Question

receiving images via text messaging


I have a basic Doro handset. Until a couple of weeks ago I was able to both send and receive images via the texting service. Now I can send OK, but incoming images [from all senders] get me a message along the lines of ‘xxx shared an album with you’, followed by a web address. I don’t know if it’s relevant, but my InBox shows the incoming message as having come from a number which is NOT the number of the person sending me the image!

Why is this? I’m well within my data usage limit. A call to Customer Care resulted in a change to my phone’s SMS setting, but it’s made no difference.

20 replies

Badge +10
Hi welcome to the ID mobile Community

The number you are seeing is that of the service provided by the third party network that stores the images on behalf of that customer. O2 used to do this very confusing stuff a lot.

Curiosity got the better of me, just wondering if it has anything to do with memory?
Do you have a load of messages saved going back months or years?
Might be a good idea to remove them, this could be a reason why they aren't coming in !

Also might be worth checking memory available in general on the mobile and delete any unused images/pictures, music, and anything you might have download from the Internet.
Userlevel 6
Badge +10
Hi @philc,

@terrywebbs has made some interesting points here. At first, it does sound as though there could be a memory issue, so if you can check your text message inbox for any old messages, deleting some may be the best place to start.

Ryan
I have a new SIM card, so my InBox is virtually empty, but am still seeing the same message from all senders.
Userlevel 7
Badge +7
Hi @philc,

Have you tried checking the handset storage such as the picture library to see if there is enough store available?

If the handset memory has been used up the handset may not allow you to download the images being sent to you.

Kash
It's a new phone [as well as a new SIM card]. It's a Doro 6520 - the Picture Gallery's empty.
Userlevel 7
Badge +10
Hello @philc,

Do you have another SIM card you can test the phone in to see if this is a handset setting issue or an issue from your SIM/network?

Mohammed
I don’t have another SIM. In any case, this problem occurred both before and after I changed my SIM and my handset. Doesn’t this suggest that it’s a network issue?
Userlevel 7
Badge +10
Hello @philc,

How is the person sending the photos to you?
Where are these photos located?

Is the issue similar to what's described here: https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/816653-send-mms-photo-video-not-album-google-photos.html

Mohammed
It's not one person, the problem happens with all senders, who are probably using different methods. None of them see an error at their end.

Specifically, my neighbour [who's also with IDM] has photos stored locally on his phone. He uses the Send option in Google Photos.

That link suggests that the problem might be due to file size. But the same users who can't send me images now could do so six months ago. Something has changed. They can't all have upgraded to better cameras during that time!

But I'll ask my neighbour if he can check the size of the image file that he's sending.
Badge +10
@philc the Doro 6520 handsets do not have much memory and can't cope with large images, they do not have the ability to resize incoming images down to the 300kb required to be view on this handset, this is specific to this mobile.

Do you have a lot of messages stored on the handset? Would be a good idea to clear out any old messages as receiving images is first effected by the storage capacity of the messaging app not the photo picture library app!
It's a new handset - no more than a dozen text messages in it and nothing in the Photo Gallery.

[Do individual apps have their own individual storage capacities? I'd always assumed that the device had an overall capacity which was shared among the various apps. Can I check on the Doro?]

My neighbour has a 2Mb image on his phone. He used the Reduce Photo Size app to compress it down to 67K and sent me the compressed version of the image. I still get the same message.
Badge +10
@philc each app has it's own individual storage capacity yes! Yep no matter how much memory you have free one app can literally exceed its quota and and will stop functioning properly. The Doro only has a max of 75Mb (very minuscule) space, no idea what is available for personal use as some of that will be needed for apps. You can extend the space with an SD card upto 32Gb card type: microSD, microSDHC. this would only be for direct image storage.

Have attached the manual so you can read about memory storage and how to check.
Page 26 will be of particular interest.
https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A104cY4sDVS.pdf

If your friend sends the image the normal way direct from his picture gallery, that size that should come thru.

Interesting note in the manual - I never knew this!!!
Note! Some service providers require you to send a picture message before you will be able to receive one. Send a picture message with text only to activate the service.
Interesting!

P27 of the Doro manual says that picture messages are, by default, saved to the phone, not the SIM.
Settings/Messages/MMS Settings/Memory Status/Phone gets me…
Used Memory:264kb. Free Memory:43322kb.
So there looks to be plenty of available memory.

Having lodged a complaint with iD Mobile I’ve received a set of instructions about how to correctly configure this handset. The field names in the instructions bear little relationship to what I actually see on the phone!

Should I be configuring Internet Profile or SMS Profile?
Userlevel 6
Badge +10
Hi @philc,

Could you try to edit the Internet Profile using the settings you have obtained? MMS generally uses these settings to send/receive the file.

Ryan
The data fields in MMS Profile and Internet Profile have the same names, but some of them don’t contain the same values. Should they?

For instance, MMS Profile has Use Proxy=YES, Internet Profile has it as NO.

iDMobile have sent me a value of ‘mms.idmobile.co.uk:8799’ to go in a Proxy Address field [which one?!], but the phone won’t accept any input beyond the second full stop. Presumably there’s a character limit?
Userlevel 2
Badge +6
Hi Philc, have you recently tried sending a photo to your own number to test both sending and receiving?

Phil
That hadn't occurred to me!

I've just tried it, and I receive the same text message. Now I'm thoroughly confused.
Userlevel 2
Badge +6
Did the message appear to send ok?

What is the first part of the link you that received please, don't type the whole link, just the first 10-15 characters.

Phil
Yes, no error when I sent it.

The link is https://photos.app.goo.gl/.....
Userlevel 2
Badge +6
Thanks, this link shows that the message is not being sent as an MMS and is in fact being uploaded online in a way that is accessible to the recipient following the link

This is the way Google Photos works and should not be a problem for you if clicking the link works ok, once you load the photo, you can save or download it to your phone if you wish.
-Phil

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