How to turn on (or off) SMS and MMS message preview on Galaxy S5?

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• Hi Team, I cannot find settings to activate a notification when my sms has been received/read on the other phone. Galaxy S5. thx a lot for your help !

  • You can only get a delivery report. There is no way to find whether it is read or not.

    • thank you Simon.

      • just found out there is no setting to activate delivery reports. ???

        • The stock Samsung messaging app should have this. Start the app, tap the menu key, tap settings, tap text messages, then you can check request delivery report.

          For mms, you can fun the settings under multimedia message. You can request delivery report and/read report. Please note, the recipient can block the read reports.

• This isnt what im looking for im tired of my texts sending as MMS'S my friends are having tk download my text messages and i have to download them if they are a certain size how do i change this.....

  • In your Messages app, tap the menu button (3 vertical dots), tap settings, tap multimedia messages, check MMS alert. So when you try to compose the message as MMS, you will get the alert and change the message back to SMS.

• Is there any way I can get the notification to not pop up at all. Like on the iPhone I can turn off my notification to where when I receive a text my iphone would just vibrate and my lock screen wouldn't light up. On the s5, all of it shows in my lock screen and I want it gone all together. Can I do this? I know on s4 you can but I can't seem to find it on my s5. Please help. This is super annoying.

  • If you disable the preview, I don't think it pops out.

• I'm having an issue where on my samsung s5 the two messaging apps are both sending notifications in my status bar. Can't figure out how to turn one of them off. If possible I wanna turn the regular messaging off and use my message+. Thanks

  • there are several message+ apps. I'm not sure which one you are referring to. You should be able to set one as default.

    Anyway, if you want to disable the notifications from Messaging app, you can open the app, find the settings and disable the notifications. So, it will not show any notifications.

• How do i turn keep my messages from showing up with my call logs ? Help needes thanks

  • You can use filter to show the call logs when viewing logs). But you cannot disable the messages logs.

• My messaging pop up is not working. It shows it is selected in the setting under notifications but today it just stopped working. Is there any reason why. I tried powering off the phone and turning it back on and I tried turning all notifications off and then back on again but still the pop up window is not showing up. Any suggestions???

  • I'm having this same issue!! My notifications dont automatically pop up in my lock screen (I habe to manually press the power button to view them)

    • If you press the power button, the screen should be locked.

      Do you mean the screen doesn't light up when receiving new notifications? If yes, it's the led flashing?

      • Yes, my screen does not light up when I receive any type of notification. I have to actually PRESS the lock/power button in order to view it. My settings for it are all checked so idk why it still doesn't work.

        • The lock screen should light up for sms only if you enable preview from lock screen. The duration maybe very short depending on your timeout settings.

          If you at using other messaging apps, you may try the stock messaging app.

• How do I turn off repeat notification. I obviously turned it on, and now can't remember how I did it. lol Help!

  • It's under accessibility.

• How can I get my screen to light up when I receive a text message? I need to have my phone silent while at work and the notification light does not catch my eye but a screen light-up would.

  • It's really a bad idea. But under accessibility, you can set it.

    • Just curious, Simon, why it's a bad idea. I had a S3 and it lit up briefly so I got used to it. I've only had the S5 for about a week.

      • Waste battery and you cannot always stare at it. Vibration works better because it makes some noise (but the volume is acceptable in most offices) when you put the phone on the table.

        Anyway, just personal preferences.

        • Gotcha - appreciate the help!

• Is there a way to not see my messages in my call log when looking up a specific person. It breaks down all communication right from there even when I put to display "only calls" from the menu. I find that really annoying.

  • The filter will be reset to all when you use it next time.

    In s5, there are no settings for customization the call logs. You may try some apps to filter or clear the call logs automatically.

• Any apps you recommend?

• Hi. When I receive message it comes on the screen and anybody can read it. There is no privacy to my messages. Please help me.

  • Phone is your personal device, so all vendors assumes you are the only user.

    Anyway, you can follow the guide to turn off the preview. Of course, you can even turn off notifications if you want.

• Whenever I send or receive a text, it shows up twice. It didn't use to do this, it just started. I haven't changed any settings or anything, please help!

  • Which messaging app are you using?

• Whatever the stock one is on verizon

• On the pop us from the stock s5 messenger, is there a way too scroll through them? I tend to have more than one text at a time and it only shows the most recent text.

• Is there any way to scroll through the messages in the pop up or does it only show the most recent text

  • This is notification. Probably they is no reason to keep old notifications when newer message arrives.

    You probably can consider some widgets for that purpose, for exemple, the pre-installed messages app can show multiple messages.

• When you have your messages set to Preview message - Lock Screen is there anyway you can just show the name of the person the message from and not show a preview of the actual message? I dont like turning it off as then it just says New message New message. Cant it say the persons name and New message?

  • Probably not. You may check some third party apps for this.

    • I want It to show the message on the lock screen and have the box checked however it only shows new message??

      • this is normal because the phone should notify you the new messages only. It should not display any old messages.

        If you want to display messages, you can add the messaging widget to home screen.

• i don't want to see the preview of the text message only the name of the person who text me. can you do it with the galaxy S5? and how do you it?
  i have tried so many ways and show me "NEW MESSAGE" I want to be able to see the NAME of the person who text me NOT the preview of the message. please help me

  • Probably, there is no such an option in S5.

• My s5 just started telling me out loud who is texting me. How can I turn that off

  • You may reread this guide: https://galaxys5guide.com/samsung-galaxy-s5-how-to-guides/how-to-silence-galaxy-s5/

• Is there anyway to keep the s5 from lighting up whenever you get a text. It's extremely annoying I'm sorry if I missed in the comments. I'm using the app called messages I think it's the Samsung one that comes with it. It has a opened envelope for the icon.

  • Actually I found some what of a solution by downloading SMS popup. Icons a white envelope with an exclamation point on it on a yellow triangle. It'll let you shut the light off n set an led text tone etc. But if anyone has a solution that doesn't require an app please let me know.

  • If you turn off the preview, the lock screen should not be lit up.

    • Tried that and turned notifications off still did it.

• How do I sync my texts to my email, so I get a copy every time on my samsung S5?

  • Sync sms to email in S5 only work with Exchange email account.

• Why do my messages keep breaking up into smaller pieces when ever I receive a long message? Can I stop it from doing so?

  • This is due to the your carrier. SMS has a 160-character limit. If the message is too long, it will be send as several messages with some tags. In the receiver side, most carriers know the tags and merger them as one once received.

    If you get them as individual messages, this is due to your carrier settings. You cannot do anything to stop this.

• Hi guys, so on my S5, the MMS messages i receive alway come separately as a group message. It's annoying, I want it to all come into one connected conversation with that person, can i change that and how? thanks

• hi guys ! why i can't send messages and do phone call .. but my phone line were fine .. can u help me ? i really appreciate that

  • Did you try the SIM card in other phones?

    Any error messages when dialing or sending messages?

    Sometimes, a reboot can solve a lot f strange problems.

• Is there anyway to turn off screen wake when receiving a message. I do not like it when I recrive a message and the screen turns on.

  • You can turn off preview message on lock screen. It will then will not light up your lock screen.

    You can change settings at Settings--Messages (under Applications category)--Notifications, uncheck lock screen under preview message.

• Im not sure if any of thid gets back to developers but .. Can the there be an update allowing users to see just a pop up of the sender without the message? This seems really obvious to me. This is really important for users who need to for instance maintain some level of confidentiality...

• Why are all the text msgs I receive also sent as an email?

  • Very likely, because you setup an Exchange email account in your S5, all sms also copied to your email. This is the default behavior of Exchange account.

    You can disable this in the email account settings.

• Whenver i open a message there is a pop up that has 2 buttons : "Accept" and "I do not accept this"
  It shows everytime i open a new message and its very irritating because i cannot reply right away to mssgs
  Please help

• Just one question my phone used to just show me a new txt message in a small envelop style on the lock screen... Now it's a big colored box a long with new txt message is there any way to change it back to the small way?

  • As shown in this page, you can try to uncheck preview message on lock screen.

    The envelop style is part of the launcher and you cannot change. And there is no corresponding setting/option for it.

• hi how shall turn a mms into sms

  • Mms has media files or attachments. Sms has only text.

• My phone just updated and now I cannot see my messages in preview in either lock or unlock screen. Followed all the prompts above but I don't even have a Lock Screen bar or Status bar in my Notifications menu under the Settings menu in messenger. My messaging background is also white and I tried changing that to black (how it was before) and saved it and even restarted my phone and it's still white. What gives with the update?!

  • You cannot change the background of the messages app.

    For message preview, you need turn it on in the messages app, tap the 3 dots in top right, tap settings - notifications. Then you can enable message preview.

    To set notifications on the lock screen, go to settings - sound and notifications, tap when locked.

• After a recent update from Samsung, the preview text message on locked screen doesnt work. The preview box is check under settings and was working before the update. help

  • In the Lollipop update, you can control whether you want to show notification, whether you want to preview notification, on the lock screen. You can set it in settings - sound and notifications - while locked.

    • My Notifications on lock screen is set to "Show all content" and I used to be able to touch the notification then unlock the screen and it would take me to the message directly. Since the Lollipop update this function no longer works and attempting to use it causes the unlock screen "pattern" to fail when you attempt to unlock it. When you eventually do get it unlocked you have to go to the message app then open the message manually. So in short the update killed this feature!

• how do i turn messages back on to public, i turned it to private (so it only comes up as 'new message' instead of the persons name ive recieved it from) but now i cant remember how to turn it back to public so i can see who has sent me that message! ahh!

  • You probably did it with some third-party apps. I don't thnk Galaxy S5 hs this option for you to hide (mask) the sender of a message

• I have notification on for the lock screen but don't see anything, just hear the text tone.

  • Settings - sound and notifications - while locked.

• I keep getting a notification that pops up saying "You are already using a joyn client. To avoid conflicts, you need to open settings and disable it." And it has a button that says settings and when you click on it does nothing.I've tried look it up and found nothing. I don't know what else to do. It started right after the new Galaxy S5 update on either July 4th or 5th 2015. Please Help!!!!!

  • P.S. I don't have the Joyn MetroPCS app, just to let you know that if you tell me to uninstall I can't because I don't have the app.

    • You need check whether you have the app in all category.

      Anyway, you need find which app sends this notification. Then reset this app.

• I currently use just regular messaging on my galaxy s5 and when I switch to message plus I get a bunch of old text messages from like last month. How do i stop that??

  • Did you check message plus settings?

• I have Samsung Galaxy 5S and recently when I get a message I no longer get notification on the message icon...I use to be able to see how many messages I got on the message icon (envelop with yellow message sheet)...how do I get that back....also I have the same problem with getting a phone call when I don't answer.......the green box w/phone in it use to have the number of calls I received that I have not answered...again how do I get that back

  • You may try to reboot the phone. The number badge may disappear due to some other apps.