How to disable MMS auto-fetching on a Motorola Droid Maxx

Auto-fetching, also called auto-retrieve or auto-download, is a feature that many smart phones use to automatically download the content sent within an MMS (multimedia messaging service) text message.  Your phone likely has this feature enabled by default.

Normally, auto-fetching is a handy feature that saves you the trouble of manually downloading a picture, video, or audio file sent within a text message.  But with the recent Android Stagefright vulnerability scare, many experts, including Lookout, are recommending that you disable MMS auto-fetching, at least until your phone can be patched with the permanent fix.

The steps below will show you how to disable auto-fetching on a Motorola Droid Maxx smart phone.  (The steps will be similar for other smart phones, but the wording and setting location may vary slightly.)


If you are using the default Messaging app for text messaging:
- Open the Messaging app (either from your Home screen or the list of apps)
- Select the Menu icon (the three stacked squares) in the lower right corner
- Select Settings
- Scroll down to find "Auto-retrieve"
- If the box next to it is checked, tap it to uncheck it

If you are using Google Hangouts for text messaging:
- Open the Hangouts app (either from your Home screen or the list of apps)
- Select the Menu icon (the three stacked lines) in the upper left corner
- Select Settings
- Select SMS
- Scroll down to "Auto retrieve MMS"
- If the box next to it is checked, tap it to uncheck it