Receive MMS without cellular data?

Submitted by Nqbbe-1 t3_10nlzhe in iphone

I recently switched from Android to iPhone and I've been used to being able to receive MMS messages without enabling cellular data. However on my iPhone I neither receive the message or even an information that an MMS message is pending download.

Is there some setting I can enable to either be able to receive the MMS or at least be notified that it's pending? (I've seen both solutions on my time with Android, and either will suffice for me on the iPhone)

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Note: I don't want to use iMessage as most people I write with are on Android.

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EDIT: I realize I need a data connection for MMS, however most Android devices can either switch on the MMS-part of the data connection automatically (without enabling e.g. Facebook and whatnot to suck down many Mbs of data as well) or just notify you with an SMS saying "hey here's a new MMS, go connect to data to fetch it".
Also my carrier doesn't support Wi-Fi calling, so maybe I'm just out of luck. It's a darn shame too because I otherwise really enjoy the iPhone :-/

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dskatter t1_j69i7a7 wrote

Turn on Wi-Fi calling if your carrier allows it.

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Nqbbe-1 OP t1_j69pwxl wrote

I should have mentioned this in my question, sorry. My carrier doesn't support Wi-Fi calling.

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dskatter t1_j69ql22 wrote

Gotcha. Then (as far as I know) there is no way to do this, unless you’re using a Google Voice number to do your texting.

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Nqbbe-1 OP t1_j69qtxm wrote

Bummer, but thanks for the answer none-the-less :-)

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dskatter t1_j69qxpl wrote

You’re welcome, wish I had better info for you!

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cr0wit0 t1_j69klry wrote

Mms is data. You still need cellular or wifi.

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Nqbbe-1 OP t1_j69pv19 wrote

I'm sorry my question didn't include this aspect. I realize I need data, however I don't want a full-blown cellular data connection as I have no data plan (and no access to one really), as such it gets way too experience with updates and whatnot.

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cr0wit0 t1_j69se72 wrote

Mms uses very minimum but still data. I dont know if you can get a plan with a couple of megs. Also, if your carrier has wifi calling, then wifi will be used to download mms.

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Nqbbe-1 OP t1_j69wfqc wrote

The main issue is really that with cellular data enabled all sorts of stuff starts using the megs I do have (which are few), e.g. for updates, checking e-mail, checking weather and what not. I've tried disabling background updates for a ton of apps, but I can still see my megs just disappearing rapidly.

Sadly the carrier doesn't support wifi calling either, so I'm probably just plain out of luck :-/

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cr0wit0 t1_j6a1gns wrote

Have you tried low data mode? According to apple this is what happens: Apps might stop using network data when you're not actively using them. Background App Refresh is turned off. The quality of streaming content might be reduced. Automatic downloads and backups are turned off. Services such as iCloud Photos pause updates. Built-in iOS apps and services adapt to Low Data Mode in the following ways: App Store: Video autoplay, automatic updates, and automatic downloads are turned off. Music: Automatic downloads and high quality streaming are turned off. Podcasts: The frequency of feed updates is limited, and episodes are downloaded only on Wi-Fi. News: Article prefetching is turned off. iCloud: Updates are paused, and automatic backups and iCloud Photos updates are turned off. FaceTime: Video bitrate is optimized for lower bandwidth.

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Nqbbe-1 OP t1_j6cc95i wrote

Haven't tried that actually, I'll give it a shot. Thank you for the in-depth explanation of the feature :-)

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Driver8666-2 t1_j6bmj9q wrote

As others have pointed out, you need cellular data or WiFi Calling in order to receive MMS messages.

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