MMS Problems with Samsung S5

[Aquakitten]

My husband and I both purchased Samsung S5s about 2 weeks ago and have both been encountering the same problem: If wi-fi is turned on, we cannot receive MMS messages.  We know that mobile data has to be turned on to actually *download* the message, but the MMS notification does not even come through until wi-fi is turned off for a few minutes.

I have seen other people with this problem, but no answer other than "just turn off the wi-fi" which, to me, is not an acceptable answer. Our wi-fi is almost always connected at home and especially at work where both of us are in buildings where the 4g/3g signal is very weak.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi Aquakitten  - Let's get your pictures downloaded consistently! To confirm, what are your current MMS settings for Auto-Retrieve found in the Messaging app>Settings>Advanced? I am eager to troubleshoot further!

Thank you,

YaleK_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWsupport

[Aquakitten]

Thank you! Auto-retrieve is turned on.  Also, I am not in power-saving mode and have not restricted background data (from what I can tell.)

[vzw_customer_support]

Aquakitten

Thank you for the details! Does this happen in all locations or just at home? Any other trouble with data while on WiFi (apps, web pages, etc.)?

RuthW_VZW
Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[Aquakitten]

This is happening on all wi-fi networks I have connected to and everything else seems to be working just fine.

[vzw_customer_support]

Aquakitten

I appreciate you checking that for me! Let's make sure everything is set up on your account correctly too. Can you please accept my request to follow you? Then you can follow me and send me a Direct Message.

Here's my profile: http://vz.to/1ly4msR

Here's how to Direct Message: http://vz.to/1lKLT9T

RuthW_VZW
Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[bearone21]

you answered your own question when you said that you're aware that mobile data has to be tuned on to receive the mms message & notification.

wi-fi's nice in keeping data use down but has it's limitations & this is one...

btw, i've never been able to send an mms message using only wi-fi & can't with an old droid x & the old s3, which was replaced with the s5..

[Aquakitten]

Thanks, @Bearoner21, but we found that this is an actual known problem that they are working with Samsung on to get it fixed.  If you read my initial problem, it's not that I am trying to use wi-fi to download the MMS, it's that there is no message notification at all when wi-fi is on.

As I later said to the tech

"Here's my situation:

Good: Phone's on, sitting there, wi-fi is off.  Someone sends an MMS and my phone alerts me.  I turn on my mobile data and download the message. Great!

Bad: Phone's on, sitting there, wi-fi is on. Someone sends MMS and nothing happens.  I eventually turn off my wi-fi and about 5 minutes later, an MMS from 3 hours ago comes through. This is where my problem lies."

It's actually also happening with this phone on AT&T and T-Mobile, but I think a lot of people either don't notice it right away, are using a 3rd party messaging app, or never turn off their data. Here's to hoping Samsung fixes it quickly!

[bearone21]

leave mobile data on all the time, wi-fi trumps data if you're using wi-fi at home/office/starbucks/etc & you should still get both notification & be able to send/receive mms messages.

it's not the phones fault if 3g/4g isn't that good where you work.

which messaging are you using, message+ or default(samsung)?

[Aquakitten]

@bearone21 Using the default Samsung app. I do not need to leave data on at all times. What I am saying is: if wifi AND data are off, I get a notification.  If wifi is on and data is off, I get nothing. You don't need data to get a notification... just to download the message.

I'm going to mark this as solved because it IS a known issue. Another carrier released a fix this week for it.