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Can't send MMS, error code 5 #45
Description
Activity
Are you able to send normal photos? Also, how large (in kilobytes) is this GIF file?
Are you able to send normal photos?
Yes but FYI I must type a text along with it or send button is greyed out.
Videos also do not send*
Reacted by Agnieszka C- changed the title
[-]Can't send Gifs, error code 5 [/-][+]Can't send Gifs or videos, error code 5 [/+]on Jan 24, 2024 Error code 5 is usually thrown when you are sending something that exceeds carrier limits. It may be that you have sent too many MMS messages or you are sending a file that is too big. The error messages need to be more user-friendly.
@Hwmpunk Can you please try sending a very small file no more than 20-100kbs?
Reacted by breversaError code 5 is usually thrown when you are sending something that exceeds carrier limits. It may be that you have sent too many MMS messages or you are sending a file that is too big. The error messages need to be more user-friendly.
@Hwmpunk Can you please try sending a very small file no more than 20-100kbs?
I sent a 191kb gif and it worked. The one that didn't was exactly 1mb. The stock Graphene messaging app can send larger Gifs and videos under 2mb. For some reason your app has a smaller limit of less than 1mb. But yes, there's a limit on standard mms.
Out of curiosity, stock Android or Apple can reduce the quality of the media in order to send, not sure how difficult it would be to incorporate that into the app. Would at least make mms more usable. Most pictures these days are above 2mb
Reacted by Naveen SinghReacted by Filene TaylorThe app always tries to resize normal images to the MMS limit set in app settings. It doesn't do that for GIFs (yet) so that explains why your stock messages app can send it by compressing it. Can you try sending a ~2MB JPEG or PNG image? It shouldn't fail.
23 remaining items
Last suggestion for tonight: once you’ve reset the configuration to default, remove
type=smsfrom the the first APN "Free".Also, set back the MMS size to the default (or minimum) value in Fossify Messages.
Then reboot and try again.
Reacted by AntainRhysOMG thanks a lot, it works !
Just, if I select for the "Resize MMS image" option "no limit" or "2 MB" in Fossify, I still get error 5…
But if I select 100 Kb or 1 MB, MMS is finally well sent this time 👍
Reacted by breversaOMG thanks a lot, it works !
Just, if I select for the "Resize MMS image" option "no limit" or "2 MB" in Fossify, I still get error 5…
But if I select 100 Kb or 1 MB, MMS is finally well sent this time 👍
Glad I could help!
It appears that every phone carrier has an undocumented limit to the MMS message size. Free Mobile’s seem to be between 1 MB and 2 MB.
Maybe we should try and document them somewhere?
Reacted by AntainRhysThere's a plan to map these error codes to user-friendly messages: #315
Maybe we should try and document them somewhere?
Ideally, the app should handle limits in-app. The mms config files are outdated, but could be parsed at runtime to automatically apply the carrier-specific limits instead of using a preference. There's also the CarrierConfigManager API (or SmsManager.getCarrierConfigValues()), but I haven't checked if it provides up-to-date information.
Reacted by AntainRhys and pike- marked Error Code 5 with pic under limit #199 as a duplicate of this issue
on Dec 28, 2025 - added a commit that references this issue
on Jul 12, 2026 Adding another data point for this issue:
Running GrapheneOS on a Pixel device. I received a 1.73 MB JPEG via MMS from an iPhone user without issues (meaning my carrier gateway easily accepts payloads near ~1.8 MB).
However, when trying to send the same 1.73MB image back with Fossify Messages:
'1 MB' limit: Sends successfully, but downscales the file more than necessary (773 KB output). '2 MB' or 'No Limit': Fails with Error Code 5 because the total payload exceeds the carrier's ~1.8 MB upload ceiling.Having more granular options between 1 MB and 2 MB (e.g., 1.2 MB, 1.4 MB, 1.6 MB, 1.8MB) under Settings > MMS > Resize sent MMS images would solve this gap for carriers that support >1 MB payloads without blowing past their upload caps!
Reacted by breversaThat's a nice detailed research. Thanks and well done!
Reacted by pike
Checklist
Affected app version
1.0.0
Affected Android/Custom ROM version
Graphene OS
Affected device model
Pixel 8 pro
How did you install the app?
None
Steps to reproduce the bug
Sending gif text results in cannot send, touch to retry. Then error code 5 pops up.
Expected behavior
Can't send Gifs
Actual behavior
Error code 5
Screenshots/Screen recordings
No response
Additional information
No response