No reply option on received SMS link with iPhone SE

graemesmith1960 over 5 years ago

Still at the learning stage so this may just be me: When I send an inReach text message containing location information to most iPhones it contains a link which opens a map in Safari. The top of the page has a Reply option in blue at the right hand side. If I send a similar message to my wife's phone, an iPhone SE, there is no reply option, just View Map and Read Message. It doesn't matter if I turn the screen on it's side, it's still the same.

Screenshots attached. Any ideas? I've told her in the meantime to view the message on her email on a PC if she desperately needs to reply - or get a bigger phone! ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1445166.png ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1445167.png ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1445168.png

0 _Eike over 5 years ago

That is interesting... if sending a message to an e-mail address and than viewing the e-mail on the iPhone SE, there is the reply button (see attached photo). If sending a message as text message to the same phone, there is no reply button showing up when viewing the map.
However, it is possible to just reply to the text message within the message app on the iPhone SE (like you would reply to a "normal" text message).
So, there are two alternatives to getting a bigger phone: sending text messages from the inreach to an e-mail address or replying within the text message app :-)
Hope that was helpful!

Cheers,
Eikeciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1445212.png

0 twolpert over 5 years ago

Pretty sure that one of the two messages - the one with the reply button on the map page - was an e-mail. The one without the reply button was an SMS message. (You can see that from the return to Messages button in the upper left corner of the screen shot.)

As Eike notes, you can reply directly to an SMS message using the normal reply mechanism on the phone. The map provides visual location information and a few additional details about the message (on the Read Message tab) - but nothing else. For e-mail, you cannot reply directly to the e-mail. Instead, you must use that reply button on the map page. If you read the boilerplate text in the e-mail, it makes that clear.

Note that the ability to reply to the SMS message has a limited lifetime. It's on the order of a few weeks, not minutes or hours. But it does expire. As a result, most of us "prime the pump" by sending an SMS message to our close contacts at the beginning of every back country outing. That way, our contacts always have the ability to easily send us a message from their phones.

Also note that your inReach "address" - [email][email protected][/email] - looks like an e-mail address. But it is not. No one can send e-mail to it. It is only useful for inReach to inReach communication.

All of this apparent weirdness is for your protection. The idea is to prevent spam from being sent to your device (at your expense).

0 graemesmith1960 over 5 years ago

Thanks for the replies. The online help and manual are not clear on the ability to just reply to the text message. Much simpler option!