topic Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images in Galaxy S23

Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 02:41:49 GMT

Hi, I have the s23 ultra 1tb. This is a brand new phone, old stock. The first week I used this phone I did not have the issue. Picture messages came in as they should. All of a sudden, ALL pictures I receive through text message are fuzzy. It doesn't matter if it is from an iPhone or android, nor an older phone or new phone. Whether the sender is using RCS technology or not. Every incoming photo via text is poor quality. The same people that sent me clear photos the week before, even theirs are coming through awfully. I was using RCS through Google messaging and I do NOT have my phone set to receive images at a faster/lower quality. I have tons of memory on my phone. My husband uses an s20 ultra without Google/RCS and doesn't have this problem. The same people have sent him the same images and they come clear and of good quality for him. His picture texts to me are awful too. I've tried switching to Samsung messaging, since that's still an option on my phone, and have the same issue. I've also tried google messaging with RCS turned off. Can someone please help me? I can't afford to buy a new phone and I don't understand how an issue like this is even a problem with the advanced technology we have nowadays. Please note, I am aware I can send high quality photos using other methods. I want to be able to communicate via text and share pictures as I should be able to. Its such a simple standard task. I would be really so appreciative of any insight on a fix or to straight up know if this is just how the s23 ultras are. Thanks for your help.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 03:17:18 GMT

Hi, just attaching images to show how poor the incoming images are. Hope this is helpful. Thanks.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 04:30:38 GMT

What settings are you using

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

SamsungModerator1 — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 17:39:21 GMT

Good afternoon, JoJo9.

I hate to hear that you are having problems with your incoming pictures. Give this article a try, https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S24/Blurry-pics-when-received-in-text/td-p/2900552, and if that doesn't work then please let us know!

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:08:35 GMT

I have Google messages set to have RCS chats ON and I do NOT have "send photos faster" turned on.

Are there any other specific settings I should look at? @meself

Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:17:34 GMT

On the camera settings on optimization turn that off or minimum if no off use the 50mp option and photo mode at bottom that what I use for Google messages may need to try both the faster and slower option after adjusting camera not had any issues with slower option

Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:20:50 GMT

I will look into this. Thanks!

Re: Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:22:03 GMT

Sometimes need to do small tweaks but camera setting is one to adjust

Re: Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:36:02 GMT

I tried both turning the optimization off and also to the lowest setting. Neither made a difference. If you come up with any other ideas plmk. I truly appreciate the help. Pictures are still coming through like this...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:43:52 GMT

Hmm generally its the optimization that's the cause off or minimum if no off best if the 50mp not showing difference that's unusual to me if 200mp doesnt show a difference i suspect a dirty lense at a loss how to fix beyond that

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:49:31 GMT

Clean the Lens: Residue or fingerprints on the large camera lenses are the most common cause.

Focus Issues: Tap the screen to focus manually, or move further away from subjects, as the large sensor can create a shallow, blurry background (bokeh) unexpectedly.

Camera Assistant: Download the Camera Assistant app from the Galaxy Store to reduce "Picture softening" (to increase sharpness) or to adjust focus speed.

Fix Close-up Shots: When shooting close-ups, ensure "Focus enhancer" is on. Avoid High Resolution mode (108MP/200MP) for close-ups, as it doesn't support this feature.

Low Light/Motion: Switch to Night Mode for low light, as the camera can struggle to capture sharp, fast-moving objects in dim conditions.

Reset Camera Settings: Open the Camera app > Settings > Reset settings to default.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:56:28 GMT

The pictures I take on my phone camera are amazing quality. The issue is incoming photos via text messages I receive being of poor quality all of a sudden. I can also send pictures I take to others and they come through to them with no quality issues. Just wanted to make sure we are talking solutions for fixing the incoming picture quality via text.

Re: Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:57:35 GMT

Oh ok my bad was thinking phone camera mainly let me have a look here see if I can find anything

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

meself — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:59:02 GMT

Disable "Send photos faster": This feature compresses images heavily. Go to Settings > Advanced/Data and turn off "Send photos faster".

Share via Gallery: Instead of attaching inside the app, go to your Gallery app, tap share, and select Messages. This often bypasses some compression issues.

Update the App: Check the Play Store for the latest Google Messages update to receive recent fixes.

Check Data/Wi-Fi: Low-quality images are often sent via cellular data (MMS) instead of RCS. Ensure a stable connection.

Known Issues

Android-to-iOS Issues: When receiving photos from iPhones, they may appear blurry due to legacy SMS/MMS protocols if RCS isn't fully supported between carriers.

AI/Image Generation Bug: Some users report that new AI features in the app require a second tap to load images properly.

Persistent Blurry Images: Some users have reported images never finishing the download, a bug acknowledged by Google.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:59:26 GMT

I have tried/checked all of that. The only thing that may be applicable would be a possible bug. Thanks for trying, @meself. I appreciate your time & efforts.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:00:00 GMT

If anyone else has read through this thread and has experience with this and/or a new solution certainly please lmk. Thanks much!!!

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:08:07 GMT

Thank you @SamsungModerator1. The fix in the link unfortunately does not work to solve this problem. Do you have any other solutions? The strange part to me is it was working properly and then out of the blue, with no setting changes, started doing this. I appreciate any more help.

Re: Blurry, poor quality incoming text images

JoJo9 — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 20:34:51 GMT

Turns out solution is a replacement (s23 ultra) phone. Something was wrong with that one. Just FYI.