Help How to send a group SMS

Thomy · Nov 29, 2018

Hi!

Yesterday I have switched from my previous "Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 pro", to my Android One powered "Xiaomi Mi A2 lite". There are not many features that I am missing of the Miui skin, but the group SMS feature is bugging me.
I'll try to be brief. I open Contacts, select a group of recipients under one "label" and choose the "Send message" option. What happens next?

If any of the contacts in the list has two or more phone numbers, a handy "choose contacts" screen pops up, where you can choose whom (and to which number) to send the message to.
If all the contacts under this "label" have just one phone number each, the Messages app opens up directly. Once there, you can add contacts to the group, but it is not possible to esclude anyone.

So; this is my issue. If I want to send a message to an existing group of people, but exclude (from this specific SMS) some of the members, this seems to be only possible if at least one member has two phone numbers. Otherwise the "choose contacts" screen does not appear and in Messages you cannot exclude anyone anymore.

Is this true?
Thanks in advance!

Dannydet · Nov 29, 2018

Thomy · Nov 29, 2018

Dannydet said:
Yes

Ok. Well... followup question: is this the world we want to live in?

Dannydet · Nov 29, 2018

You can always create a new group text?
Or install a new messaging app from the play store. Textra works quite well and I've been using it for years

Thomy · Nov 29, 2018

Dannydet said:
You can always create a new group text?
Or install a new messaging app from the play store. Textra works quite well and I've been using it for years

Yes, you are right. I just thought that I might avoid such compromises.
The new group solution (or add a bogus number somewhere) is not very elegant. Using a different app is a viable solution, but I resent this considering I have the latest Android One - Oreo software...

Thanks again; I just wanted to be sure I have not missed something. I feel that both programs have marginally failed: Contacts should allow to choose the contacts and Messages should allow to eliminate someone... Since both don't, the problem is here.

Dannydet · Nov 29, 2018

The stock apps are not necessarily the best for all uses.
Do a poll in these forums and you'll get the message

tommo47 · Nov 29, 2018

Thomy said:
Yes, you are right. I just thought that I might avoid such compromises.
The new group solution (or add a bogus number somewhere) is not very elegant. Using a different app is a viable solution, but I resent this considering I have the latest Android One - Oreo software...

Thanks again; I just wanted to be sure I have not missed something. I feel that both programs have marginally failed: Contacts should allow to choose the contacts and Messages should allow to eliminate someone... Since both don't, the problem is here.

Hi, it isn’t down to Oreo, my stock HTC10 message app allows me to remove one or more recipients from a group message by tapping or long-pressing the required contact/s from the list prior to composing/sending the message. So if you haven't got that option it's a Device shortcoming.

Thomy · Nov 29, 2018

tommo47 said:
Hi, it isn’t down to Oreo, my stock HTC10 message app allows me to remove one or more recipients from a group message by long-pressing the required contact/s from the list prior to composing/sending the message. So if you haven't got that option it's a Device shortcoming.

Hi!
Well, I don't think that your HTC has Android One. The app you are using, as far as I can see, is not Google's Messages (it might be a HTC program). When you start a group conversation in Messages you cannot eliminate someone. You get the message "Cannot remove number from an existing conversation."...
But you are right; as Danny said, with a different app the problem could be solved (and others will arise, hehe)...
Thanks!

Hadron · Nov 29, 2018

But Google Messages is not the part of Android Oreo, it's just Google's app. You can stick it on any device (apart from very old ones) and it works the same. There's nothing special about it. In fact although it is the app that comes with my Pixel I find its lack of options irritating enough that I not only use a different app but most of the time I keep Messages disabled - why use an app that doesn't suit you just because it's what the manufacturer bundled?

The truth is that there are no pure android phones. Android One is still Android plus a bunch of apps that Google choose, it's not a pure Android Open Source Project distribution.

Thomy · Nov 30, 2018

Hadron said:
But Google Messages is not the part of Android Oreo, it's just Google's app. You can stick it on any device (apart from very old ones) and it works the same. There's nothing special about it. In fact although it is the app that comes with my Pixel I find its lack of options irritating enough that I not only use a different app but most of the time I keep Messages disabled - why use an app that doesn't suit you just because it's what the manufacturer bundled?

The truth is that there are no pure android phones. Android One is still Android plus a bunch of apps that Google choose, it's not a pure Android Open Source Project distribution.

Hi!
Sure; that's true.
The problem is that what I wish is a simple but powerful app. And Google usually has such a program.
If I search for an alternative messaging app, there are many for sure. But most of them have a bloated set of superfluous feature like skins, colors and an infinite set of poop emoji that I just hate. Then I start to search for simple apps and realize that there are features missing that I was taking for granted. And I revert to the original Google app and writing to this forum.
Have a nice day!

Hadron · Nov 30, 2018

Then you have to live with the Google app's limitations. Google wouldn't take any notice even if you contacted them, and will certainly ignore posts in a forum on the internet.

Thomy · Nov 30, 2018

Hadron said:
Then you have to live with the Google app's limitations. Google wouldn't take any notice even if you contacted them, and will certainly ignore posts in a forum on the internet.

Right.
When writing here I was not thinking I was writing to Google. Just to someone with more experience than I have.
As a side note, it is difficult to immagine how could such a big company cope with all the issues of their users. I thought that it was a problem all the companies have when reaching such a scale. But I was surprised when I had an issue with Booking: flawless customer service. So maybe something can be done.
Thanks for all the answers... It was more than I was hoping for!

Help How to send a group SMS

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