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data on. download pictures not happening. Samsung galaxy prime.

kfe
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

My data is on. Samsung galaxy prime. I rarely receive downloads (usually pictures or videos) the first time i click on 'download' on the message. Can't find any 'automatically download messages' in the settings as suggested. I have restricted background data on lots of stuff - could that be interferring and if so which apps should i unrestrict. It's very frustrating bc sometimes i have clicked the download more than 20 times!! Frustrating! 

6 REPLIES 6

kfe
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

It turns out the Galaxy Prime model is known to be like this. i have a different model now and no problems. Thanks for the replies!

Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello Kfe,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  I assume you're referring to downloading pictures via MMS. Have you verified your phone has the correct APN settings? You can verify those settings here. Since the device is LTE-capable, it should be using ltemobile.apn. If your device's APN is already set to that ltemobile.apn, you'll also need to ensure the MMS settings are correct in that APN.

 

  What messaging app are you using? In many Samsung phones, the automatically download messages setting is usually found in the message app's Settings --> Multimedia messages --> Auto Retrieve.

 

  I also have restricted the background data on most of my apps. However, you should unrestrict the background data for the messaging app.

 

Hope this helps Smiley

 

Cheers


kfe
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

had tried those things already and unfortunately no change. 

Thanks for the reply . 

Not sure if this is anything or not, i received a couple pics from my nephew who lives 200 km away and they came in 2 try. Rare occurrance . 

Not sure if What's app is different but no problem with media on it.

Sad

Hello again,

 

  Whatsapp messaging is different from sending/receiving SMS and/or MMS. Whatsapp messaging is sent/received as data and is transmitted entirely via the internet. That's why Whatsapp messaging is possible with a Wifi-connection. On the other hand, SMS and MMS are sent via the mobile networks and the data within MMS cannot be sent/received via a Wifi-connection.

 

  Were the pictures from your nephew received via Whatsapp? If yes, were you also connected to Wifi or mobile data?

 

  Are you able to use data at your location? Had you noticed your signal strength when trying to download MMS? One possibility is that the connection is not adequate to transmit the data within a MMS. I remember with my old phone, I had to travel across the city in order to get a strong enough signal to send/receive MMS. Calls and SMS worked fine at my location, but the connection just wasn't good enough for transmitting MMS.

 

Hope this helps Smiley

 

Cheers


kfe
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Hi,

Thanks again. 

The pictures from my nephew were MMS. 

Thought What's app was different. 

I will check my signal strength. Is there anything I can do to boost the strength if that's the issue? Thing is, none of my other local friends have complained about this though. 

Smiley

Hello again,

 

  There are many factors which can affect quality and strength of connection. Firstly, the band/frequency to which the phone connects. Depending on your version of the Galaxy Prime, it might not have all of the compatible bands/frequencies (see here). You can verify the compatible bands/frequencies here. That said, it should have all of the compatible bands/frequencies for 2G and '3G'.

 

  In addition, cell reception can vary quite a bit between mobile phones. For example, a professor at Denmark's Aalborg University tested the performance of various mobile phone antennae (see here). I'm not sure how much we can extrapolate from his data because Fido/Rogers uses mostly different bands/frequencies and the study is now a few years old. However, it does illustrate the large differences between phone models. Do your local friends use the same phone?

 

  Also, cellular signals are affected by interference by buildings, trees, etc. I understand it can be quite cold outside these day, but have you tried to send/receive MMS outside to see if that might make a difference?

 

  You might consider trying a different location closer to a cellular tower to see if that improves sending and receiving MMS. You can get an idea of your local cellular towers here. If a location closer to a tower does not improve the situation, there may be something else causing your issue.

 

  Unfortunately, if signal strength is the culprit, there isn't much that can be done to improve the signal. One possibility would be to purchase a signal booster for your location, however, it is an added expense. Alternatively, a different phone may also help.

 

Hope this helps Smiley

 

Cheers