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The modern world of texting has moved far beyond just text messages. While it used to be a medium limited exclusively to text-based messaging, it has now become a way to communicate all kinds of multimedia messages and information.
Photos, audio files, and other non-text-based files can be sent from smartphones in a very similar way to regular SMS messages. This is done through a technology called MMS messaging.
While MMS messages are technologically very similar to SMS messaging, they are not entirely the same. This introduces potential problems with phones using MMS messaging. Although these are easy fixes on smartphones, it’s important to know how to make these fixes so that you can keep sending people everything you want.
Here is how to enable MMS messaging and start adding real color and depth to the texts you send.
What is MMS Messaging?
MMS is an acronym for “Multimedia Message Service.” It’s a technology specializing in sending messages containing higher amounts of data than SMS messages.
Most MMS messages can send files as big as five MB (megabytes), which is more than enough for almost any photo that you would need to send. MMS also allows you to send other media over text, including video and audio, as long as the files are small enough to fit in the five MB data cap.
A lot of modern texting plans combine the use of MMS and SMS texting within the same plans. It’s a very simple and easy way to combine their uses because they tend to appear to be functionally similar to each other when in use.
It is important to note that MMS messaging is not the same thing as using iMessage or any other messaging service not based on SMS or MMS texting. When messages are sent over iMessage, they are sent using data and Wi-Fi instead of regular texting services.
This method of messaging has upsides and downsides, but it functionally works similarly in execution. iPhones can send SMS and MMS as well. That happens when there isn’t Wi-Fi or a stable data connection.
iMessage is good at enhancing and filling in the gaps of text messaging, but generally, SMS and MMS messaging are universal and usable.
Why Enabling MMS is Important
Your smartphone probably has MMS enabled. The flexibility and usefulness of MMS messaging have made it an increasingly popular medium for communication.
If you’re having trouble sending multimedia messages, the culprit could be a disabled MMS setting. This can be due to many different things, including unintentionally altered settings, someone trying to fix a problem incorrectly, or the phone just using that setting by default.
Whatever the reason, enabling MMS messages is fairly straightforward.
How to Enable MMS on iPhone
On the iPhone, there is a higher likelihood that MMS will be disabled. That’s because iMessage tends to try to fill out many of the features that MMS messaging naturally does.
While the services both do the same things, MMS messaging has better range and versatility when texting phones that aren’t iPhones.
Apple makes it simple to check your MMS settings on your iPhone. Just follow these steps to see if your MMS messaging is enabled or not.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Locate the “Messages” section of the Settings app. If you can’t find it, scroll to the top of the screen, and search for Messages in the search bar. Tap on Messages once you find it.
- Scroll to the section that has “SMS/MMS” as the header.
- In that section, check to see if the “MMS Messaging” switch is enabled. If the switch is to the right and is showing green, then MMS messaging is enabled. If it is to the left and is showing a similar color to the app’s background, then it is not enabled.
If you want to double-check the functionality of MMS messaging by isolating the MMS and SMS messages, you can disable iMessage to make all messages send as MMS and SMS. This is also very simple and is in the same area as the Settings app.
Follow these steps to disable iMessage:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Locate the “Messages” section of the Settings app. If you can’t find it, scroll to the top of the screen, and search for Messages in the search bar. Tap on Messages once you find it.
- At the very top of that menu, there is a setting that says “iMessage.” Switch this toggle to the off position so that white is showing instead of green.
Doing so will enable you to send and receive text messages using SMS and MMS only. Make sure that SMS and MMS are still enabled, and you should be able to use both.
If iMessage and MMS are enabled, your iPhone will default to sending messages through iMessage. That is due to iMessage being inexpensive and fully featured over MMS and SMS.
However, because MMS and SMS messaging have more range in their ability to send, they will be used by the phone in the case of data or WiFi being unable to connect iMessage to the internet.
How to Enable MMS on Android
Android devices are more likely to have MMS messaging enabled by default because they don’t have iMessage to fall back onto in multimedia messaging. However, there are many cases where MMS messaging can accidentally become disabled, which can make texting and sending messages with an Android phone much more difficult and frustrating.
Many Android phones have different operating systems and skins over the standard Android features, so sometimes, the settings to enable MMS messaging can be a little different. However, the processes generally tend to follow a similar overall path to completion.
Follow these steps to make sure MMS texting is enabled on your Android phone. This process involves resetting the MMS functionality of your phone.
- Go into your Settings app.
- Select the connections section of Settings.
- Find the section that says Mobile networks, and select it.
- Find the section that says “Access Point Names” and go into it.
- Select the button that says “Menu.”
- Choose the option that says “Reset to default.”
This should effectively reset the MMS functionality of your phone. If this doesn’t work, it’s important to try to troubleshoot other parts of the phone to see if something else isn’t working. Important things to check include:
- Make sure the phone has access to data and carrier services.
- Make sure your texting plan supports MMS messaging.
- Make sure your SIM card is functioning correctly.
If none of these work, try resetting your phone. MMS messaging works on Android phones by default, so if there are considerable problems with the messaging service, it is helpful to take your phone for repair to see if it is malfunctioning.
How Community can Make Use of MMS Messages
One important use of MMS messaging is that it adds color and depth to text marketing campaigns. Often, text marketing campaigns are unengaged and unexciting. Messages that make use of multimedia are more engaging and exciting for members to use.
Community takes these MMS features and uses them to create incredibly engaging interactions over text at scale. Community is very intentional about making use of mass text marketing in ways that lead to better engagement, and MMS messaging is a huge part of that.
If you’re looking for a new way to engage as a company with your members, check out the tools that Community provides. The next step in community engagement for companies is here, and it’s Community.
Check it out, and get your number today!
Sources:
How to Enable MMS on an iPhone | Business Insider
MMS Problems on an Android | Chron
Quick Answer: How Do I Turn On MMS On My Android? | OS Today
