Question
Why does a concatenated SMS not appear correctly on a user’s mobile phone?
Answer
If a user reports that the concatenated messages they are receiving on their mobile phones:
- appear as separate messages
- are being truncated
- have message parts missing.
There are several reasons why a concatenated message (multi-part message) may not be correctly displayed on the handset:
- The MT message parts arrived in the wrong order, which the handset is unable to process and display correctly.
- The concatenated message is displayed as several separate text messages. This is usually due to the handset operating system, and its management process of the header information for each message part.
- The handset may be busy, and the MT message part delivery may be postponed, which may cause the order of the message parts to be delivered in the wrong order. The operating system on most handsets, manage this scenario and wait until all message parts have been received, and then proceed to re-construct the message in the correct order, displaying the MT message as one complete message.
However, it is important to note that the order of the MT message part can change several times during transit, right up until the MT message part is delivered to the handset. This is due to routing technologies, load-balancing systems and re-try cycles, all of which have an impact on the delivery of the concatenated MT message.
