Android KitKat 4.4 Hangouts cannot handle Sending SMS intent

Question

Code for sending sms that worked perfectly until Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and stopped working since 4.4 (KitKat)

I'm just preparing the text message for the user, but they need to choose the number to send to.

The code I have used is:

Intent sendIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);         
    sendIntent.setData(Uri.parse("sms:"));
    sendIntent.putExtra("sms_body", smsText);

    activity.startActivity(sendIntent);

Since it stopped working, I have also tried the ACTION_SEND and ACTION_SENDTO Neither worked, I also tried the sendIntent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");, but again nothing worked.

I looked at several answers on Stack Overflow answer 1 and answer 2, but both answers aren't dealing with the requirements I have.

What I would like to do:

• Send sms with sms app only, not by all apps that serves the send intent
• Prepare the text for the user
• Let the user choose the phone number to send the message to

For moderators: It is not a duplicate questions, since the questions, doesn't ask the exact same thing, the need here is to send sms with no phone number, and none of the questions and answers dealt with that.

Answer 1

I attached a code that solve the problem by doing the following:

• Check the OS version
• In case that older version (prior to KitKat), use the old method
• If new API, check the default sms package. if there is any, set it as the package, otherwise, let the user choose the sharing app.

Here is the code:

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) //At least KitKat
    {
        String defaultSmsPackageName = Telephony.Sms.getDefaultSmsPackage(activity); //Need to change the build to API 19

        Intent sendIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
        sendIntent.setType("text/plain");
        sendIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, smsText);

        if (defaultSmsPackageName != null)//Can be null in case that there is no default, then the user would be able to choose any app that support this intent.
        {
            sendIntent.setPackage(defaultSmsPackageName);
        }
        activity.startActivity(sendIntent);

    }
    else //For early versions, do what worked for you before.
    {
        Intent sendIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
        sendIntent.setData(Uri.parse("sms:"));
        sendIntent.putExtra("sms_body", smsText);
        activity.startActivity(sendIntent);
    }

Answer 2

This one should work on all android versions and all sms apps (including Hangouts).

public static boolean sendSms(Context context, String text, String number) {
    return sendSms(context, text, Collections.singletonList(number));
}

public static boolean sendSms(Context context, String text, List<String> numbers) {

    String numbersStr = TextUtils.join(",", numbers);

    Uri uri = Uri.parse("sms:" + numbersStr);

    Intent intent = new Intent();
    intent.setData(uri);
    intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, text);
    intent.putExtra("sms_body", text);
    intent.putExtra("address", numbersStr);

    if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) {
        intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SENDTO);
        String defaultSmsPackageName = Telephony.Sms.getDefaultSmsPackage(context);
        if(defaultSmsPackageName != null) {
            intent.setPackage(defaultSmsPackageName);
        }
    } else {
        intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
        intent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");
    }

    try {
        context.startActivity(intent);
    } catch (ActivityNotFoundException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
        return false;
    }

    return true;
}

Answer 3

Combining the proposed solutions, the following provides presetting the recipient and the text.

Intent intent;
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) // Android 4.4 and up
{
    String defaultSmsPackageName = Telephony.Sms.getDefaultSmsPackage(activity);

    intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SENDTO, Uri.parse("smsto:" + Uri.encode(toContact.toString())));
    intent.putExtra("sms_body", text);

    if (defaultSmsPackageName != null) // Can be null in case that there is no default, then the user would be able to choose any app that supports this intent.
    {
        intent.setPackage(defaultSmsPackageName);
    }
}
else
{
    intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
    intent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");
    intent.putExtra("address", toContact.toString());
    intent.putExtra("sms_body", text);
}
activity.startActivity(intent);

The only problem remaining is that you end up in Hangouts (Nexus 5), and you might have to press "back" multiple times to effectively cancel the SMS.