SMS character limit???

[#1]

Hi all, can anyone shed any light on whether or not Plusnet mobile (alias EE in this guise) have enforced the 160 character limit on SMS (texts)

Previously, on the same mobile phone, just switched to Plusnet, there were no issues and the SMS would be split and sent like normal as multiple SMS messages (which are reassembled at the other end as one message) as has been for years.

I've also noticed a 40p charge (can't see what it's been taken for either) when all my services are unlimited or seriously underused suggesting the dreaded MMS (always has been a very sneaky charge on mobiles).

Any ideas folks?

[#2]

Hi @rickief, thank you for getting in touch!

We do indeed have a standard SMS size of 160 characters.

As it says in our mobile price guide: https://www.plus.net/help/legal/mobile-price-guide

 '(2) Price per message. Standard texts have a 160 character limit.'

Occasionally, a long message can be converted into an MMS message to ensure that it all sends together rather then being split into multiple messages which can arrive separately.

I'd be more than happy to check your account and look into these charges for you to confirm whether this was the cause!

The information should also be available to you through your online MyAccount service!

If you'd like me to check, please click onto my profile and select the option to send me a private message!

Thanks

-Oli

[#3]

Isn't it down to the phone as to when texts become MMS? Strange, though, using my Samsung A5 a message that goes into 4 texts or more gets converted to an MMS. If I use MyPhoneExplorer on the PC connected to the same phone then the conversion to MMS happens when it reaches 6 texts.

[#4]

Thanks OliGaffney for confirming this, looks like I might have jumped to plusnet mobile a bit quick, normally with other networks SMS's are broken into chunks (I think its 153 characters) to send as multiple texts which are then recombined on the recipients phone.  Doing a conversion to MMS after only one 160 character chunk is definitely a sneaky move as people are now very much used to sending longer text messages...

Mav is also correct in that some phones will chunk 'up to' a certain number of texts then convert, some allow you to set the limit and some don't.

Word of warning for other users I guess!