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Any further comments being like "hurr durr you get MMS to work without data by turning on data" will be redirected to /dev/null. And anyway, this blog post was written when Android 2.3 was current and the steps probably don't even line up 1:1 any more.
This post was written in the Android 2 days, and I don't know how you do this on modern Android today. Hopefully the above gives you some useful information, and let me know in the comments what the instructions would be today. On to the original post:
My Nexus One was originally for T-Mobile's network, so it doesn't work with the 3G on AT&T's... but that's fine because my AT&T plan doesn't include data. But, my phone can still use AT&T's Edge network.
I don't want any random background apps using the Edge network and costing me usage fees when I'm out and about. But, if I disable Mobile Data altogether, picture messaging (MMS) stops working too. So after a lot of searching around I seem to have found a way to disable the mobile network for all apps, but still allow MMS to be sent/received using it.
On my Nexus One, from the home screen:
YMMV.
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Thanks for sharing. Helped me a lot.
Thanks, you helped me.
Thank's I was looking for how to do this.
These are the settings i have in my apn just in case anyone needs them.
Name: AT&T APN: wap.cingular Proxy: leave blank Port: leave blank Username:WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM Password:CINGULAR1 (yes this is in CAPS) Server: leave blank MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com MMS Port: 80 MCC:310 MNC:410 APN Type: mms
thanks for sharing, helped a lot :)
I have been trying to figure this out for the last five years. Thank you so much. Much appreciated.
when I checked data enabled it said, ' significant roaming charges may apply'. I didn't dare take the chance to continue.
This may be a really old thread, i have no clue, but after doing what you told me, neither data or mms work.
Just to create a new dummy profile for Internet connection as the MMS will be there ..
Switch to that profile and activate mobile data. Internet will not work but mms you will get :)
Tested
How do you do this on the LG 3. I don't see that option
this is clearly an old post but i wanted to thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
i have no data plan but want to use mms. in android 4.4 i'm unable to directly change these settings, but i exported the .db file where all this data gets stored, and edited the appropriate field to only say "default,mms" and now i get mms and nothing else!
thanks.
how to I do this for the Galaxy s4.
gday, we have been having trouble with the same issue on Samsung s2 and s6, data and wifi off no MMS can be sent or retrieved just wifi on no go either, but I have a ASPERA tough phone that if data and wifi are off I can still send and receive MMS, my ASPERA is only a new phone so it may depend on phone or settings I'm with telstra and all good and VODAPHONE say there network wont do MMS without data connection
Seeing has how the question is specifically about how to do this WITHOUT data...the "make sure data is enabled " point in your solution is ridiculous and stupid. Try answering the question without enabling data and then maybe you will answer the correct question
Those reading comprehension skills, though...
Make sure "Data enabled" is checked (MMS won't work either if you disable it here!)
If you use that option to disable data usage, then you can not send or receive MMS text messages: so no sending or receiving pictures via text.
My solution has you leave data enabled so that MMS will work (it's the title of this blog post, after all!), and then goes on to further tweak how the data is allowed to be used, so that MMS does work and normal data usage does not.
At any rate, enough things in Android have probably changed since I wrote this post that these steps don't even work today anyway.
I came across this entry while trying to solve my own "how to MMS without a data plan". Finally solved it today! Details: T-Mobile plan: Legacy Pay As You Go: 10 cents per minute, 10 cents per SMS, 25 cents per MMS. (no data) Phone: Moto G4 Play Android 6.0.1
Good Day, Eh?
So "Enabling cellular data was the key" ? I believe the idea was to use mms WITHOUT using cellular data, no? FAIL!
Good Day, Eh? KentheGeek 🇨🇦150
@KentheGeek Cellular data is tagged in different ways and the phone routes it out through Access Points based on how it is tagged. If the data is tagged "MMS", then the phone will prefer an Access Point with that tag. The special type "Default" will match anything that nothing else has matched. So, if you have at Access Point that has only the "Default" tag, MMS will still work. However, if you change your Access Point so that it has only the "MMS" tag, then only data specifically tagged as being for MMS will go through the system.
The cellular provider's network pays close attention to where data is going and bills it accordingly. So, if it notices that the Internet address is an MMS hub, then it checks what your SMS/MMS billing options are. If it is going to somewhere on the Internet that is not specifically recognized, then it gets billed against your data plan (or blocked if you don't have one).
So, if you turn off cellular data entirely, both "Default" and "MMS" data stop working. If you turn on cellular data with the default settings, all types of cellular data are enabled, and you can get billed. But, if your phone allows you to change the access point type, you can make it so that when there is outbound data tagged "Default", it doesn't match that access point and has nowhere to go. This prevents all general Internet access from working, across the board. Since it never leaves your phone, there is no possibility of being billed for it. As long as the access point still has the "MMS" type, though, your MMS messages will be able to go through.
For those curious, I Googled the "SUPL" type, and it stands for Secure User Plane Location, and is a type of data access that provides the phone with all the baseline information needed for GPS positioning. (This is called Assisted GPS, or A-GPS.)
There are three main things that a GPS receiver has to determine in order to work, independently for each satellite: 1) Can it see the satellite at all? 2) What is the exact frequency of the satellite's signal? The satellite is moving quickly, causing Doppler effects that increase or decrease the effective frequency by small but significant amounts, and, 3) How long is the signal taking to get from the satellite to the receiver? Once the GPS receiver has this information for a certain minimum number of satellites, it can estimate your position, and the more satellites it has, the better the estimation.
The problem is, scanning for this information from scratch can take up to 30 seconds per satellite. An unassisted GPS unit can take several minutes to have fully locked onto 6+ satellites and have a reasonably accurate signal. For mobile devices, this delay is unacceptable. So, they operate servers that store all that information and keep it up-to-date for each geographic area. When you turn on GPS on your phone, it reaches out to the SUPL servers and says, "Feed me the GPS numbers", and it gets a burst of data telling it what satellites are visible, roughly what Doppler shift to expect in the transmission, and how to interpret the time codes being received. All this is then immediately usable, and your phone can give you a GPS fix within a second or two.
As with MMS-related data, cellular providers do not charge your data plan for this type of information. So, you could set up the Access Point to have a type of "mms,supl" and get both MMS and fast GPS initialization without risking Internet access charges.
This was my source for the SUPL information: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225501400_Secure_User_Plane_Location_Concept_and_performance
Tried that option, but as soon I enabled the data, it switchs to the default profile, internet stills works. I change to my custom profile and when I verifiy again, it changed itself.. on a samsung a8 2018... It will not move between profiles if the data is turned off.
Even though I don't have a data plan and only use wi-fi - just enabling the data function worked! Now I can download my mms messages over wi-fi with no data plan! Thank you.
First right up front, I admit know little about cell phones. Mostly use it for the camera. Hate texting.
I have the same situation on my new Samsung A8 (as Anonymous posted Aug 23, 2018.) As of 2 months ago I had a Samsung S6, loved it, (died a hot death) no problem, did not have to turn data on to send & recieve pics via text. Worked every time. My hubby currently has a Samsung S7, he does not have to turn data on to send or recieve texts with attachments, works every time. I can't seem to do anything to make my A8 work this way. Compared hubby setting with mine-identical. Have no idea what to do. FRUSTRATED. Called Bell, useless, waste of time. Called Samsung said need 3rd party app to make this work without data- Said download Messenger App, this will allow you to send and receive pics without data on...useless as tits on a bull. All that got me was a wave from a strange man the next town over...UNINSTALL.
Good thing I had a warning set on my data when phone set up at time of purchase. I did not know the girl turned the data on, (I always had it off), voila, 3G warning went off within days. I never use data unless out of town, use wifi. Hate having to remember to turn on and off constantly. This is hatefully inconvenient.
Thanks for listening/reading.
Old. Info is useless
Will I receive data charges when I follow this step? I'm on a plan that charges daily if data is used, I've opted out of data because there is wifi everywhere I go. I really do not want to be charged for allowing mms on my phone.
Sher, most likely you will be charged, because before you can finish the mms set up following these steps your phones other apps/background apps will use data. My provider Bell charges a minimum of $10 up to 100 Mb usage
on a pixel 2 phone. there is an option to toggle "send and receive MMS when data is off" you can see it from Settings>Network This means you can send and receive MMS without manually turning mobile data on
I can't find this functionality to non-pixel android phones.
FYI- If you do this and you have a limit minute usage, you can run out of minutes with one SMS photo. If you have limited minutes, I recommend you get a google voice phone number and get unlimited SMS and MMS messages.
MMS doesn't require mobile data, it can be sent over the cellular networks without mobile data.
Many phone firmwares disable the native ability to send MMS for inexplicable reasons.
Some phones have an option in settings "send and receive mms with mobile data turned off" and others do not.
In some cases simply using a third party texting app that doesn't have RCS support will allow the MMS to work as intended.
Wow. Rude tone.
Holy crap!!!.. I've been at this. Since 11:30a.m ..and its...8:00..p.m.,..THANK YOU..👍❕❕❕❕(AND...YES,,THATS ALL IN CAPS!😉)
Thanks for the everything$$! 😊
This was a very interesting read.
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