Prince McLean
Apple added new MMS support to iPhone 3.0 to allow users to send pictures, video and audio recordings, contacts, or locations from Maps via 3G-capable iPhones. However, use of the new feature requires operator support.
AT&T, apparently afraid that millions of new iPhone 3.0 users would completely ransack its existing MMS service, reportedly decided to put opt-out service codes on all of its iPhone users' accounts until the company could beef up its network to accommodate the new demand.
In announcing its plans to enable the feature for iPhone users, AT&T explained, "It was important to give our customers a positive experience from day one. We support more iPhone customers than any other carrier in the world so we took the time necessary to make sure our network is ready to handle what we expect will be a record volume of MMS traffic. We truly appreciate our customers’ patience and hope they'll understand our desire to get it right from the start."
Rather than turning on MMS service for millions of American iPhone users all at once, AT&T has been selectively activating users across the country. Once activated, iPhone 3G and 3GS users should see a new "Cellular Data Network" menu item within the General/Network page of the Settings app and a new camera icon within the Messages app for sending photos.
It's possible to install a modified carrier bundle for AT&T to activate MMS software features, but this does not necessarily result in functioning MMS. Without AT&T removing your opt out, MMS messages will queue up with a red exclamation icon as they fail to actually send.
Many users are reporting that there is no correlation between working MMS and either their installed software version, their carrier bundle version, their service or texting plan, or their geographic location. AT&T appears to turning on MMS for users at random to achieve a staggered release up to the September 25 deadline.
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90 Comments
AT&T appears to turning on MMS for users at random to achieve a staggered release up to the September 25 deadline.
stagger on, At&t
doubt it's random. probably by something like billing cycle dates
For all the hoo-ha about MMS, my guess is that it won't get used all that much or often.
MMS was for a different era.
Over here in Thailand, we get 300 call mins, 300 SMS, 50 MMS, UNLIMITED EDGE 3G AND WIFI for only $12 a month.
For all the hoo-ha about MMS, my guess is that it won't get used all that much or often.
MMS was for a different era.
MMS is not for a "different era". There are millions of phones that use it and have used it for much longer than Apple even thought about putting out an iPod.
Not everyone has a smart phone and that will be the case for years to come.
Prior to 3.0 we had to email one YES 1 photo at a time. In my family there are two smart phones that have email out of 5 kids (and I'm 45).
Get off your fricking high horse and realize this has been missing for no reason other than AT&T & Apple's making AT&T'S network even worse. Now (if rumors are correct) you are stuck with AT&T for years.
Enjoy the new feature which is 15 years old and no multi-tasking operating system.
I'm out of my contract next July and can't wait to embrace Android. Yes, they only have 10,000 apps but they aren't all FLASH LIGHTS AND FART APPS.