Farewell to MMS: Swisscom stops its service on January 10, 2023

A question after rereading the definition of service.

MMS: May contain photos, videos, voice or mp3 messages, documents, contacts, stickers or emojis. A text of more than 160 characters is also sent as an MMS (1,000 characters maximum).

What about text messages longer than 160 characters?

DanielD

Hello @DanielD, thank you for your message.

When a message is identified as MMS (regardless of the device), it will no longer be possible to send it after the MMS phase out. Customers will need to use one of the following alternatives: Threema or WhatsApp. Depending on the smartphone used, either the sending will simply be blocked or an error message will be displayed.

Good afternoon,

Excellent question!

And what will happen if we receive an MMS from abroad???

@StéphanieC

Hello

A text of 160 characters is sent by SMS.

At the time for example 200 characters was divided and sent as 2 separate SMS and still current or the entire text of this famous SMS always becomes an MMS which will be refused by the system?

Doremi

I dug into the question a little and it appears that for long texts, the choice between concatenation of SMS (SMS-long) or conversion to MMS is managed by the phone. If the phone chooses the MMS path, this will not work.
To avoid the problem with my Galaxy (Android) I have to configure the Messages with “Alphabet GSM” and MMS “Limited”.

DanielD

Hopefully by then Apple and all Android manufacturers and operators will have integrated RCS, because unfortunately no proprietary app or service is universal otherwise. Moreover, given the slow pace of adaptation of RCS around the world, I find the shutdown announced by Swisscom hasty, even premature.

Edit: thanks to the page which offers alternatives, I discovered the existence of the teleguard app. What would be the advantages and disadvantages compared to Threema, for those who know both?

just clarify that…

not all Natels currently active in Switzerland are smartphones:

- www.nokia.com/phones/fr_ch/feature-phones

- www.doro.com/fr-ch/telephones-et-accessories/telephones-mobiles

- www.emporia.eu/fr-ch/produits/apercu

- www.energizermobile.com/fr/accueil

- www.beafon.com/fr/mobiltelefone

and that, personally, I sometimes send an MMS, because that is a standard!

This is very damaging because everyone has SMS/MMS by default. I still use this technology which has recently improved with RCS (which with Duo allows it to compete with other messaging services). Obviously RCS doesn’t work with iOS….

Now that you have stopped the excellent iO, what do you recommend?

Not very practical between friends who have either WhatsApp or FB Messenger (which I use), Signal, Threema, Telegram etc.) which is why I like SMS / RCS (Google Messages)

…and also add that in terms of operating system, there are, in Switzerland, Natels (cellular phones) operating with HarmonyOS or KaiOS.

I will share this link, for the new generation who could follow this post 😉

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natel

DanielD

@JoelV and StéphanieC

you will seriously have to think about notifying the CFF and the Post Office:

- [www.20min.ch/fr/story/une-hotline-pour-denoncer-les-gares-sales-797634553857](https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/une-hotline-pour- denounce-dirty-stations-797634553857)

- geschaeftsbericht.post.ch/15/ar/fr/rapport_annuel/evolution_of_activity/market_of_logistics/parcels_and_letters_recommended.htm

technology must serve humans and not the other way around as you would like in this case.

To my knowledge, the post office only sends SMS. So this won’t be a problem. And what’s more, it has been possible for a while to receive notifications on your smartphone via their app to replace them.

@ Frog

according to an extract from the text:

For even greater user-friendliness, customers only receive a QR code, by e-mail or MMS, for the parcels and registered letters waiting for them. Once the code is scanned, the machine delivers the shipment.

Oops… I bow. I hadn’t paid attention to the machines. But since they have the infrastructure in place, I think they will be able to easily distribute the QR codes differently, via the application or the customer area in addition to the email. The same goes for reports to the Cff. But we certainly lose interoperability. I won’t be surprised if the délai before abandonment is extended soon…

@merinos

Hello

The CFF article with the link indicated by you dates from 2014 so this has changed the new number and the 0848 44 66 88 (8 ct /min)
.

SMS and MMS have disappeared and replaced by the CFF Mobile application under the help and feedback/contact form section.

Cordialement Doremi

@merinos

> not all Natels currently active in Switzerland are smartphones:

> www.nokia.com/phones/fr_ch/feature-phones

No need to be a smartphone to be “Rich Communication System” compatible

Current Nokias, those manufactured by HMD, (excluding old pure Nokia Finland) feature phones are all RCS compatible

I tested a message with photo between Android (Nokia 8 Sirocco) and iOS (iphone), it works.

@pioupiou

thanks for the info 😀

BUT so why do Samsung, iPhone & Co encourage us to change smartphones almost every year?

Plus, with planned obsolescence, it’s not all very eco-friendly!

In a drawer languishing in inactivity:

- 1 Nokia 3310, year 2000

- 1 Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, year 2007 (smartphone?)

- 1 HTC One S roulette, year 2012 (smartphone?)

we are going to test the RCS on these dusty devices…

@Doremi

so, it would be good if the SBB removed all their ad hoc stickers.

@ pioupiou

It’s not me who needs to be told, but JoelV and StéphanieC.

and why does Nokia (for its somewhat idiotic Natels [unlike the Sirocco that you mention]) not indicate this in its documentation?

because I have never seen this information, including regarding KaiOS.

--> prove me wrong, please.

a recent cross-referenced article:

[www.phonandroid.com/rcs-sms-ou-imessage-quelles-differences-entre-les-technologies-de-texto.html](https://www.phonandroid.com/rcs-sms-ou-imessage- what-differences-between-texting-technologies.html)

@pioupiou
an RCS exchange between a NOKIA 8 Sirocco and an iPhone? Impossible! The two are not compatible.