Forum Discussion
Disable MMS/Texting over WiFi
So I have the dreaded sporadic issues sending an receiving text message while connected to WiFi. Since there seems to be no solution, T-Mobile sent me a 4G hotspot for my house. While in theory that’s fine, I have better cell service in the house, I still want to use WiFi for my data. I have high speed internet for a reason.
OK. To the point. I don’t want to turn WiFi off. That seems pointless. What I want to do is to Only Use Cellular Network for Texting, but I can’t find any way to do so. I turned off WiFi calling, but that was never an issue. It actually worked fine. What I want may not be possible. Just curious if there is perhaps a Setting I’m not aware of.
I have a Samsung Galaxy 21 Ultra. Latest version of Android. I use the stock Samsung texting app (which could be the issue).
TIA
- HeavenMCommunity Manager
Hey @LawnMower, Intermittent issues are the pits because temporary fixes make things seem fine and then they break again. One thing that I have seen with intermittent messaging issues for SMS or MMS is congestion in the “mailbox” rather than the network side. If the messaging app that you are using (messages on your phone or messages.google.com) has too many messages saved, new ones have a hard time finding a “place to sit.” Restarting the phone will usually free up enough temporary memory to allow the messages that are pending to come in, but new ones are stopped at the door. MMS are larger files by nature and are usually the first to be affected. Have you had a chance to go through your messaging apps and delete as many messages as possible?
- fireguy_6364Modem Master
see i could have sworn it was there as well..thinking with their last update bringing in all that “personal, business and all” categories stuff i think it was removed...or forgotten lol.. i went through every sub settings area i could find in there..nothing. wonder if its now something you must change through your Google account itself and not so much the physical app itself? which if thats the case..they need to throat punch whoever thought that one out...and whoever approved it lol.
- jaydee1956Roaming Rookie
No response to this yet and I’m having the same problem. MMS while at home on WiFi either takes 3 - 5 minutes to seen a screenshot OR I get a “failed” message. If I turn off the WiFi it goes immediately thru data. This is on a Samsung Galaxy 20SE but I’ve seen comments on the internet that it happens on multiple brands of phones.
- syaoranTransmission Titan
Turn off WiFi Calling on your device.
- jaydee1956Roaming Rookie
OK - thank you - I will try that. Considering my signal is very weak inside the house it may not be a long term solution if I start missing regular calls. It seems to be a fairly common problem with no real fix?
I texted a pic after turning wifi calling off and it did go quicker. - syaoranTransmission Titan
LG radios are known for being on the weak side. If you are experiencing just one to two bars. You might want to consider a device from OnePlus. The usable signal due to a specifically tuned T-Mobile modem firmware makes a difference, at least where I am.
- LawnMowerNewbie Caller
I’m late to this discussion but I just wanted to add that I just “discovered” this problem, i.e., sporadically cannot send or receive MMS with wifi calling active. I have a OnePlus 10 Pro 5G that I purchased from T-Mobile.
I send and receive a lot of MMS messages, and I’m understanding the only “fix” for this issue is to disable wifi calling in the phone’s settings. That’s a shame.
Is there any real fix for this issue?
Thanks.
- jaydee1956Roaming Rookie
I have never received a “fix” for this. On my Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, I finally found under settings, connections, data usage, a place to choose certain apps to always use “mobile data only” even when connected to Wi-Fi. It works much better and I’ve tested it in airplane mode with wifi turned back on. We’ll see what happens over Christmas when I’m out of mobile range and only have wifi.
- LawnMowerNewbie Caller
Well, I thought if I disabled wifi calling, the problem would be solved, but it’s not, at least for me. I disabled wifi calling about an hour ago and just discovered I wasn’t receiving or sending MMS messages. I guess I’ll go back to the messaging app and disable wifi and see what happens.
The fun part is I’ve rarely had problems with MMS on T-Mobile with this phone. It’s just started a couple weeks ago (I’ve had the phone for more than 6 months). The only way I’ve found to restore MMS functionality is to reboot the phone. I’ve already done that 3 times today.
- fireguy_6364Modem Master
is it both regular texts and mms having issues or just regular texts?
keep in mind that mms messages (group texts, pic texts and or super long winded texts) need a data connection to be sent/received. regular texts just the voice side
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