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Massive flaw in iMessage

T

TheOne888

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 1, 2010
11
1
Hi all,

I know some people have been comparing iMessage to other IM apps however, as convenient as it is using iMessage, I've unfortunately found a massive flaw which will stop me from using it until it's fixed (if it will be fixed!!).

I've discovered that when using emoticons, it is classed as a picture message. This is fine when your iMessage is delivered properly however, if it is sent as a text (this has been happening a lot lately!! :mad:) it will charge you the cost of a picture message!!

So although I have an unlimited SMS plan, this unfortunately does not cover MMS's.

I'm in the UK on the o2 network, anyone else also notice this?
 
verwon

verwon

macrumors 68030
Jul 26, 2011
2,676
2
Seattle
It's not iMessage making it an MMS, that's your carrier, since it's being sent that way, same as if you put a picture in a regular text message. Apple can't change your carriers rules and practices.

If you don't want it to send that way, then turn off the default option to send it as a text.
 
Stealthipad

Stealthipad

macrumors 68040
Apr 30, 2010
3,223
7
verwon said:
It's not iMessage making it an MMS, that's your carrier, since it's being sent that way, same as if you put a picture in a regular text message. Apple can't change your carriers rules and practices.

If you don't want it to send that way, then turn off the default option to send it as a text.
Click to expand...

+1

No odubt you need to be aiming your anger at your carrier!:(
 
Z

zman98

macrumors member
Jun 21, 2010
67
0
I thought iMessage bypasses the carrier's SMS system and sends it via data usage.
 
verwon

verwon

macrumors 68030
Jul 26, 2011
2,676
2
Seattle
zman98 said:
I thought iMessage bypasses the carrier's SMS system and sends it via data usage.
Click to expand...

If it fails to send as iMessage, it reverts to using text.

That's exactly what he said happened, iMessage sending failed, so it was sent through text, which made it an mms.
 
B

braindead5400

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2010
105
12
Wisconsin
However he also stated that in general it sends a lot of messages as texts and not imessages (happens to me very often). If he turns off the "send as sms" option then doesn't that mean his imessages, when they fail (and they fail often) just won't go out at all? That'll help with picture messages but it will be a huge hassle with text messages.
 
J

jdbr

macrumors member
Oct 7, 2010
66
10
Northern Ireland, UK
Turn off mms

You can turn off MMS without turning off SMS. I'm on O2 as well and I have never sent MMSs since they changed the rules and started charging from them. iMessage is brilliant because now I can send those pictures etc without a charge. To protect myself from O2 charges I turned off MMS. It won't send a picture picture if the recipient isn't able to take an iMessage for some reason. However I keep SMS on so that iMessages can convert to texts when the recipient is in the above situation.
 
MonkeySee....

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
TheOne888 said:
Hi all,

I know some people have been comparing iMessage to other IM apps however, as convenient as it is using iMessage, I've unfortunately found a massive flaw which will stop me from using it until it's fixed (if it will be fixed!!).

I've discovered that when using emoticons, it is classed as a picture message. This is fine when your iMessage is delivered properly however, if it is sent as a text (this has been happening a lot lately!! :mad:) it will charge you the cost of a picture message!!

So although I have an unlimited SMS plan, this unfortunately does not cover MMS's.

I'm in the UK on the o2 network, anyone else also notice this?
Click to expand...

I've sent a few messages (including pictures) to my bro in oz and when i'm typing it says "iMessage" but it then mugs me off and sends it as a normal text.

If i turn off "send as SMS" will it give me an alert or just not send?
 
R

rwwest7

macrumors regular
Sep 24, 2011
134
0
MonkeySee.... said:
I've sent a few messages (including pictures) to my bro in oz and when i'm typing it says "iMessage" but it then mugs me off and sends it as a normal text.

If i turn off "send as SMS" will it give me an alert or just not send?
Click to expand...

You have to send to an email and not a phone number, I think.
 
Y

YoYoCome

macrumors newbie
Apr 17, 2010
27
0
MonkeySee.... said:
I've sent a few messages (including pictures) to my bro in oz and when i'm typing it says "iMessage" but it then mugs me off and sends it as a normal text.

If i turn off "send as SMS" will it give me an alert or just not send?
Click to expand...

If you turn OFF your "Send As SMS" option, iMessage will let you know if you've sent the message successfully by showing you "Delivered" below the message bubble. However, if the receiving party does not have the "Send Read Receipts" turned ON, you will never know if the receiving party got the message or not until he/she replies your message.

Turning off the "Send As SMS" is definitely the route I am going through. This way it can distinguish clearly between the people in my contacts using iMessage or Text Messages. (I send messages to friends in different countries, I don't want to incur any international text charges when there's a problem with data/wifi.)
 
Y

YoYoCome

macrumors newbie
Apr 17, 2010
27
0
Greenstick said:
Surely you should be asking why iMessage failed in the first place. The carrier sms/mms hasn't failed, thats just doing what it should do.

This is an Apple issue.
Click to expand...

Well, what if iMessage failed due to loss of reception? Then isn't that the carrier's issue? Or is that the user's issue for going into a dead zone? LOL! Is it really that important to see whose issue it is?

I think its more important to let people know the importance of turning off "Send As SMS" so users won't incur extra charges.

If "Send As SMS" is turned OFF, iMessage will queue your messages until the receiver has data again.
 
urkel

urkel

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2008
2,795
917
Greenstick said:
Surely you should be asking why iMessage failed in the first place. The carrier sms/mms hasn't failed, thats just doing what it should do.

This is an Apple issue.
Click to expand...
Its gross how people instantly wave off any fault to Apple over everything.

The OP has a legitimate issue that can end up being costly for those who make assumptions on how iMessage works based on Apple's own advertisements. iMessage is seen by many to be a low/no-cost alternative to texting which means that people may be expecting to send a "free" iMessage and then somehow incur a charge because it shifted to become a text/mms with no warning. Imagine if you're texting internationally with no SMS plan and suddenly get hit with a bill because you and your Japanese pen pal like to use emoticons or emoji.

IF texts are failing to be sent through iMessage then there should be options within iMessage to warn users or strip any MMS from text to ensure a user doesn't get added charges.
 
thelatinist

thelatinist

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2009
5,937
51
Connecticut, USA
If texts are failing to be delivered as iMessages, it's because the recipient's phone is off or has no signal. If they are being sent as SMS/MMS, it is because the sender has not turned off that option in settings. I fail to see how this is Apple's fault.
 
Calidude

Calidude

macrumors 68000
Jun 22, 2010
1,730
0
urkel said:
Its gross how people instantly wave off any fault to Apple over everything.

The OP has a legitimate issue that can end up being costly for those who make assumptions on how iMessage works based on Apple's own advertisements. iMessage is seen by many to be a low/no-cost alternative to texting which means that people may be expecting to send a "free" iMessage and then somehow incur a charge because it shifted to become a text/mms with no warning. Imagine if you're texting internationally with no SMS plan and suddenly get hit with a bill because you and your Japanese pen pal like to use emoticons or emoji.

IF texts are failing to be sent through iMessage then there should be options within iMessage to warn users or strip any MMS from text to ensure a user doesn't get added charges.
Click to expand...
All you have to do to avoid that is NOT have your Japanese penpal's international number in your contacts. Just his email address. Then the message app can't send anything but an iMessage via his email.
 
Y

YoYoCome

macrumors newbie
Apr 17, 2010
27
0
Calidude said:
All you have to do to avoid that is NOT have your Japanese penpal's international number in your contacts. Just his email address. Then the message app can't send anything but an iMessage via his email.
Click to expand...

Yea, but it doesn't mean his Japanese penpal will have his email address set up on his iPhone as Receive At. Maybe the email address is only being used for the Japanese penpal's iPad.

Just turn off your "Send As SMS" is the solution. iMessage will let you know if the receiving party is getting your message or not. If you've sent a message and NOTHING shows underneath the text bubble, that means the receiving party currently does not have access to iMessage. iMessage will queue your messages until the receiving party has access to network or Wi-Fi. When the message is successfully sent through, it will say "Delivered" underneath the text bubble. (if the receiving party turned ON "Send Read Receipts" then it will show "Read")
 
T

The General

macrumors 601
Jul 7, 2006
4,825
1
You have a problem with iMessages delivering SMS/MMS some times, so your solution is to not use iMessages and use SMS/MMS 100% of the time? :rolleyes:
 
G

Greenstick

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2009
16
0
UK
Turning off the ability to send all iMessages as SMS/MMS doesn't really solve the issue though.

There may be some iMessages I might be ok getting charged for, perhaps local ones are ok, but more expensive international ones not. Or it might depend on how important the message is, or what time of day I'm sending.

So the 'solution' of going into Settings and adjusting how I send iMessages for each and every message is not a very good solution. And not very Apple-like.

As urkel has suggested, the real solution is for the iPhone to recognise when it can't send an iMessage, tell me, and then offer the options for sending as SMS/MMS, queuing as an iMessage, or cancel.

I've sent feedback to Apple about it.
 
Moccasin

Moccasin

macrumors 65816
Mar 21, 2011
1,005
220
Newcastle, UK
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

It would be worth an extra option which allows you to turn off SMS for international messages. That way, if you're messaging a friend abroad or you're travelling then you don't get charged. Otherwise it would have to be an option for each contact which is rather clunky. The existing switch will still be good for travelling though.

I tried out iMessage with a friend in New Zealand who I wouldn't normally txt - just contact via Facebook - so I agree this could be an issue if you're often using it for that.

I haven't turned off Send as SMS simply because I hardly send messages that way and can use Whatsapp.

Suggest the OP gets/keeps WhatsApp until Apple add a new option
 
marksman

marksman

macrumors 603
Jun 4, 2007
5,764
5
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

thelatinist said:
If texts are failing to be delivered as iMessages, it's because the recipient's phone is off or has no signal. If they are being sent as SMS/MMS, it is because the sender has not turned off that option in settings. I fail to see how this is Apple's fault.
Click to expand...

All of this.
 
marksman

marksman

macrumors 603
Jun 4, 2007
5,764
5
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Greenstick said:
Turning off the ability to send all iMessages as SMS/MMS doesn't really solve the issue though.

There may be some iMessages I might be ok getting charged for, perhaps local ones are ok, but more expensive international ones not. Or it might depend on how important the message is, or what time of day I'm sending.

So the 'solution' of going into Settings and adjusting how I send iMessages for each and every message is not a very good solution. And not very Apple-like.

As urkel has suggested, the real solution is for the iPhone to recognise when it can't send an iMessage, tell me, and then offer the options for sending as SMS/MMS, queuing as an iMessage, or cancel.

I've sent feedback to Apple about it.
Click to expand...

Th problem is if you have someone who is frequently having IMessages sent as SMS then one of you has an accessibility problem. Some people I iMessage we have never had a message sent via SMS and we do it all the time.

If you have a specific circumstance where you or your friend regularly are not accessible and dont have a text plan then turning off SMS makes perfect sense.

Or as others noted send only via email. For these people create two contacts, one with only the iMessage email. If it does. It go through you can choose to send it via SMS.

Personally I would be trying to understand why it is sending as SMS so often as in my experience and a few others I have talked with that fallback almost never happens
 
G

Greenstick

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2009
16
0
UK
I guess the slightly hysterical thread title doesn't help (its an issue but its not 'massive'), but its disappointing how defensive people get on here when all you're trying to do is suggest an improvement to an Apple service.
 
steve-p

steve-p

macrumors 68000
Oct 14, 2008
1,740
42
Newbury, UK
Greenstick said:
I guess the slightly hysterical thread title doesn't help (its an issue but its not 'massive'), but its disappointing how defensive people get on here when all you're trying to do is suggest an improvement to an Apple service.
Click to expand...
Situation normal ;) If Apple didn't do it yet, it can't be worth doing. Then if they do, it's all what a great idea, etc. Lol.
 
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