I can’t send or receive pictures or videos through text messages on my iPhone. I think I need to enable MMS messaging but I’m not sure how. Can someone guide me on fixing this?
Alright, so you’re stuck in MMS no-man’s-land. Here’s the quick and dirty:
- Go to Settings.
- Scroll like your life depends on it till you hit Messages.
- Look for this magic toggle called MMS Messaging—if it’s off, tap that sucker on.
Now, if you’re feeling fancy and it’s still not working, maybe your carrier’s out here trying to ruin your vibe. Make sure your cellular data is turned on (because MMS refuses to work over Wi-Fi like a weirdo), and if that doesn’t solve it, call your carrier and unleash your frustration on someone who can’t fix it but will politely listen.
Also, PSA: Make sure your phone isn’t set to SMS-only apocalypse mode or using outdated carrier settings. Head to Settings > General > About and let your phone look for updates because sometimes Apple is sneaky like that. If nothing works, blame Mercury retrograde and text your pics the old-fashioned way—through email. 
Yeah, okay, @reveurdenuit covered most of the basics, but let me hit you with some stuff they didn’t mention because, honestly, turning on MMS messaging should not feel like solving world peace.
First off, you need to make sure your phone number is listed to send messages. Sounds dumb, right? But go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and check if your number’s there as an option to send from. If not, congrats, you’re basically invisible to the messaging gods.
Next, if MMS is still playing hard-to-get after you’ve toggled it on, try resetting your network settings. Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. And yeah, I get that it’s annoying because you’ll lose saved Wi-Fi passwords and whatnot, but desperate times, dude.
Oh, and did anyone bother to tell you that one random thing—like group messaging? Make sure THAT is on too (it’s under Messages in Settings). Sometimes group settings being off messes with MMS. You’d think Apple would make these settings talk to each other, but nope.
Last curveball—maybe your carrier just never enabled MMS for your plan. I know @reveurdenuit hinted at the carrier thing, but like, triple-check with them, especially if you switched carriers or got a funky data plan. Carriers love to sneak-disable features because why not make life harder for us?
And honestly… if your phone is ancient (we’re talking iPhone 4 or something prehistoric), you could just be facing the harsh reality that newer messaging protocols don’t play nice with old tech. I’m just saying.
Alright, you’re neck-deep in MMS purgatory, and that toggle trick from @stellacadente and @reveurdenuit was supposed to be your golden ticket—but nope, still stuck. Alright, let’s troubleshoot this like it’s crunch time, but with a twist they didn’t dive into.
First, let’s talk about Wi-Fi Assist. Unlike their suggestion to just stick to cellular data, there’s a sneaky feature in iPhones (Settings > Cellular > scroll down to Wi-Fi Assist). This keeps your MMS from being DOA when your Wi-Fi decides to mimic a potato. Make sure this is ON—sometimes this makes all the difference.
Second, your iPhone’s region settings? If you’ve gone adventure-mode with regions or languages, MMS can throw a tantrum. Head to Settings > General > Language & Region and ensure you’re set to the right region because carriers tie MMS configs to that. Another detail they didn’t spell out, and honestly, this can be the silent assassin here.
Now, I’ve gotta lowkey disagree with @stellacadente’s approach to resetting network settings right off the bat. It’s extreme, and you’ll lose Wi-Fi info. Don’t resort to that unless you’ve exhausted every other method. Instead, go into Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options and check that ‘Enable LTE’ or ‘Voice & Data’ isn’t your blocker. Wrong configurations there can kneecap MMS without you realizing it.
Lastly, let’s touch on another hiccup they sidestepped—content size. Most carriers have a limit on how large MMS attachments can be (think under 1-2MB). If the thing you’re trying to send is a movie clip disguised as a text, Apple isn’t your problem—your carrier is. Resize that ish or send via email or iMessage instead.
So, after you’ve tackled toggles, settings, and region fixes, my one extra recommendation is to force restart your phone. Simplistic, I know, but it refreshes all the gremlins running your device’s apps and services.
Pros of this direct tweaking approach: No need to immediately call your carrier and listen to hold music for 30 minutes. Cons: If none of this works, you’re basically at the mercy of your plan provider.
Between @stellacadente and @reveurdenuit, I’d say they covered 75% of the basics. But toss in these extra steps, and you might just have a fighting chance. Otherwise, guess what, friend? Time for the nuclear option: your carrier’s helpline.