Hi,

I've just observed a very weird phenomenon on both my iPhone 3G and 3G [S] and would like to check with the rest of the forummers here if this is something that's being faced by just me or it's an across the board issue.

Issue
When 3G is OFF, I am unable to send/receive any MMS.
When 3G is ON, I am able to send/receive MMS.

I've been asked to do a clean restore to my 3G [S] and will do so in a short while. Hopefully, everything will be back to order then. Will report back if it works but if anyone else is having this issue, it'll be good if U can report it here so I know I'm not facing this battle alone

MMS service piggybacks on the data service you use, Tink. Take look at for example Celcom's settings. It uses the same APN settings for the Celcom3G to send MMS through. Turning 3G services off disables the ability to send these multimedia message service. Text-based messages uses the normal GSM network. You cannot send MMS through GSM telephony network.

EDIT: This is unique to the iPhone only. Other phones may be able to use WAP-based services for this, but even WAP employs GPRS as its mode of transport.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 2 2009, 09:03 PM

mine working both ways.....maxis deal used with celcom3g

FYI, tinkerbel is referring to this ON and OFF 3G mode.

not those maneuvers, via cydia, gibberish APN et cetera.

@stringfellow,
So if I read you right, this "issue" is actually NOT an issue but how the iPhone works?! Hence, no need for me to do clean restore on my iPhone 3G [S]? *smiles*

@nokia2003,
Yes! Thank U for pointing it out !

This post has been edited by tinkerbel: Jul 2 2009, 09:08 PM

@Tink
Yup. If you turn off the mode of transport, the "passenger" will go nowhere.

tink, tis mite scare u. But here goes. After reading ur issue, I sent a mms to my fren., I was on GPRS. He got it, using iPhone, ultrasnow unit. I tried sending it to u. But those red exclamation marks cm up. I'm not to sure wat to make of tis.

so are we going be charging for the 3g charge+mms or only mms charges?

This post has been edited by boogie78: Jul 2 2009, 11:56 PM

@harmeet15,
Er... my 3G is switched on so I should be able to receive MMS. If stringfellow's right then I shouldn't have anything to worry about but if his theory is right that should be the case for all of us too ! *ish*

I even went down the road of restoring my entire phone but my conclusion is still the same, MMS doesn't work if 3G is OFF.

@boogie78,
Er.. MMS is through data connection so U should be paying for data connection charges

wat abt da idea of da passenger getting onto a slower ride?
Wat I'm tinking here. It wud be kinda weird to not to be able to receive mms on GPRS or edge. Like 3g, da other two are also data carriers only slower. By rite. U shud be able to send or receive mms, only slower. If we turn off 3g, we can still use safari n other data services like da weather app n etc.

Tink, when u you off 3G, u still can sent MMS via GPRS. To do so, u must change APN, if celcom, mms.celcom.net.my

This post has been edited by baretta: Jul 3 2009, 12:55 AM

It all depends on the data carrier the MMS piggybacks on and what you set on the APN window. If your setting is via 3G and you turn that off, it'll go nowhere. If you want it to go via the slower data carrier, you need THAT data carrier settings on the APN window.

It was easier last time because there was no other mode of transport for these MMS other than WAP/GPRS. Now with 3G, you need to specify which data carrier you are sending it on.

I had been using this IPCC, iPhone_3.0_Maxis_my.ipcc.zip ( 24.31k ) on my iPhone 3G. My 3G has always been off in the settings menu. I managed to send MMS and was charged $0.25 on my hotlink account. I have yet to try receiving any MMS. I think you get charged $0.25 (maxis-maxis) no matter using 3G/EDGE/GPRS right?

@harmeet15,
It's weird I know but I can only hope string is absolutely right cause I tried the entire night and ended up restoring my 3G [S] thrice [and that can get pretty tedious!]. Since you're on Maxis and didn't do anything to your 3G [S], whatever your settings should be my settings and whatever works on your unit should work on mine!

@baretta,
The Maxis sets do not have APN settings

@calvin_gsc,
Yes I believe it's a flat rate - but for those on post-paid unlimited data plan, I believe that will fall as part of your plan [i'll reconfirm when my Maxis bill comes]

tats da ting..for both our cases, da num of variables is limited...same maxis network, same phone, by right it shud be working...
wat string is saying is totally correct..but tat may not apply for us maxis users..see we dun really hv an option 2 edit from which gateway we want to send our data/mms
those on digi or celcom can use da 3g or mms apn accordingly...while we dun hv 2...
maxis users, we can off our 3g and still send mms as they hv embedded mms settings in their carrier 4.0 settings...
still puzzled on whr ur prob mite be...

@harmeet15,
It is most unfortunate I do not have any other telco lines on me hence I opened this thread hoping for some information from the rest.

Btw now I'm having some issues with contact synching - MBP shows I have 576 cards but I only have 575 cards on my iPhone ! This is driving me super nuts

- Added @ 1112hrs -
MMS issue resolved - haf NO idea Y but am thinking, MAYBE there just wasn't EDGE/GPRS service where I live just 3G (does that make sense?) hence when I tried to send the MMS last night with 3G off it failed *shrugs*

Moving onto the the next problem *siGh* ... 1 down, hopefully 1 to go!

- Added @ 1137hrs-
Went through the contact list one by one and found the culprit. Deleted, re-added and re-sync did the trick! I think I'm good to go !

Thanks everyone for the help and contribution ! Will close the thread in the evening, just in case anyone wants to add anything else

This post has been edited by tinkerbel: Jul 3 2009, 11:38 AM

yup as harmeet says, maxis does not required APN setting.

I am jailbroken, i have tried send MMS though Edge OFF (GPRS) , EDGE(ON), 3G (ON) all success. As your phone is still "virgin" , it very hard to determine wat is wrong without those setting off.

p/s: MMS is a data, so u required GPRS,EDGE,3G to send it.

@Shock,
Yes it seems to be working now. Let's keep all fingers crossed

And, thank U all for the feedback. Will close this thread now