topic Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue in XPERIA archive

Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 04:49:50 GMT

Hello,

When I receive a concatenated SMS, my Xperia Z1 only displays the last segment of the message. All the other segments seem to be sent to a blackhole. This is annoying to understand the whole conversation.

Based on my experience with my previous phone, which did not support this feature, my operator sends the different segments in the disorder (usually the last segment comes first) and sometimes uses different Service Centres to relay the segments.

Is there a way to force my device to display the missing segments while waiting for a (potential) fix?

Thank you.

Eric

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Uliwooly — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 05:59:12 GMT

The problem is that if the sms its longer than 160 characters it will be converted to a MMS, if you don't have a data plan you are not going to be able to send nor receive them, there isn't a way to turn this off, unless you download another messaging app such as handcent

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 06:18:59 GMT

Nope, concatenated SMS and MMS are totally different. Switching to MMS for an SMS longer than 160 characters (7-bit) or 80 characters (8-bit) looks so old-fashioned. And yes my MMS parameters are correct but that's not the issue.

Concatenated SMS allows a user to send up to 255 different SMS (segments) that appear as a single SMS on the device. In each message there is a "tag" to identify the ID of the message, the number of segments, the number of the current segment and if more segments are coming.

Simple test: insert 161 (or more) 7-bit characters, you will see a box indicating 2 SMS on the right of the text box. Next, insert a picture, a pop-up will appear saying "converted to multimedia message" and the box becomes MMS. Then remove the picture, there is a new pop-up saying "converted to 2 text messages" and the box becomes 2 SMS again.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Uliwooly — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 06:32:48 GMT

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-pro-Xperia-neo-V-Xperia/How-to-disable-SMS-to-MMS-coversion/m-p/385781/highlight/true#M24230

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 07:05:16 GMT

The OP was asking for his Android ICS phone, and ICS was released almost 2 years (!) ago. It is an eternity for Android (sorry for those who are still with ICS or below).

Anyway, I am not asking for outbound messages but for inbound messages on an Xperia Z1 with Jelly Bean 4.2.2.

(And yes, the Z1 does not switch to MMS after 3 SMS as shown in the picture below)

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Uliwooly — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 07:12:44 GMT

I can't see the picture, upload it to box.com and post the link here

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 07:25:54 GMT

Here is s link to tinypic http://i40.tinypic.com/2wcgpaa.png but the problem is not here. It is when I receive a concatenated SMS, not when I want to send one.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Johan — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 07:50:12 GMT

I just tested to this but wasn't able to replicate the problem. I sent a 10 SMS long message to my coworker and he sent me one back just as long. And the whole message came through.

To make sure its not a problem with the messaging app in the phone try clearing data for the app.

Settings > App's > All > Messaging > Clear data.

But I believe it may be and issue with your network, So try changing SIM and check if this still remains. It could also be a problem with the network that the sender is using, so try sending and receiving between different network operators.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Rickard — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 08:17:56 GMT

To make sure it's not the sending phone and senders operator you could also try sending such a message to your own number from the phone.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 08:19:26 GMT

There is no problem is the message is sent from the same operator than mine. Unfortunately, I cannot choose the other party's operator...

To nail down the issue, it's when the segments arrive in the disorder and through different SC. I believe when I'm using my operator, the segments arrive in the order and through the same SC.

I know it's going through different SC because it is an international SMS and on my former phone the phone number appeared as 00<gateway code><country code><phone number>, with different <gateway code>. Which means that the original operator was using different networks to forward the segements.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Rickard — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 08:36:56 GMT

How the SMS is handled in the network is unfortunately not my area of expertise but to me it sounds very strange that the segments is sent over different networks and SCs. I would recommend that your friend contact his/her operator regarding this or if his/her phone and operator allows it, use another SC in that phone.

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 09:18:57 GMT

I agree, agreements between operators are rather obscure. But let's forget this for a moment, I would say it is an exception rather than the rule.

Is there a way you reproduce the reception of segments in the disorder? Or can I check somewhere in the logs (if any)?

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

Rickard — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 12:58:37 GMT

I'm unfortunately not able to test this myself. I would need a SIM-card from that specific operator for that.

I doubt it will solve the problem but you could try using other messaging apps like Handcent, Go SMS or similar and see if they are able to link the segments or provide more info about the message(s).

Re: Concatenated SMS reassembly issue

voguemerry — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 14:56:44 GMT

I bet the safest solution is to switch to another message service. As far as I understand, other SMS applications are just a front end to the SMS database and do not take care of the reception of the messages themselves. So if the segments are not in the DB, then neither the stock app nor the other apps will display them.

I would say the problem lies between the modem and the DB but that's pretty vague. I don't think my operator has rolled out a shiny new network during the last month; it was sending me all the segments before I changed my phone, it should still be sending them now.

Anyway, thank you for your help.