android - SMS Manager send mutlipart message when there is less than 160 characters

Question

I write a app which use SMS Manager. I use method sendTextMessage() but it isn't work. Now I am using sendMutlipartTextMessage() and it's work. But it's send multipart message when it is about 60 characters. This is normal? Everywhere I read than should be 160 characters. This is important to me because I must pay more.

Answer 1

The message character limit depends on the character bit-size of the alphabet you're using. For the standard GSM 7-bit alphabet, the character limit is 160. For an 8-bit alphabet, it is 140, and for a 16-bit alphabet, which sounds like your situation, it is only 70 characters. If you must send messages with special Unicode characters, like those in non-Latin alphabets, then you're stuck with the 16-bit alphabet, and its 70-character limit. If you can somehow convert the messages to the basic 7-bit alphabet, you will have the 160-character limit.