What to do if Galaxy S9 won’t send MMS when mobile data is off

Does your new #GalaxyS9 have a problem sending MMS when there’s no cellular data connection? This short troubleshooting article will give you an idea where the issue is coming from so read on.

Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy S9 won’t send MMS when mobile data is off

I’m not sure which system my phone operates off of. I just picked the first one and I’m with Union wireless, a local Wyoming service. My brand new samsung s9 won’t send MMS unless its connected to JUST my mobile data. If I’m connected to WiFi, even with my data on I can’t send or receive pictures. I have to turn my wifi off so it’s only running off data. I had a BLU energy x phone for almost 3 yrs before this, screen cracked to shit and held with tape, but I could still send pics even with my data off, it would just automatically connect to data for a few secs to send or receive. I’m kinda disappointed in this phone 🙁

I also can’t do video calls, there isn’t even an option for it. I’ve got a totally separate app called Duo for that. Is that normal on these on these phones? Thanks!

Solution: Multimedia Messaging Service or MMS is originally designed to work off mobile data only. Unless your network operator is now using a hybrid system that allows their MMS service to work with wifi, you won’t be able send or receive MMS at all. You must talk to your carrier to see if their MMS service runs the original technology or not. There’s no better people that can help you with this issue than your carrier.

Keep in mind that MMS on carrier-branded mobiles may not work when used on another network. For example, if your S9 was originally built for Verizon and was unlocked so it can be used on AT&T, MMS may not work. This usually happens if you bought the device from another person. If your S9 was provided by your carrier though, there’s no reason it’s MMS may not work. If you are fond of sending photos or videos to a friend and he/she happens to be using a third party messaging app like Facebook Messenger all the time, you can ditch your text messaging app and use Facebook Messenger yourself. That way, you can continue sharing files seamlessly. Third party apps like Facebook Messenger works across different platforms too, which means that even if your contact has an iPhone, he or she can still communicate with you and share files without any problems.

Video calls is a blanket term to refer to a service that allows a user to talk to another person via video and sound, in contrast to a traditional call. Depending on the apps that came with the operating system, there may or may not be a dedicated app for video calls from your carrier. Normally, there’s no such app since there are so many apps that would allow a user to do video calls. Examples of popular apps that should allow you to video call are the following:

  • Facebook Messenger
  • Skype
  • Google Hangouts
  • Viber

There’s a very long list of other apps that should allow you to video call. Remember, in order for a video call to work, the other end must have the same app. If you want to video call using Skype, the receiving part must also have a Skype app (and must have an active Skype account). You can’t use Skype to video call someone who only uses Viber on his/her phone. Again, we suggest that you talk to your carrier to know more about this. If you and your contact are both on the same network, there may be a carrier-provided app that allows video calls to go through without having to use third party apps like the ones in the list.

Problem #2: Galaxy S9 Plus cracked screen has horizontal lines and stays black

Last week a coffee mug fell on my S9 Plus in the bottom right corner, a very small round crack is now there.  The phone was still working fine for awhile and slowly but surely the screen would flicker while the phone was in use.  For example i am watching a show on the phone (phone turned horizontally), green line flickers across in the area where the crack occurred.  Fast forward to today, I walked to the library, and was using the phone on my way back, and must have sweat into the phone slightly ( as I said the crack is at the bottom right side).  Now the screen barely responds when i press any buttons, but the phone is on because people can call me. I have the phone in rice as we speak and hope that will work. I am not sure what else to do.  Every once in a while it will function like normal, but if i press the right hand key (top right button) as i normally would if the phone is not in use, the phone will flicker and go black.

Solution: The “rice solution” is overrated and in your particular case, totally useless. You clearly have a broken screen. While you may be able to make it work from time to time if you hit the sweet spot while pressing it, that’s obviously not a permanent solution. The screen is damaged and there’s no software trick that you can do to fix it. You can’t change some codes in the operating system to miraculously fix the physically shattered screen. What you need is a screen replacement. Bring the phone to a Samsung store and let them repair it!

Problem #3: Galaxy S9 can’t change APN settings, cellular signal is weak and keeps disconnecting

My Mobile Network perimeters are all greyed out including the APN so no additional APN’s can be added. Also, None of the Mobile Network perimeter can be modified because the to are all greyed out.Right my APN is Verizon Internet-TracFone VZWENTP (Using Verizon Towers) I have Straight Talk as my Mobile Service Provider. What do I to to get the APN and other perimeters so there not greyed. Allowing to add Straight Talk as another APN and modify the other related perimeters?

The biggest problem I am having the same problem when I am at home and traveling. My phone is always searching for service, my data signal is so poor most of the time I can’t even use the internet. Another strange thing is I will point my phone until I get the strongest signal Usually around 85 dBm. But, it doesn’t stay very long at a strong signal? it with for some unknown reason Jump up to around 120 dBm. Then, no matter which direction I point my phone the dBm signal doesn’t go any lower than 117 dBm? I have the same exact problem when I am traveling. I use my phones GPS alot and it will work sometimes. But, just when I need it most in areas I am not familiar with. the GPS will drop out and stop working.

I also stream music with my phone and the same thing happens with it. I am at my wit’s end with these issues. I hope you have answers to fix this extremely frustating problems. Your help fixing these problems will be greatly appreciated. Sincerly.

Solution: You either a software issue or a hardware malfunction. To know which of the two is causing the trouble, do a factory reset. Here’s how:

  1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung credentials to finish the master reset.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Now that you’ve factory reset the device, its software information should now be back to its known working state. If the signal issue remains even on factory state software, that means bad hardware must be to blame. There may be an issue with your phone’s modem. If there’s an available system update after a factory reset, make sure to install it to see if you can fix the bug on your end. If there’s no update, or if nothing changes after updating, let Samsung repair or replace the device.

If your phone was provided by your carrier as part of your cellular subscription, talk to them first to see if they have a solution for you.


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