Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Hi everyone,

Good day to you all. I have been struggling with an MMS problem on Sailfish OS using the T-Mobile USA network for a long time and really need some help. I was wondering if anyone could please offer me some advice on troubleshooting this problem? I would be very grateful if someone knowledgeable could help me. Here are the core details:

• Sending or receiving MMS messages only succeeds intermittently
• I have zero issues with phone, SMS, or 4G data. The issue is only MMS.
• Sometimes it works on the first attempt, other times it can take
  many, many tries before it succeeds
• This happens with my Intex Aqua Fish (2G) as well as Sony Xperia X running the community port (4G)
• I took my Aqua Fish to Spain recently. T-Mobile has a roaming agreement there and it roamed on vodafone.es. Phone, SMS, and data was great BUT I had the exact same problem with MMS over there.
• The exact same settings on an Android phone (indeed with the same Xperia X before flashing it) are successful on the first attempt
• I tried the older legacy T-Mobile USA settings but have the same problem
• Wifi disabled or enabled does not change anything.

I installed the MMS Logger app from the Jolla store. Here is a link with the output of a sample MMS send. This is a very good example because it failed for about 4 minutes and then suddenly succeeded. The whole time the phone was not moved and it had a strong signal:

https://pastebin.com/e4VgCCuG

The only outright error I could see is HTTP Status 2 -- which doesn't appear to be a valid status code! Since it also says "Cannot resolve hostname", I'm wondering if perhaps I could get around this by hard-coding an IP into the hosts file, though I don't know enough about this topic to know exactly what.

Usually I will see this section in the log just repeated endlessly until it times out, but sometimes it succeeds as in the example log posted.

I honestly have no idea how to go about troubleshooting this any further. I used to think my issue was that I had 2G only with the Aqua Fish, which is a very weak signal for me....but after seeing the same exact problem with a strong 4G signal on the Xperia X, I realized it is a deeper problem. I searched the forums and found several people complaining about this on the Nexus 5 but no solutions were posted.

I would be truly grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction. This MMS issue is a long-term headache and is the only thing interfering with an otherwise great Sailfish experience.

Thanks very much, in advance!

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

It's an ofono bug, I experience the same thing. I'm on SFOS 2.1.2.3 on an Xperia X using T-Mobile in the US (Chicago, city proper).

I'm not sure what triggers the bug, because I can do 3-5 tests before it happens (MMS logger output isn't conclusive), but if I do "pkill mms-engine" from fingerterm or over ssh, it works instantly.

I'm working on a solution, I'm not certain which way I want to go yet, but I'm thinking about changing the way it "hangs up" the connection after sending or receiving... maybe script it so that it pkills mms-engine each time as a workaround, until we can figure out why ofono does this.

I wish I had better news for you, but I've been banging my head against the wall on this one for a while. I'll keep you posted for certain, though.

Edit: at the moment, even a quick toggle to pkill mms-engine will work when MMS isn't functioning, rather than restarting the networking stack or rebooting. I'll update with progress as it comes.

Edit: some progress (16:57 Central time): I've been able to reproduce the bug. I sent 10 test messages to myself, sent and received successfully, then put the screen to sleep. When I woke the device, I was unable to send or receive again. I pkill'ed mms-engine, and sent 5 test messages to myself, sent and received successfully, then put the phone to sleep. When I woke the device, I was unable to send or receive again. I did this again several times, with varied message amounts, to verify that the putting the device to sleep with the power button is indeed what triggers the bug.

So, the bug *is* reproducible, and I've at least narrowed it down. I'm going to see if there's some way I can script it to pkill mms-engine when the device wakes or sleeps, just as a temporary workaround.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Try: network-mobile -> access-point-mms -> protocol -> IPv6

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

I have problems with sfos on oneplus x(at&t) receiving mms with text attached. Pictures without accompanying text, e.g., come in fine. You might ask those sending mms messages to you to try sending just the media and see if it makes a difference. Either way, your results might be interesting...

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Guys, thank you very much for the advice and suggestions, I really appreciate your help.

SUCCESS!!

karlos devel -- Your suggestion seems to have resolved my problem! It's amazing, but it is working consistently now after only toggling Settings->Cellular network->MMS access point->Protocol to IPv6

When it is on "Dual" or "IP" I get the problem, but IPv6 is fine. I wish I'd tried that a long time ago. Thank you so much, this is a huge help!!

deprecated - It continues to work for me after manually pressing the sleep button and waking it back up. If you are on IP or DUAL, you might want to try IPv6 in case it also resolves it for you.

robthebold - At least in my case with T-Mobile USA, it doesn't seem to matter if the mms has text with the attachment. That might be a provider specific issue. Nevertheless, I appreciate the tip.

Thanks again for everyone's input. It was very kind of you all to take time to respond and help me with this. This was the last hurdle I had to fully enjoy SailfishOS. Awesome! :)


Best Wishes,

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

@paulwk - awesome! Glad to hear it's working for you. Do you mind sharing your Data and MMS APN settings with me? I've tried everything from the old voicestream MMS APN to the newer epc, but I always have intermittent functionality - and I can reproduce that bug above - like clockwork.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

No problem at all, I'd be happy to share them. I originally set these settings manually because the defaults did not work nor did epc or voicestream. I copied these from an Android device with my SIM card in it and they work great for me.

Connection Name: T-Mobile MMS
Access point name: fast.t-mobile.com
Protocol: IPv6
Authentication: None
Proxy Address: Leave blank
Proxy Port: Leave blank
MMS message center address:
http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc

BTW, if it's relevant for you, here are my Data access point settings:
Connection name: Internet/WebConnect
Access point name: fast.t-mobile.com
Protocol: Dual
Authentication: None

I hope this helps!

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Thanks a lot! That's literally the only combination I *hadn't* tried. Now it's working well, without the need to toggle off 4G! This is great, maybe I was overthinking it. LOL :D

Still going to monitor ofono and see what happens.

Edit: most of my problems seem to be stemming from the fact that, up until very recently, I had to use the 3G APN's for my area, as some parts of Chicago are heavily saturated on the 4G bands, so I didn't mind resigning to the 3G bands which were actually faster. Hey, this works, and maybe I was wrong about the ofono bug. More of a glitch than a bug, and limited to a very small set of conditions.

Thanks again, @paulwk, and @karlos devel for suggesting it.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Cool!! I'm happy to hear that it's working for you, too. So that seems to be the winning combination for Sailfish on T-Mobile USA: the APN settings above with IPv6 for the MMS protocol. This is just great! :)

It's interesting that that bug you found only manifests when connected to their other APNs. It must be some weird compatibility issue, though I suppose it doesn't matter now. BTW, I've found that these same APN settings will still work if you are connected to 2G (prefer 2G setting in Settings or with 2G only in US Aqua Fish). Where I live, I only have a weak 2G signal and good 4G -- strangely, there is no 3G available, so not sure about that band.

Hurray for Sailfish on T-Mobile USA. Enjoy your device! :)

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Very exciting! I think I figured out the culprit. The older MMS APNs absolutely require the old MMS proxy, and it seems ofono freaks out sporadically when it attempts to connect to the proxy.

Nice to see this working 100% though. I always thought I'd be limited to 3G on Sailfish in the US. This is why I love this community. Working together!

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

@deprecated - disregard that PM I just sent you about the APN setting. I just found this thread and caught up.

@rest of thread - I am SO glad to hear that T-Mobile USA and correct settings will give us read speed. Now I am really stoked to get the XX ordered and official build installed. Thanks for being trailblazers!

Gee, I will have to change my username soon.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Just want to say thanks for identifying and solving this. This had been plaguing me and preventing me from using Sailfish OS as my daily driver since I toyed with Nexus 5 port this time last year.

I had incorrectly assumed it was specific to the Nexus 5 port and was about to freak out hard when SailfishX exhibited the same behavior.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

MMS still does not work for me (Portland US, Sailfish X, T-Mobile)...
By default Data and texting works fine. But sending an MMS just hangs with the the message "Sending..."
If I edit the MMS access point as suggested, MMS will not get stuck on "Sending..." but instead just says "Problem with sending message"

Also, After a reboot the MMS setting revert to:
T-Mobile MMS
internet2.voicestream.com
IP
Auth: None
Proxy: 216.155.165.50
Port: 8080
MMS message center: http://216.155.174.84/servlets/mms

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Make sure to apply my fix for APN settings sticking:

http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...7&postcount=93

My settings that work flawlessly in Chicago:

T-Mobile MMS
epc.t-mobile.com
IPv6
Auth: None
Proxy: Blank
Port: Blank
MMS message center: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc

T-Mobile Data
epc.t-mobile.com
Dual
Auth: None

Works every time, just not when you're on WiFi exclusively, or on a VPN.

Edit: I also select "Prefer 4G" and set the network to T-Mobile manually in the settings.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Looking forward to you joining the club! I miss my N9, for what it's worth. :D

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

That did it... For the most part... MMS still will not work when I'm connected to WiFi. Deactivating WiFi fixes the issue.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

I can dependably reproduce the MMS failure in sending and receiving at will when wifi is on. As soon as i disable wifi, MMS sends and receives successfully. My cellular internet data works successfully as well. As soon as i turn wifi back on MMS's start hanging in both directions. This is on the official Sailfish X for Xperia.

I'm on consumer cellular btw, Dual mode, preferring 4G. CC resell att and tmobile.

Found an old closed bug over at jolla where they say this operator-specific, but my APN works perfectly in all ways when wifi is off, so i'm not sure.

https://together.jolla.com/question/...-wifi-enabled/


This is the last issue i have to solve to be thrilled with the device, but at least i have a workaround of disabling wifi when i see an MMS come in.

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

I have this same issue. I'm not sure if it was present on the community build, as I remember being able to send test MMS'es with WiFi toggled on.

I'll flash the community build a little later tonight to test this... for science. :D

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

I just saw the latest posts and I'm not sure if you've had a chance to test yet....but I can confirm that I definitely had the "MMS fails if wifi is enabled" issue in the community port. When I reflashed to the official build, I checked it out of curiosity and found it had the same bug. Disabling wifi instantly resolved the problem in both builds.

With both the community port and official release, I also had the problem where MMS settings do not persist following a reboot of the phone. This complicated my MMS troubleshooting efforts until I realized what was happening. I had to run the following command and reboot the phone after entering the correct settings:

I found that fix on a forum somewhere. It appears to be variant of your own solution, but without a backup, so I like yours better. Fortunately, it seems to have permanently resolved the problem, though I was a bit surprised to see that bug make it into the official release. My guess is that the majority of testers didn't have to change their MMS settings like we do for T-Mobile USA so perhaps it slipped through the cracks. If T-Mobile were assigning the correct values to the device in the first place, I'd never have noticed it.

In any case, both of these MMS issues have easy workarounds or fixes, but I thought I'd share my experience. I have seen no difference whatsoever between the official release and the community port in regards to these bugs. Hopefully they will both be addressed in the next update. I've been living with Sailfish MMS problems for YEARS before we solved them via this thread, though, so I'm really not complaining! It's so nice to be able to *reliably* send and receive MMS these days. :)

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

Wifi is definitely the problem for me.

(However, even when MMS works it does not do group texts. Can Sailfish not do those? UPDATE: never mind. I found an older thread that says that indeed SFOS can't do group texting. )

Re: Sailfish MMS problems - T-Mobile USA
 

I too am on T-Mobile US and I had the same problem, I had some success when I switched from IP to IPv6 in MMS settings, plus the same APN settings as paulwk. But it seems the problem can come back, even with IPv6, if you get a 'mms-engine' process stuck in memory like I did.

Under normal operation that process should exist only as long as it takes to send an MMS message. When things were bad I even killed the mms-engine process in a terminal and it respawned, preventing MMS from working (perhaps it respawned because the Messages app was still trying to use it?). If I insure there are no mms-engine processes running though, I can send and receive MMS. I even slept the device and MMS works, and also rebooted and MMS works.

So if your MMS capability breaks, close your Messages app, try 'ps ax |grep mms-engine' and kill off that process before trying again, with 'kill <PID>' or maybe just 'killall mms-engine'. deprecated, would you concur with this theory?

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(SFOS 2.0.5.6 on 1+X)