Auto downloads and photos not showing up in text messages :(

[GilbertMama]

I just got a Samsung Galaxy S4 and I noticed that my phone automatically downloads updates onto my phone. It burned through a huge chunk of my data, so I turned the auto update feature off....I think. (Honestly, I still don't know my way around my phone..the user manual was SO great.) Anyway, I discovered that when people send me photos in text messages, I can't view (download) them. Is there any way I can keep my updates as manual and still get photos via text?

[tikibar1]

Having your app updates set to manual won't affect your picture texts.  You may be trying to download your picture texts over wi-fi; they'll only send/receive over a mobile data connection (but they count against your text package, not your data plan).  If you have both wi-fi and mobile data turned on, the phone should switch as needed to download the picture texts; ensure that Auto Network Switch is on, i.e., menu > settings > wi-fi > menu > advanced > ensure Auto Network Switch is checked

The complete user manual can be found at:

http://cache.vzw.com/multimedia/mim/sam_galaxy_s4/samsung_galaxy_s_4_um.pdf

[GilbertMama · Accepted solution]

So I went and turned the mobile data on and the photos did eventually come through on the text messages, but I noticed that my data did get nibbled at. I'll take a look at the manual and see what I can figure out. I don't have a huge data package, which is why I don't want a lot of extraneous stuff just hacking away at it. If I can streamline it, that would be awesome.

[vzw_customer_support]

GilbertMama,

We can understand how important it is to receive your photo messages. When you turn off your mobile data do you have wifi turned on? If no, then we encourage you to log into a wifi connection and see if you can download your photo messages. I understand how you want to keep your data low.


RobinD_VZW

Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[tikibar1]

Verizon Wireless Customer Support wrote:

                

GilbertMama,

We can understand how important it is to receive your photo messages. When you turn off your mobile data do you have wifi turned on? If no, then we encourage you to log into a wifi connection and see if you can download your photo messages. I understand how you want to keep your data low.


RobinD_VZW

Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

 

robind_vzw   Has there been a recent change in Verizon's system that now allows photo texts to be sent/received over wi-fi?

[robind_vzw]

tikibar1,

Please accecpt my apologies. You are correct that you cannot receive photo texts over wifi. Thank you for clarifying that immediately.

Again my apologies.

RobinD_VZW

Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[GilbertMama]

Ok, so  just so I can understand this correctly, if I have it set to not update downloads, I can't get photo texts because photo texts do not come in over wi-fi?  So if I want to get my photo texts, I need to turn the update download option on when I get photo texts and then turn it off?  

[tikibar1]

I'm not sure what you mean by "have it set to not update downloads" ... do you mean you've turned off the text Auto Retrieve, or that you've turned off automatic app updates in the Play Store, or something else? 

[GilbertMama]

Ok, so going back to my original issue, I didn't want my phone to automatically update app downloads because it was using huge chunks of data. I want to choose when I update downloads and for what things, which is why I turned that feature off.

Well, in doing so, apparently it won't allow me to view picture texts. That's when you said to enable Auto Network Switch so that photos can be downloaded using wi-fi. However, from what I understand in all of this, photo texts can't be downloaded via wi-fi.....so, I have to turn my automatic update stuff back on when I get photo texts? Is that right?

[tikibar1]

Changing your Play Store settings to not automatically update apps or to just update over wi-fi has no effect on your texts.

Picture texts cannot be sent/received over wi-fi ... they require a mobile data connection.  The Auto Network Switch is what tells the phone to switch to mobile data when picture texts are sent/received whenever you have both mobile data and wi-fi enabled.

To send/receive picture texts, you need to ensure that your mobile data is turned on ... and again, picture texts count against your text plan, not your data plan.

I'm on wi-fi most of the time, so I keep my mobile data turned off until I need it.  I leave my text app sent to Auto Retrieve.  Whenever I want to send a picture text or I get a notice that I've received one (it tells you in the notification shade that you have a text that needs downloading), I turn mobile data on long enough for the text(s) to send/receive, then turn it back off.

Does this help, or is it clear as mud?