How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2]

UPDATE: The original carrier file v5.0 I had was not allowing Visual Voicemail for some people. I have updated the link below to a v5.0 that allows you to edit your settings and allows both Visual Voicemail & MMS to work. See the guide below for updates. (I’ve added steps 9 & 10.)

If you want to revert back to the carrier file 4.0 (no MMS) you may download here.

MessagesOk, I’m super excited that I got this to work. I really think it has to with AT&T allowing it to work by removing the opt-out codes (the code AT&T put in to block MMS when firmware 3.0 came out). That’s why I think it took a few days for mine to work after doing what I’m about to show you. It’s really really easy. I’m running an iPhone 3GS, jailbroken, not unlocked, on firmware 3.0.1. Your iPhone does not need to be jailbroken for this to work and I have linked to the file needed for firmware 3.1. Here’s how I did it:

PC/Windows Instructions

1. Download this carrier update file (v5.0) if you are running iPhone firmware 3.0 or 3.0.1 (it might work with lower firmware but I haven’t confirmed it.) If you are on the new 3.1, download here (v5.1).
2. Close iTunes.
3. Click Start > Run > type:cmd then press enter. Run this command: “C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
cmd
dos
4. Open iTunes.
5. Hold the shift key while clicking update under your iPhone in iTunes.
6. Change the file type to “iPhone Carrier Configuration files” by clicking in the the bottom right corner and switching to *.ipcc.
filetype
7. Find the file of the carrier update you just saved to your computer in step 1, select it and click open.
updating
8. You iPhone is now updated. You may have MMS right away if AT&T has removed your opt-out code but mine took a few days.
9. To allow for Visual Voicemail to work on firmware 3.0 & 3.0.1 using carrier file v5.0, go to your Settings app > General > Network > Cellular Data Network > and under Visual Voicemail change wap.cingular to acds.voicemail
IMG_0378
10. Double check your MMS settings below the Visual Voicemail settings above to match this (do not enter anything in blank fields):
APN: wap.cingular
Username:
Password:
MMSC: mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: 066.209.011.32
MMS Max Message Size: 614400
MMS UA Prof URL:
IMG_0379

NOTE: If you are on EDGE it will take a while for the image to send. If AT&T hasn’t removed the opt-out code on your account yet, you will get a red exclamation point next to the message.

IMG_0453

Mac/OS X Instructions

1. Download this carrier update file if you are running iPhone firmware 3.0 or 3.0.1 (it might work with lower firmware but I haven’t confirmed it.) If you are on the new 3.1, download here.
2. Close iTunes.
3. Open the Terminal Application and run this command: defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE
Picture 4
4. Open iTunes
5. Hold the alt key while clicking update under your iPhone in iTunes.
6. Find your file of the carrier update you downloaded and select it.
7. Wait for the update. Once it’s done, turn off your iPhone and turn it back on.
8. You iPhone is now updated. You may have MMS right away if AT&T has removed your opt-out code but mine took a few days.
9. To allow for Visual Voicemail to work on firmware 3.0 & 3.0.1 using carrier file v5.0, go to your Settings app > General > Network > Cellular Data Network > and under Visual Voicemail change wap.cingular to acds.voicemail
IMG_0378
10. Double check your MMS settings below the Visual Voicemail settings above to match this (do not enter anything in blank fields):
APN: wap.cingular
Username:
Password:
MMSC: mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: 066.209.011.32
MMS Max Message Size: 614400
MMS UA Prof URL:
IMG_0379

NOTE: If you are on EDGE it will take a while for the image to send. If AT&T hasn’t removed the opt-out code on your account yet, you will get a red exclamation point next to the message.

IMG_0453

ScreenShots

[nggallery id=41]

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Comments

  1. where did that carrier file come from? is it from att or is this a hack??

  2. I did this last nite and it worked great! this morning ive been sendhing pix and the status bar would stay at about 9/10 for about a minute then it would send..then later on the messages would send pretty quick in about 10 seconds.Thanks for the instructions..yet tethering is not showing up.anyone else have similar problems?

  3. After five days, my MMS was enabled. :)

  4. I followed all the instructions and the feature works (I can add images to a text message) However when I try to send it, I get the red exclamation points and it does not send.

    I have the 3Gs with 3.1- I just got it and everything is the most recent version.

    I called AT&T to see if I could also get the feature enabled early and they told me I had to wait until Sept 25th! I know its only a week away but I am very impatient!!!

  5. I followed all the Mac instructions to a “T” and can now receive MMS messages but I can’t send them out. I’m on a JB 3G on the regional carrier Long Lines. I cycled the phone, made sure I was on 3.1 but no matter what I do, I can’t get the ipcc 5.1 to take in the update process. My iPhone stubbornly remains at 5.0. Would that have anything to do with it?

  6. i copy and paste the command but gets an error message …please help

  7. So what do you do if you call AT&T and there is no opt-out code but you are still getting a red exclamation?

  8. Recieved the 5.0 carrier bundle via email from a friend. Deleted the previous version on my phone, reset network settings and it worked flawlessly. Did the exact same thing with my wife’s phone and get the red “!”. Same 3G with 3.0.1 and even on the same account. Is the opt out per phone/number or per account?

  9. I followed these instructions and mine works. iPhone 3.1 3Gs on family messaging plan in Pittsburgh PA.
    I’ve noticed a few things:

    Texts with pictures go to about 90% and then take about a minute before they send. Has anyone else seen this?

    Friday was fine but Saturday and Sunday every MMS i send fails the first time. If I send it a second time it works. So now every MMS i send has to be sent twice. Once will have the red ! and not get there but the second will. Has anyone seen this?

    • ive had this happen to me the first day or so i had mms..try restarting your iphone a few times and see how that goes.my pic messages now send in about 15 seconds so thats a big increase from when i first activated mms

    • I’m curious at what your settings are. I have seen a few different ones posted.
      MMS
      APN = wap.cingular
      Username=”blank”
      Password=”blank”
      MMSC=http://mmsc.cingular.com
      MMS Proxy=66.209.11.32:80
      MMS Max Message Size=614400
      MMS UA Prof URL=”blank”

  10. Since Sunday, I’ve managed to send a few MMS but it is mostly hit or miss. If I’m in a fringe area then it definitely won’t go through, but if I want to send in a strong signal area, I have to make sure to always restart the phone. And mostly baffling of all is that my carrier file still reads 5.0 instead of 5.1 on my phone after numerous updates. I’m using an unlocked, jailbroken iPhone since AT&T won’t come to my part of the prairies for a year. My software is 3.1 as well.

  11. With at&t and had the tethering working before and after I did this I don’t see the option anymore. What needs to be done?

  12. I followed the steps listed above and after restarting the phone i now have the camera logo in my messaging template, however when i send the picture it stalls at about 90% on the progress bar then fails. I assume this is due to the opt/out code that doug was discussing, what is this? and how will I know when At&t removes mine? Do I need to ask them to do this? does installing the files mentioned above void my warranty? probably should have asked prior to installing them.

  13. in addition i just discovered that all my downloaded apps have stopped working after completing the process, they just start to open then close immediately with no error message, have reverted back to previous carrier file (no mms) and the camera icon is gone but the problem remains, aweomse… help please?

    • in addition i just discovered that all my downloaded apps have stopped working after completing the process, they just start to open then close immediately with no error message, have reverted back to previous carrier file (no mms) and the camera icon is gone but the problem remains, aweomse… help please?

      [solved my own problem, sorry should have done some troubleshooting before panicking]

      gonna wait and see if my mms just comes naturally in a few days before trying to do any tweaking on my own.

  14. After a whole week of the RED exclamation mark it finallly worked today i thot it was a istake when the msg went thru n then it happened again

    . Its here it works
    EUREKA EUREKA EUREKA
    oh wait 3 yrs late!!!
    neways it feels so good i am MMS evry1 in my address book even land lines just to get my $$ worth

  15. It works!! Now question: I have seen the MMS icon in some phones, this workaround works, but is there any way to have the MMS icon to show on my scren or is it too much to ask? Thank you

  16. Stupid question….when i hold alt? (on Mac) and click update, this will NOT update my firmware and kill my jailbreak, correct?

  17. Yessssssss i have mms & tethering on my 3gs and mms on my 3g…..you rock!!!!

    • A couple of things after spending most of the night working on it. I have Vista 64 and the my path was not my user first, so after typing cmd, it typed cd\ to get to the C prompt. Then typed in the 64 bit info from above. There is (at least on mine) a space between Files and (x86), and as others have discovered that is a a capital letter I not a lower case L (took hours to figure that out) if you do type in the L it will not give you the option for the ipcc, once you do it correctly, it takes literally 10 seconds to do the whole thing (4 hours later.lol)

      i have two seperate cell phones, one Sprint and one Iphone. I was able to send and receive photos to my Iphone with no problem and no hanging before it went through and also tested my voicemail and it works fine.

      But, where the heck are you all getting tethering.

      Thanks so much for this blog, even though I could have waited until Friday to get it, it is always cool to have it before everyone else.

  18. I can get any two items working but not MMS and VVM and tethring. What I do now is keep MMS and VVM going until I have the need for the others and just install tethering when I need it, then I revert back to MMS and VVM.

    I have a 3GS and OS 3.0. I get MMS by adding the name and password, and I get VVM by using acds.voicemail. As soon as I add acds.voicemail, tethering disappears.

    If someone (ANYONE) knows how to get the tethering to work with MMS and VVM then let me know. I will be a happy camper and probably NEVER upgrade to the 3.1.

    Thanks y’all!
    Keith

  19. Interesting I just went in to my settings and it still states 5.0 not 5.1

  20. @ Dana you cant have tethering with iphone 3.1 if you already updated its will not work….. if you havent updated go to http:help.benm.at/usa.php

  21. There are a lot of crazy instructions out there, but these actually worked perfectly. MMS enabled, just 1 day before its enabled for everyone. But I feel special.

  22. Ok so i got it everything up and running but i get the little red ! mark im just gonna try to reboot the phone a couple times see if it works also i do have the tethering option, anyone know if this chargers anything right now?

  23. Mine went on around noon today..Using the hack of course and still on 3.0…Eagerly awaiting 3.1 jailbreak…

  24. Activate MMS2G worked, but will ATT ever allow 2G’s to send MMS?

    this would work great if I was on Tmobile

  25. Thanks, Doug!! I followed the step exactly as detailed above. The only thing I needed to add was a “Turn off iPhone and re-start” step and mine showed up and worked perfectly. Thanks, again.

  26. So I did this carrier update about 2 weeks ago and it never worked. Always got the red exclamation mark on my iphone 3g with at&t. Today, well yesterday cuz I’m in LA and it’s the 25th 1:18AM, yesterday the 24th at 11:40pm my MMS started working without updating anything else on itunes. I checked on itunes for any updates since today is the long awaited 25th of September, and still nothing. Will the “update” be up later? Should we update even though we already have mms functioning?

  27. Finally, My mms is working!!!!

    Jailbreak Cydia
    itunes 8.2.0
    iphone 3.0.1
    follow Instruction above (Dont copy/paste, Type what its said)
    Maybe need to reboot then go to Cydia
    Download at Cydia “ActivateMMS2G”

    Dont change the “Visual Voice mail” from what i see its still the same “APN wap.cingular”

    Be sure to go to iphone settings > Messages > MMS Messaging “on”

    then u are all set.

    Happy MMS!!!!!

  28. got update ,charlotte,nc, 1:30pm est, though i downloaded the update on itunes, no sync required but i had to manually press off and home botton at same time and then took for 5 min to boot, sent a pic about 15 sec .complete.

  29. Thank you. got tried of waiting for at&t and itunes. Did your method, and done. MMS. Thanks again.

  30. Muscle! I was having a problem, and then I realised something, tested and found the solution. This is something that will help everyone running 64-bit windows. In order to have the cmd line locate the correct file, (provided you installed iTunes in the “Program Files (x86) folder) you need to type in cmd: “C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1

    Thanks, that is specifically for 64bit users. Hope that can be edited in. I tried for like 30 minutes to set that, and it wouldn’t work until I specified the 32bit folder.

  31. I did all of this and had NO problems…..until i rebooted my phone. Now I don’t have the little camera symbol when I go into my messages but I still have the MMS section in my settings…..???? Help me please!

  32. Not working the file. When you reboot the phone , no little camera on it… Any other file?

  33. What am I doing wrong? I dont get the option to change file types to the ipcc type.
    the only option in the pull down menu is standard ipsw file type. please advise.

  34. I used the 5.1 update with my macbook and everything looked liked it worked at first, sent pics to myself then received some from a friend. Then the red icon with ! started showing up. Just sent one pic out, but then the rest keep doing that red icon mark and not sending out. Why is it doing this?

    I have software version 3.0 on my JB iphone 3GS and have tried both 5.0 and 5.1 and they do the same thing, send 1 out of 10 times? Has anyone else experienced this. Settings for 5.1 had everything correct except it did not have the MMS APN- wap.cingular, it was black so I typed that in.

    • I used the 5.1 update with my macbook and everything looked liked it worked at first, sent pics to myself then received some from a friend. Then the red icon with ! started showing up. Just sent one pic out, but then the rest keep doing that red icon mark and not sending out. Why is it doing this?

      I have software version 3.0 on my JB iphone 3GS and have tried both 5.0 and 5.1 and they do the same thing, send 1 out of 10 times? Has anyone else experienced this. Settings for 5.1 had everything correct except it did not have the MMS APN- wap.cingular, it was black so I typed that in.

      I can also receive pics, just cannot send them

  35. Ok, so I tired doing this. Everything went fine untill I got to the part where I clicked on the update file. It then told me that ” The iphone could not be updated. An unknown error occured.(0xE800003D). I did everything right until it gave that error. Not sure what to do now?

    Jailbroken(with cydia) 3GS 3.0.1
    Not Unlocked
    iTunes 9

    • There might be some apps that you have downloaded from cydia that interferes with this download…One known apps is the big boss at&t carrier, you will need to remove these type of apps and then try again.

    • YAHTZEE !! Thank you Rome !! The Big Boss ATT logo was my problem. I removed it, followed instructions to a T…. restarted my phone (3G / 3.0 / iTunes 8.2.1.6 / JB)…. LOVE the MMS feature.

  36. Ditto…I don’t even get an option to change the file type.

  37. Hey .. when i hold shift and click update.. i cant find the ipcc file.. it only alows me to look for ipsw files..

  38. This appears to be working. I was running the mobileconfig file from http://www.phonetweaks.com/att_com.mobileconfig on my ATT iPhone, with OS 3.01 and carrier file ATT_US 4.0 and NO Jailbreak on my 32GB 3GS, with tethering working fine via bluetooth and USB. I installed the ATT_US 5.0 using this technique and rebooted. I didn’t want OS 3.1 because I might want to JB some day.

    Afterwards visual voice mail was not there to configure in settings > general > network > Cellular Data Network. Also the tethering was still able to be turned on but it disappeared when I tried to use it the first time via blue tooth. However, I confirmed MMS was working by sending a photo to my VZW phone. I sent a photo back to my iPhone from the VZW phone and it took 20 minutes to arrive but at least it did show up! I then removed the phonetweaks mobileconfig profile and I could finally see the Visual Voice Mail settings, so I was able to update to acds.voicemail for it to work.

    Then I went to the http://help.benm.at/usa.php website and installed their mobileconfig (instead of the old one) and went to turn on tethering but was told to contact the carrier. I rebooted again (maybe had to do it twice, I lost count) and tethering now works. In facy I am currently connected to the internet via tethering with USB as I type this (airport is turned off on my Macbook). I was afraid to try bluetooth tethering since that caused it to be removed last time, and I don’t care about bluetooth tethering which will drain the iPhone battery too fast.

    The MMS I sent from the iPhone showed up on the VZW phone quickly, but I can’t explain the 20 minutes it took to receive an MMS. I will test it more later, but I don’t want to overload the MMS servers or the network since everyone seems to be doing that.

    • The Visual Voice Mail went back to the default wap.cingular and I changed it back to the acds.voicemail. I suspect that happened after I installed the mobileconfig profile from the help.benm.at website above.

  39. The Visual Voice Mail went back to the default wap.cingular and I changed it back to the acds.voicemail. I suspect that happened after I installed the mobileconfig profile from the help.benm.at website above. And, bluetooth tethering is also working, not just USB.

  40. I can’t even load the carrier update on my phone it gives an error every time so it won’t load, what do I do?

  41. **** MMS on 3GS with 3.0.1 JB **** Solved! **** No more Red ! marks ****

    OK, I spent most of my evening trying to get MMS working using the 5.0 carrier files here, but no success. I even tried carrier files on other sites, but still no success. I eventually reset them back to the 5.0 from this site.

    So, I just got off the phone with AT&T (I caved and called the evil empire). Funny thing…AT&T had me registered to my original first gen iPhone and also had me on the cheaper 2G data plan…even though I was getting 3G service (I knew that all along…I was just milking the lower data plan for as long as I could). That is why I was getting the red ! marks.

    So, AT&T changed me back to the pricier data/text plan of $35/mo. :-( and had me “Reset” Network Settings in iPhone’s settings menu. To do this, go to: Settings | General | Reset | Reset Network Settings

    If you’re in my boat and you are still on the cheaper 2G data plan, or you want to avoid human interaction with AT&T, try “resetting” your network settings BEFORE calling AT&T. If you’re still not getting MMS to work, you’ll have to call “the man.” (AT&T)

    I’m back to paying their pricier data plan, but MMS is working and as a bonus it appears tethering is active too. I haven’t tried it out yet, but that was a nice surprise.

    • I ran the cmd and itunes wont let me switch to “ipcc” files is it because i have vista or am i doing something wrong?

    • I had the same issue with the command prompt settings in Vista. The CMD prompt directions at this site don’t seem to work in Vista, but I found another site that changed the sequence and I was successful. Here’s what I did…

      1. Go to a CMD prompt.

      2. Enter: “cd C:\Program Files\iTunes\” (OMIT all quotes) and press “Enter”

      3. You should now be at: C:\Program Files\iTunes>

      3. Now enter: “iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1” (OMIT all quotes) in the Command Prompt line and press “Enter.”

      4. You should be back to a regular command prompt without any errors. If so, the setting took.

    • Also, be sure when you’re doing steps 5, 6, & 7 that your phone is connected to the PC, the phone is turned on, and it’s done syncing. Plus, make sure you are holding the “Shift” key when selecting the “Update / Check Update” in iTunes.

      FYI…I’m using iTunes 9.0…not sure if that makes a difference, but it shouldn’t.

    • ok that worked and everything seemed to work right I got no errors but I still cant do mms do I need to go into carrier setting and add the mmsc and mms proxy like on the pic above or just wait for att?

    • These are my MMS settings in my Network Settings:

      APN: wap.cingular
      Username: (blank)
      Password: (blank)
      MMSC: mmsc.cingular.com
      MMS Proxy: 66.209.11.32
      MMS Max Message Size: 614400
      MMS UA Prof URL: (blank)

      If you’re not seeing these, make the changes and give it another try.

    • I dont have any of the above in my settings.Everything is blank except the APN, which says “WAP.CINGULAR” This is on my 3G, jailbroken and running MMS and visual VM flawlessly. Just an FYI

  42. **** MMS on 3GS with 3.0.1 JB **** Solved! **** No more Red ! marks ****

    PS. I had to adjust my voicemail APN settings to acds.voicemail to get voicemail back working. That was an easy fix…just follow instruction #9 above.

  43. I did what you said but when I hold shift and update, I have a different window pop up then what is shown. There is no option to change the file type to 6. Change the file type to “iPhone Carrier Configuration files” by clicking in the the bottom right corner and switching to *.ipcc.” step 6. when I hit the drop down, it only gives me the original option, nothing else to choose. I have a jailbroken 3g running latest itunes on windows xp. why is my box different? please help

Trackbacks

  1. […] Originally Posted by Philatangy Could you give a quick explanation of how to do this? Check out this link…it has the file needed and instructions How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2] | Apple iPhone School […]

  2. […] The carrier file will be pushed via itunes on the 25th I believe. Take a look here to enable it early How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2] | Apple iPhone School […]

  3. […] working today after I updated my MMS settings to match those shown in the screen shots on this page:How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2] | Apple iPhone School I rebooted my iPhone and tried to send an MMS. It failed. I updated to those settings, rebooted the […]

  4. […] have it lol. just thought i would share that with u. so if you want it a day early check it: How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2] | Apple iPhone School worked great except a little problem with wifi but will be fixed […]

  5. […] der Link zur Einrichtung für alle Betroffenen. Veröffentlicht in News. Schlagworte: AT&T, MMS. […]

  6. […] How to Enable MMS (picture messaging) on Your iPhone (AT&T) [UPDATED x2] | Apple iPhone School […]

  7. […] to Appleiphoneschool for the […]