Sending SMS using Intent does not add recipients on some devices

Question

I send SMS using code below:

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("smsto:" + phoneNumber));
        intent.putExtra("address", phoneNumber);
        intent.putExtra("sms_body", messageBody);
        intent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");
        context.startActivity(intent);

I added both Uri with smsto: and address String extra to Intent. It works on most devices, but on some - it doesn't. One of the devices is SE XPERIA Mini. What else can be added when sending SMS to make sure recipient is set in SMS App?

Answer 1

I looked into Intent source and it seems that setting intent type removes data and setting data removes type. This is what I've found:

public Intent setData(Uri data) {
        mData = data;
        mType = null;
        return this;
    }

public Intent setType(String type) {
        mData = null;
        mType = type;
        return this;
    }

public Intent setDataAndType(Uri data, String type) {
        mData = data;
        mType = type;
        return this;
    }

So setting type overrides my data provided in Uri.parse("smsto:" + phoneNumber). I also tried using setDataAndType, but then android just can't find the right Intent to start for such combination... So this is the final solution:

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
        intent.putExtra("address", phoneNumber);
        intent.putExtra("sms_body", messageBody);
        intent.setData(Uri.parse("smsto:" + phoneNumber));
        context.startActivity(intent);

It seems to work on different devices what I can test on. I hope this will be helpful for anyone who faces the same problem.

Cheers!