, each with different carriers, and the message was still segmented. I was then directed to take it to the store for them to possible do a hard update, which would take my phone back to "factory". I really didn't want to do that. Instead, I called the branch I was suppose to take my phone to. In the process of that conversation, the tech advised me that I had the option of using a 3rd party messenger such as Google Messenger, or any other.

Then he asked if I used a lot of emojis when I text. I do not. But then I thought about my "signature". I was use several diamond signs before and after my name. He said that although the symbols are one, some systems read them as many more than what appears. I removed the diamonds, and it worked. I texted the same message to those individuals who were receiving it as three segments, and it was one message.

 

[CMcGILL]

I was having problem with segmented messages, as well. After several calls to Sprint's technical support, they did a soft update which did not affect any of my phone's content. This did not help, as I sent a text message to several of my friends, each with different carriers, and the message was still segmented. I was then directed to take it to the store for them to possible do a hard update, which would take my phone back to "factory". I really didn't want to do that. Instead, I called the branch I was suppose to take my phone to. In the process of that conversation, the tech advised me that I had the option of using a 3rd party messenger such as Google Messenger, or any other.

Then he asked if I used a lot of emojis when I text. I do not. But then I thought about my "signature". I was use several diamond signs before and after my name. He said that although the symbols are one, some systems read them as many more than what appears. I removed the diamonds, and it worked. I texted the same message to those individuals who were receiving it as three segments, and it was one message.