Telephony
  public
  
  final
  
  class
  Telephony
  
    extends Object
  
  
  
  
  
  
| java.lang.Object | |
| ↳ | android.provider.Telephony | 
The Telephony provider contains data related to phone operation, specifically SMS and MMS messages, access to the APN list, including the MMSC to use, and the service state.
Note: These APIs are not available on all Android-powered
 devices. If your app depends on telephony features such as for managing SMS messages, include
 a <uses-feature>
  element in your manifest that declares the "android.hardware.telephony" hardware
 feature. Alternatively, you can check for telephony availability at runtime using either
 hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_TELEPHONY).
Creating an SMS app
Only the default SMS app (selected by the user in system settings) is able to write to the
 SMS Provider (the tables defined within the Telephony class) and only the default SMS
 app receives the Telephony.Sms.Intents.SMS_DELIVER_ACTION broadcast
 when the user receives an SMS or the Telephony.Sms.Intents.WAP_PUSH_DELIVER_ACTION broadcast when the user
 receives an MMS.
Any app that wants to behave as the user's default SMS app must handle the following intents:
- In a broadcast receiver, include an intent filter for Telephony.Sms.Intents.SMS_DELIVER_ACTION("android.provider.Telephony.SMS_DELIVER"). The broadcast receiver must also require theManifest.permission.BROADCAST_SMSpermission.This allows your app to directly receive incoming SMS messages. 
- In a broadcast receiver, include an intent filter for Telephony.Sms.Intents.WAP_PUSH_DELIVER_ACTION} ("android.provider.Telephony.WAP_PUSH_DELIVER") with the MIME type"application/vnd.wap.mms-message". The broadcast receiver must also require theManifest.permission.BROADCAST_WAP_PUSHpermission.This allows your app to directly receive incoming MMS messages. 
- In your activity that delivers new messages, include an intent filter for
 Intent.ACTION_SENDTO("android.intent.action.SENDTO") with schemas,sms:,smsto:,mms:, andmmsto:.This allows your app to receive intents from other apps that want to deliver a message. 
- In a service, include an intent filter for TelephonyManager.ACTION_RESPOND_VIA_MESSAGE("android.intent.action.RESPOND_VIA_MESSAGE") with schemas,sms:,smsto:,mms:, andmmsto:. This service must also require theManifest.permission.SEND_RESPOND_VIA_MESSAGEpermission.This allows users to respond to incoming phone calls with an immediate text message using your app. 
Other apps that are not selected as the default SMS app can only read the SMS
 Provider, but may also be notified when a new SMS arrives by listening for the Telephony.Sms.Intents.SMS_RECEIVED_ACTION
 broadcast, which is a non-abortable broadcast that may be delivered to multiple apps. This
 broadcast is intended for apps that—while not selected as the default SMS app—need to
 read special incoming messages such as to perform phone number verification.
For more information about building SMS apps, read the blog post, Getting Your SMS Apps Ready for KitKat.
Summary
| Nested classes | |
|---|---|
| 
        
        
        
        
        interface | Telephony.BaseMmsColumnsBase columns for tables that contain MMSs. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        interface | Telephony.CanonicalAddressesColumnsColumns for the "canonical_addresses" table used by MMS and SMS. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.CarrierIdContains carrier identification information for the current subscriptions. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.CarriersCarriers class contains information about APNs, including MMSC information. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.MmsContains all MMS messages. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.MmsSmsContains all MMS and SMS messages. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.ServiceStateTableConstants for interfacing with the ServiceStateProvider and the different fields of the
  | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.SmsContains all text-based SMS messages. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        interface | Telephony.TextBasedSmsColumnsBase columns for tables that contain text-based SMSs. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        class | Telephony.ThreadsHelper functions for the "threads" table used by MMS and SMS. | 
| 
        
        
        
        
        interface | Telephony.ThreadsColumnsColumns for the "threads" table used by MMS and SMS. | 
| Inherited methods | |
|---|---|
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Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC.
