diff --git a/docs/generate.py b/docs/generate.py
index ae2bd43c..75ab3091 100755
--- a/docs/generate.py
+++ b/docs/generate.py
@@ -207,6 +207,13 @@ def get_description(arg):
         desc.append('This argument can be omitted.')
         otherwise = True
 
+    if arg.type in {'InputPeer', 'InputUser', 'InputChannel'}:
+        desc.append(
+            'Anything entity-like will work if the library can find its '
+            '<code>Input</code> version (e.g., usernames, <code>Peer</code>, '
+            '<code>User</code> or <code>Channel</code> objects, etc.).'
+        )
+
     if arg.is_vector:
         if arg.is_generic:
             desc.append('A list of other Requests must be supplied.')
@@ -221,7 +228,11 @@ def get_description(arg):
         desc.insert(1, 'Otherwise,')
         desc[-1] = desc[-1][:1].lower() + desc[-1][1:]
 
-    return ' '.join(desc)
+    return ' '.join(desc).replace(
+        'list',
+        '<span class="tooltip" title="Any iterable that supports len() '
+        'will work too">list</span>'
+    )
 
 
 def copy_replace(src, dst, replacements):
diff --git a/docs/res/css/docs.css b/docs/res/css/docs.css
index 05c61c9f..cd67af70 100644
--- a/docs/res/css/docs.css
+++ b/docs/res/css/docs.css
@@ -108,6 +108,10 @@ span.sh4 {
     color: #06c;
 }
 
+span.tooltip {
+    border-bottom: 1px dashed #444;
+}
+
 #searchBox {
     width: 100%;
     border: none;
diff --git a/readthedocs/extra/basic/creating-a-client.rst b/readthedocs/extra/basic/creating-a-client.rst
index bf565bb0..e68f170b 100644
--- a/readthedocs/extra/basic/creating-a-client.rst
+++ b/readthedocs/extra/basic/creating-a-client.rst
@@ -95,6 +95,11 @@ is just a matter of taste, and how much control you need.
 
 Remember that you can get yourself at any time with ``client.get_me()``.
 
+.. warning::
+    Please note that if you fail to login around 5 times (or change the first
+    parameter of the ``TelegramClient``, which is the session name) you will
+    receive a ``FloodWaitError`` of around 22 hours, so be careful not to mess
+    this up! This shouldn't happen if you're doing things as explained, though.
 
 .. note::
     If you want to use a **proxy**, you have to `install PySocks`__
diff --git a/readthedocs/extra/changelog.rst b/readthedocs/extra/changelog.rst
index 57b11bec..34609615 100644
--- a/readthedocs/extra/changelog.rst
+++ b/readthedocs/extra/changelog.rst
@@ -14,6 +14,41 @@ it can take advantage of new goodies!
 .. contents:: List of All Versions
 
 
+New small convenience functions (v0.17.2)
+=========================================
+
+*Published at 2018/02/15*
+
+Primarily bug fixing and a few welcomed additions.
+
+Additions
+~~~~~~~~~
+
+- New convenience ``.edit_message()`` method on the ``TelegramClient``.
+- New ``.edit()`` and ``.delete()`` shorthands on the ``NewMessage`` event.
+- Default to markdown parsing when sending and editing messages.
+- Support for inline mentions when sending and editing messages. They work
+  like inline urls (e.g. ``[text](@username)``) and also support the Bot-API
+  style (see `here <https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#formatting-options>`__).
+
+Bug fixes
+~~~~~~~~~
+
+- Periodically send ``GetStateRequest`` automatically to keep the server
+  sending updates even if you're not invoking any request yourself.
+- HTML parsing was failing due to not handling surrogates properly.
+- ``.sign_up`` was not accepting ``int`` codes.
+- Whitelisting more than one chat on ``events`` wasn't working.
+- Video files are sent as a video by default unless ``force_document``.
+
+Internal changes
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- More ``logging`` calls to help spot some bugs in the future.
+- Some more logic to retrieve input entities on events.
+- Clarified a few parts of the documentation.
+
+
 Updates as Events (v0.17.1)
 ===========================
 
diff --git a/telethon/crypto/aes.py b/telethon/crypto/aes.py
index 191cde15..8f13b5f0 100644
--- a/telethon/crypto/aes.py
+++ b/telethon/crypto/aes.py
@@ -3,86 +3,90 @@ AES IGE implementation in Python. This module may use libssl if available.
 """
 import os
 import pyaes
-from . import libssl
+
+try:
+    import cryptg
+except ImportError:
+    cryptg = None
 
 
-if libssl.AES is not None:
-    # Use libssl if available, since it will be faster
-    AES = libssl.AES
-else:
-    # Fallback to a pure Python implementation
-    class AES:
+class AES:
+    """
+    Class that servers as an interface to encrypt and decrypt
+    text through the AES IGE mode.
+    """
+    @staticmethod
+    def decrypt_ige(cipher_text, key, iv):
         """
-        Class that servers as an interface to encrypt and decrypt
-        text through the AES IGE mode.
+        Decrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
+        given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
         """
-        @staticmethod
-        def decrypt_ige(cipher_text, key, iv):
-            """
-            Decrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
-            given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
-            """
-            iv1 = iv[:len(iv) // 2]
-            iv2 = iv[len(iv) // 2:]
+        if cryptg:
+            return cryptg.decrypt_ige(cipher_text, key, iv)
 
-            aes = pyaes.AES(key)
+        iv1 = iv[:len(iv) // 2]
+        iv2 = iv[len(iv) // 2:]
 
-            plain_text = []
-            blocks_count = len(cipher_text) // 16
+        aes = pyaes.AES(key)
 
-            cipher_text_block = [0] * 16
-            for block_index in range(blocks_count):
-                for i in range(16):
-                    cipher_text_block[i] = \
-                        cipher_text[block_index * 16 + i] ^ iv2[i]
+        plain_text = []
+        blocks_count = len(cipher_text) // 16
 
-                plain_text_block = aes.decrypt(cipher_text_block)
+        cipher_text_block = [0] * 16
+        for block_index in range(blocks_count):
+            for i in range(16):
+                cipher_text_block[i] = \
+                    cipher_text[block_index * 16 + i] ^ iv2[i]
 
-                for i in range(16):
-                    plain_text_block[i] ^= iv1[i]
+            plain_text_block = aes.decrypt(cipher_text_block)
 
-                iv1 = cipher_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
-                iv2 = plain_text_block
+            for i in range(16):
+                plain_text_block[i] ^= iv1[i]
 
-                plain_text.extend(plain_text_block)
+            iv1 = cipher_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
+            iv2 = plain_text_block
 
-            return bytes(plain_text)
+            plain_text.extend(plain_text_block)
 
-        @staticmethod
-        def encrypt_ige(plain_text, key, iv):
-            """
-            Encrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
-            given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
-            """
+        return bytes(plain_text)
 
-            # Add random padding iff it's not evenly divisible by 16 already
-            if len(plain_text) % 16 != 0:
-                padding_count = 16 - len(plain_text) % 16
-                plain_text += os.urandom(padding_count)
+    @staticmethod
+    def encrypt_ige(plain_text, key, iv):
+        """
+        Encrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
+        given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
+        """
+        # Add random padding iff it's not evenly divisible by 16 already
+        if len(plain_text) % 16 != 0:
+            padding_count = 16 - len(plain_text) % 16
+            plain_text += os.urandom(padding_count)
 
-            iv1 = iv[:len(iv) // 2]
-            iv2 = iv[len(iv) // 2:]
+        if cryptg:
+            return cryptg.encrypt_ige(plain_text, key, iv)
 
-            aes = pyaes.AES(key)
+        iv1 = iv[:len(iv) // 2]
+        iv2 = iv[len(iv) // 2:]
 
-            cipher_text = []
-            blocks_count = len(plain_text) // 16
+        aes = pyaes.AES(key)
 
-            for block_index in range(blocks_count):
-                plain_text_block = list(
-                    plain_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
-                )
-                for i in range(16):
-                    plain_text_block[i] ^= iv1[i]
+        cipher_text = []
+        blocks_count = len(plain_text) // 16
 
-                cipher_text_block = aes.encrypt(plain_text_block)
+        for block_index in range(blocks_count):
+            plain_text_block = list(
+                plain_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
+            )
+            for i in range(16):
+                plain_text_block[i] ^= iv1[i]
 
-                for i in range(16):
-                    cipher_text_block[i] ^= iv2[i]
+            cipher_text_block = aes.encrypt(plain_text_block)
 
-                iv1 = cipher_text_block
-                iv2 = plain_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
+            for i in range(16):
+                cipher_text_block[i] ^= iv2[i]
 
-                cipher_text.extend(cipher_text_block)
+            iv1 = cipher_text_block
+            iv2 = plain_text[block_index * 16:block_index * 16 + 16]
 
-            return bytes(cipher_text)
+            cipher_text.extend(cipher_text_block)
+
+        return bytes(cipher_text)
diff --git a/telethon/crypto/libssl.py b/telethon/crypto/libssl.py
deleted file mode 100644
index b4735112..00000000
--- a/telethon/crypto/libssl.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,107 +0,0 @@
-"""
-This module holds an AES IGE class, if libssl is available on the system.
-"""
-import os
-import ctypes
-from ctypes.util import find_library
-
-lib = find_library('ssl')
-if not lib:
-    AES = None
-else:
-    """ <aes.h>
-    # define AES_ENCRYPT     1
-    # define AES_DECRYPT     0
-    # define AES_MAXNR 14
-    struct aes_key_st {
-    # ifdef AES_LONG
-        unsigned long rd_key[4 * (AES_MAXNR + 1)];
-    # else
-        unsigned int rd_key[4 * (AES_MAXNR + 1)];
-    # endif
-        int rounds;
-    };
-    typedef struct aes_key_st AES_KEY;
-
-    int AES_set_encrypt_key(const unsigned char *userKey, const int bits,
-                            AES_KEY *key);
-    int AES_set_decrypt_key(const unsigned char *userKey, const int bits,
-                            AES_KEY *key);
-    void AES_ige_encrypt(const unsigned char *in, unsigned char *out,
-                         size_t length, const AES_KEY *key,
-                         unsigned char *ivec, const int enc);
-    """
-    _libssl = ctypes.cdll.LoadLibrary(lib)
-
-    AES_MAXNR = 14
-    AES_ENCRYPT = ctypes.c_int(1)
-    AES_DECRYPT = ctypes.c_int(0)
-
-    class AES_KEY(ctypes.Structure):
-        """Helper class representing an AES key"""
-        _fields_ = [
-            ('rd_key', ctypes.c_uint32 * (4*(AES_MAXNR + 1))),
-            ('rounds', ctypes.c_uint),
-        ]
-
-    class AES:
-        """
-        Class that servers as an interface to encrypt and decrypt
-        text through the AES IGE mode, using the system's libssl.
-        """
-        @staticmethod
-        def decrypt_ige(cipher_text, key, iv):
-            """
-            Decrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
-            given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
-            """
-            aeskey = AES_KEY()
-            ckey = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(key))(*key)
-            cklen = ctypes.c_int(len(key)*8)
-            cin = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(cipher_text))(*cipher_text)
-            ctlen = ctypes.c_size_t(len(cipher_text))
-            cout = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(cipher_text))()
-            civ = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(iv))(*iv)
-
-            _libssl.AES_set_decrypt_key(ckey, cklen, ctypes.byref(aeskey))
-            _libssl.AES_ige_encrypt(
-                ctypes.byref(cin),
-                ctypes.byref(cout),
-                ctlen,
-                ctypes.byref(aeskey),
-                ctypes.byref(civ),
-                AES_DECRYPT
-            )
-
-            return bytes(cout)
-
-        @staticmethod
-        def encrypt_ige(plain_text, key, iv):
-            """
-            Encrypts the given text in 16-bytes blocks by using the
-            given key and 32-bytes initialization vector.
-            """
-            # Add random padding iff it's not evenly divisible by 16 already
-            if len(plain_text) % 16 != 0:
-                padding_count = 16 - len(plain_text) % 16
-                plain_text += os.urandom(padding_count)
-
-            aeskey = AES_KEY()
-            ckey = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(key))(*key)
-            cklen = ctypes.c_int(len(key)*8)
-            cin = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(plain_text))(*plain_text)
-            ctlen = ctypes.c_size_t(len(plain_text))
-            cout = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(plain_text))()
-            civ = (ctypes.c_ubyte * len(iv))(*iv)
-
-            _libssl.AES_set_encrypt_key(ckey, cklen, ctypes.byref(aeskey))
-            _libssl.AES_ige_encrypt(
-                ctypes.byref(cin),
-                ctypes.byref(cout),
-                ctlen,
-                ctypes.byref(aeskey),
-                ctypes.byref(civ),
-                AES_ENCRYPT
-            )
-
-            return bytes(cout)
diff --git a/telethon/errors/common.py b/telethon/errors/common.py
index 46b0b52e..0c03aee6 100644
--- a/telethon/errors/common.py
+++ b/telethon/errors/common.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 class ReadCancelledError(Exception):
     """Occurs when a read operation was cancelled."""
     def __init__(self):
-        super().__init__(self, 'The read operation was cancelled.')
+        super().__init__('The read operation was cancelled.')
 
 
 class TypeNotFoundError(Exception):
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ class TypeNotFoundError(Exception):
     """
     def __init__(self, invalid_constructor_id):
         super().__init__(
-            self, 'Could not find a matching Constructor ID for the TLObject '
+            'Could not find a matching Constructor ID for the TLObject '
             'that was supposed to be read with ID {}. Most likely, a TLObject '
             'was trying to be read when it should not be read.'
             .format(hex(invalid_constructor_id)))
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ class InvalidChecksumError(Exception):
     """
     def __init__(self, checksum, valid_checksum):
         super().__init__(
-            self,
             'Invalid checksum ({} when {} was expected). '
             'This packet should be skipped.'
             .format(checksum, valid_checksum))
@@ -44,7 +43,6 @@ class BrokenAuthKeyError(Exception):
     """
     def __init__(self):
         super().__init__(
-            self,
             'The authorization key is broken, and it must be reset.'
         )
 
@@ -56,7 +54,7 @@ class SecurityError(Exception):
     def __init__(self, *args):
         if not args:
             args = ['A security check failed.']
-        super().__init__(self, *args)
+        super().__init__(*args)
 
 
 class CdnFileTamperedError(SecurityError):
diff --git a/telethon/errors/rpc_base_errors.py b/telethon/errors/rpc_base_errors.py
index 9e6eed1a..467b256c 100644
--- a/telethon/errors/rpc_base_errors.py
+++ b/telethon/errors/rpc_base_errors.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class ForbiddenError(RPCError):
     message = 'FORBIDDEN'
 
     def __init__(self, message):
-        super().__init__(self, message)
+        super().__init__(message)
         self.message = message
 
 
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class NotFoundError(RPCError):
     message = 'NOT_FOUND'
 
     def __init__(self, message):
-        super().__init__(self, message)
+        super().__init__(message)
         self.message = message
 
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class ServerError(RPCError):
     message = 'INTERNAL'
 
     def __init__(self, message):
-        super().__init__(self, message)
+        super().__init__(message)
         self.message = message
 
 
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ class BadMessageError(Exception):
     }
 
     def __init__(self, code):
-        super().__init__(self, self.ErrorMessages.get(
+        super().__init__(self.ErrorMessages.get(
             code,
             'Unknown error code (this should not happen): {}.'.format(code)))
 
diff --git a/telethon/events/__init__.py b/telethon/events/__init__.py
index 5bc08679..0af94658 100644
--- a/telethon/events/__init__.py
+++ b/telethon/events/__init__.py
@@ -136,6 +136,11 @@ class NewMessage(_EventBuilder):
         blacklist_chats (:obj:`bool`, optional):
             Whether to treat the the list of chats as a blacklist (if
             it matches it will NOT be handled) or a whitelist (default).
+
+    Notes:
+        The ``message.from_id`` might not only be an integer or ``None``,
+        but also ``InputPeerSelf()`` for short private messages (the API
+        would not return such thing, this is a custom modification).
     """
     def __init__(self, incoming=None, outgoing=None,
                  chats=None, blacklist_chats=False):
@@ -149,8 +154,8 @@ class NewMessage(_EventBuilder):
 
     async def resolve(self, client):
         if hasattr(self.chats, '__iter__') and not isinstance(self.chats, str):
-            self.chats = set(utils.get_peer_id(x)
-                             for x in await client.get_input_entity(self.chats))
+            self.chats = set(utils.get_peer_id(await client.get_input_entity(x))
+                             for x in self.chats)
         elif self.chats is not None:
             self.chats = {utils.get_peer_id(
                           await client.get_input_entity(self.chats))}
@@ -169,6 +174,7 @@ class NewMessage(_EventBuilder):
                 silent=update.silent,
                 id=update.id,
                 to_id=types.PeerUser(update.user_id),
+                from_id=types.InputPeerSelf() if update.out else update.user_id,
                 message=update.message,
                 date=update.date,
                 fwd_from=update.fwd_from,
@@ -249,6 +255,32 @@ class NewMessage(_EventBuilder):
                                                    reply_to=self.message.id,
                                                    *args, **kwargs)
 
+        async def edit(self, *args, **kwargs):
+            """
+            Edits the message iff it's outgoing. This is a shorthand for
+            ``client.edit_message(event.chat, event.message, ...)``.
+
+            Returns ``None`` if the message was incoming,
+            or the edited message otherwise.
+            """
+            if not self.message.out:
+                return None
+
+            return await self._client.edit_message(self.input_chat,
+                                                   self.message,
+                                                   *args, **kwargs)
+
+        async def delete(self, *args, **kwargs):
+            """
+            Deletes the message. You're responsible for checking whether you
+            have the permission to do so, or to except the error otherwise.
+            This is a shorthand for
+            ``client.delete_messages(event.chat, event.message, ...)``.
+            """
+            return await self._client.delete_messages(self.input_chat,
+                                                      [self.message],
+                                                      *args, **kwargs)
+
         @property
         async def input_sender(self):
             """
@@ -257,21 +289,23 @@ class NewMessage(_EventBuilder):
             things like username or similar, but still useful in some cases.
 
             Note that this might not be available if the library can't
-            find the input chat.
+            find the input chat, or if the message a broadcast on a channel.
             """
             if self._input_sender is None:
+                if self.is_channel and not self.is_group:
+                    return None
+
                 try:
                     self._input_sender = await self._client.get_input_entity(
                         self.message.from_id
                     )
                 except (ValueError, TypeError):
-                    if isinstance(self.message.to_id, types.PeerChannel):
-                        # We can rely on self.input_chat for this
-                        self._input_sender = await self._get_input_entity(
-                            self.message.id,
-                            self.message.from_id,
-                            chat=await self.input_chat
-                        )
+                    # We can rely on self.input_chat for this
+                    self._input_sender = await self._get_input_entity(
+                        self.message.id,
+                        self.message.from_id,
+                        chat=await self.input_chat
+                    )
 
             return self._input_sender
 
@@ -397,8 +431,8 @@ class ChatAction(_EventBuilder):
 
     async def resolve(self, client):
         if hasattr(self.chats, '__iter__') and not isinstance(self.chats, str):
-            self.chats = set(utils.get_peer_id(x)
-                             for x in await client.get_input_entity(self.chats))
+            self.chats = set(utils.get_peer_id(await client.get_input_entity(x))
+                             for x in self.chats)
         elif self.chats is not None:
             self.chats = {utils.get_peer_id(
                           await client.get_input_entity(self.chats))}
@@ -835,22 +869,24 @@ class MessageChanged(_EventBuilder):
             things like username or similar, but still useful in some cases.
 
             Note that this might not be available if the library can't
-            find the input chat.
+            find the input chat, or if the message a broadcast on a channel.
             """
             # TODO Code duplication
-            if self._input_sender is None and self.message:
+            if self._input_sender is None:
+                if self.is_channel and not self.is_group:
+                    return None
+
                 try:
                     self._input_sender = await self._client.get_input_entity(
                         self.message.from_id
                     )
                 except (ValueError, TypeError):
-                    if isinstance(self.message.to_id, types.PeerChannel):
-                        # We can rely on self.input_chat for this
-                        self._input_sender = await self._get_input_entity(
-                            self.message.id,
-                            self.message.from_id,
-                            chat=await self.input_chat
-                        )
+                    # We can rely on self.input_chat for this
+                    self._input_sender = await self._get_input_entity(
+                        self.message.id,
+                        self.message.from_id,
+                        chat=await self.input_chat
+                    )
 
             return self._input_sender
 
diff --git a/telethon/extensions/html.py b/telethon/extensions/html.py
index 8cd170cb..bcbd13cc 100644
--- a/telethon/extensions/html.py
+++ b/telethon/extensions/html.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 """
 Simple HTML -> Telegram entity parser.
 """
+import struct
+from collections import deque
 from html import escape, unescape
 from html.parser import HTMLParser
-from collections import deque
 
 from ..tl.types import (
     MessageEntityBold, MessageEntityItalic, MessageEntityCode,
@@ -12,6 +13,18 @@ from ..tl.types import (
 )
 
 
+# Helpers from markdown.py
+def _add_surrogate(text):
+    return ''.join(
+        ''.join(chr(y) for y in struct.unpack('<HH', x.encode('utf-16le')))
+        if (0x10000 <= ord(x) <= 0x10FFFF) else x for x in text
+    )
+
+
+def _del_surrogate(text):
+    return text.encode('utf-16', 'surrogatepass').decode('utf-16')
+
+
 class HTMLToTelegramParser(HTMLParser):
     def __init__(self):
         super().__init__()
@@ -109,8 +122,8 @@ def parse(html):
     :return: a tuple consisting of (clean message, [message entities]).
     """
     parser = HTMLToTelegramParser()
-    parser.feed(html)
-    return parser.text, parser.entities
+    parser.feed(_add_surrogate(html))
+    return _del_surrogate(parser.text), parser.entities
 
 
 def unparse(text, entities):
@@ -124,6 +137,8 @@ def unparse(text, entities):
     """
     if not entities:
         return text
+
+    text = _add_surrogate(text)
     html = []
     last_offset = 0
     for entity in entities:
@@ -164,4 +179,4 @@ def unparse(text, entities):
             skip_entity = True
         last_offset = entity.offset + (0 if skip_entity else entity.length)
     html.append(text[last_offset:])
-    return ''.join(html)
+    return _del_surrogate(''.join(html))
diff --git a/telethon/extensions/markdown.py b/telethon/extensions/markdown.py
index c1839397..4e41a84e 100644
--- a/telethon/extensions/markdown.py
+++ b/telethon/extensions/markdown.py
@@ -152,6 +152,9 @@ def unparse(text, entities, delimiters=None, url_fmt=None):
     :param entities: the MessageEntity's applied to the text.
     :return: a markdown-like text representing the combination of both inputs.
     """
+    if not entities:
+        return text
+
     if not delimiters:
         if delimiters is not None:
             return text
diff --git a/telethon/network/mtproto_sender.py b/telethon/network/mtproto_sender.py
index 5ab8e449..2e0e7748 100644
--- a/telethon/network/mtproto_sender.py
+++ b/telethon/network/mtproto_sender.py
@@ -92,6 +92,11 @@ class MtProtoSender:
         messages = [TLMessage(self.session, r) for r in requests]
         self._pending_receive.update({m.msg_id: m for m in messages})
 
+        __log__.debug('Sending requests with IDs: %s', ', '.join(
+            '{}: {}'.format(m.request.__class__.__name__, m.msg_id)
+            for m in messages
+        ))
+
         if len(messages) == 1:
             message = messages[0]
         else:
@@ -468,6 +473,7 @@ class MtProtoSender:
         request_id = reader.read_long()
         inner_code = reader.read_int(signed=False)
 
+        __log__.debug('Received response for request with ID %d', request_id)
         request = self._pop_request(request_id)
 
         if inner_code == 0x2144ca19:  # RPC Error
@@ -502,8 +508,18 @@ class MtProtoSender:
             return True
 
         # If it's really a result for RPC from previous connection
-        # session, it will be skipped by the handle_container()
-        __log__.warning('Lost request will be skipped')
+        # session, it will be skipped by the handle_container().
+        # For some reason this also seems to happen when downloading
+        # photos, where the server responds with FileJpeg().
+        try:
+            obj = reader.tgread_object()
+        except Exception as e:
+            obj = '(failed to read: %s)' % e
+
+        __log__.warning(
+            'Lost request (ID %d) with code %s will be skipped, contents: %s',
+            request_id, hex(inner_code), obj
+        )
         return False
 
     async def _handle_gzip_packed(self, msg_id, sequence, reader, state):
diff --git a/telethon/telegram_bare_client.py b/telethon/telegram_bare_client.py
index f588cce5..155a8b11 100644
--- a/telethon/telegram_bare_client.py
+++ b/telethon/telegram_bare_client.py
@@ -101,8 +101,6 @@ class TelegramBareClient:
         self.session = session
         self.api_id = int(api_id)
         self.api_hash = api_hash
-        if self.api_id < 20:  # official apps must use obfuscated
-            connection_mode = ConnectionMode.TCP_OBFUSCATED
 
         # This is the main sender, which will be used from the thread
         # that calls .connect(). Every other thread will spawn a new
@@ -152,10 +150,17 @@ class TelegramBareClient:
 
         self._recv_loop = None
         self._ping_loop = None
+        self._state_loop = None
         self._idling = asyncio.Event()
 
         # Default PingRequest delay
         self._ping_delay = timedelta(minutes=1)
+        # Also have another delay for GetStateRequest.
+        #
+        # If the connection is kept alive for long without invoking any
+        # high level request the server simply stops sending updates.
+        # TODO maybe we can have ._last_request instead if any req works?
+        self._state_delay = timedelta(hours=1)
 
     # endregion
 
@@ -570,6 +575,8 @@ class TelegramBareClient:
             self._recv_loop = asyncio.ensure_future(self._recv_loop_impl(), loop=self._loop)
         if self._ping_loop is None:
             self._ping_loop = asyncio.ensure_future(self._ping_loop_impl(), loop=self._loop)
+        if self._state_loop is None:
+            self._state_loop = asyncio.ensure_future(self._state_loop_impl(), loop=self._loop)
 
     async def _ping_loop_impl(self):
         while self._user_connected:
@@ -577,6 +584,11 @@ class TelegramBareClient:
             await asyncio.sleep(self._ping_delay.seconds, loop=self._loop)
         self._ping_loop = None
 
+    async def _state_loop_impl(self):
+        while self._user_connected:
+            await asyncio.sleep(self._state_delay.seconds, loop=self._loop)
+            await self._sender.send(GetStateRequest())
+
     async def _recv_loop_impl(self):
         __log__.info('Starting to wait for items from the network')
         self._idling.set()
diff --git a/telethon/telegram_client.py b/telethon/telegram_client.py
index a05a1b45..62cae901 100644
--- a/telethon/telegram_client.py
+++ b/telethon/telegram_client.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import io
 import itertools
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 import sys
 from collections import OrderedDict, UserList
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
@@ -45,8 +46,8 @@ from .tl.functions.contacts import (
 from .tl.functions.messages import (
     GetDialogsRequest, GetHistoryRequest, SendMediaRequest,
     SendMessageRequest, GetChatsRequest, GetAllDraftsRequest,
-    CheckChatInviteRequest, ReadMentionsRequest,
-    SendMultiMediaRequest, UploadMediaRequest
+    CheckChatInviteRequest, ReadMentionsRequest, SendMultiMediaRequest,
+    UploadMediaRequest, EditMessageRequest
 )
 
 from .tl.functions import channels
@@ -68,7 +69,9 @@ from .tl.types import (
     PeerUser, InputPeerUser, InputPeerChat, InputPeerChannel, MessageEmpty,
     ChatInvite, ChatInviteAlready, PeerChannel, Photo, InputPeerSelf,
     InputSingleMedia, InputMediaPhoto, InputPhoto, InputFile, InputFileBig,
-    InputDocument, InputMediaDocument, Document
+    InputDocument, InputMediaDocument, Document, MessageEntityTextUrl,
+    InputMessageEntityMentionName, DocumentAttributeVideo,
+    UpdateEditMessage, UpdateEditChannelMessage, UpdateShort, Updates
 )
 from .tl.types.messages import DialogsSlice
 from .extensions import markdown, html
@@ -414,7 +417,7 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
         result = await self(SignUpRequest(
             phone_number=self._phone,
             phone_code_hash=self._phone_code_hash.get(self._phone, ''),
-            phone_code=code,
+            phone_code=str(code),
             first_name=first_name,
             last_name=last_name
         ))
@@ -561,13 +564,62 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
                         msg_id = update.id
                         break
 
-        for update in result.updates:
+        if isinstance(result, UpdateShort):
+            updates = [result.update]
+        elif isinstance(result, Updates):
+            updates = result.updates
+        else:
+            return
+
+        for update in updates:
             if isinstance(update, (UpdateNewChannelMessage, UpdateNewMessage)):
                 if update.message.id == msg_id:
                     return update.message
 
+            elif (isinstance(update, UpdateEditMessage) and
+                    not isinstance(request.peer, InputPeerChannel)):
+                if request.id == update.message.id:
+                    return update.message
+
+            elif (isinstance(update, UpdateEditChannelMessage) and
+                    utils.get_peer_id(request.peer) ==
+                        utils.get_peer_id(update.message.to_id)):
+                if request.id == update.message.id:
+                    return update.message
+
+    def _parse_message_text(self, message, parse_mode):
+        """
+        Returns a (parsed message, entities) tuple depending on parse_mode.
+        """
+        if not parse_mode:
+            return message, []
+
+        parse_mode = parse_mode.lower()
+        if parse_mode in {'md', 'markdown'}:
+            message, msg_entities = markdown.parse(message)
+        elif parse_mode.startswith('htm'):
+            message, msg_entities = html.parse(message)
+        else:
+            raise ValueError('Unknown parsing mode: {}'.format(parse_mode))
+
+        for i, e in enumerate(msg_entities):
+            if isinstance(e, MessageEntityTextUrl):
+                m = re.match(r'^@|\+|tg://user\?id=(\d+)', e.url)
+                if m:
+                    try:
+                        msg_entities[i] = InputMessageEntityMentionName(
+                            e.offset, e.length, self.get_input_entity(
+                                int(m.group(1)) if m.group(1) else e.url
+                            )
+                        )
+                    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+                        # Make no replacement
+                        pass
+
+        return message, msg_entities
+
     async def send_message(self, entity, message, reply_to=None,
-                           parse_mode=None, link_preview=True):
+                           parse_mode='md', link_preview=True):
         """
         Sends the given message to the specified entity (user/chat/channel).
 
@@ -583,8 +635,10 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
                 it should be the ID of the message that it should reply to.
 
             parse_mode (:obj:`str`, optional):
-                Can be 'md' or 'markdown' for markdown-like parsing, in a similar
-                fashion how official clients work.
+                Can be 'md' or 'markdown' for markdown-like parsing (default),
+                or 'htm' or 'html' for HTML-like parsing. If ``None`` or any
+                other false-y value is provided, the message will be sent with
+                no formatting.
 
             link_preview (:obj:`bool`, optional):
                 Should the link preview be shown?
@@ -593,23 +647,14 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
             the sent message
         """
         entity = await self.get_input_entity(entity)
-        if parse_mode:
-            parse_mode = parse_mode.lower()
-            if parse_mode in {'md', 'markdown'}:
-                message, msg_entities = markdown.parse(message)
-            elif parse_mode.startswith('htm'):
-                message, msg_entities = html.parse(message)
-            else:
-                raise ValueError('Unknown parsing mode: {}'.format(parse_mode))
-        else:
-            msg_entities = []
+        message, msg_entities = self._parse_message_text(message, parse_mode)
 
         request = SendMessageRequest(
             peer=entity,
             message=message,
             entities=msg_entities,
             no_webpage=not link_preview,
-            reply_to_msg_id=self._get_reply_to(reply_to)
+            reply_to_msg_id=self._get_message_id(reply_to)
         )
         result = await self(request)
 
@@ -626,6 +671,51 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
 
         return self._get_response_message(request, result)
 
+    async def edit_message(self, entity, message_id, message=None,
+                           parse_mode='md', link_preview=True):
+        """
+        Edits the given message ID (to change its contents or disable preview).
+
+        Args:
+            entity (:obj:`entity`):
+                From which chat to edit the message.
+
+            message_id (:obj:`str`):
+                The ID of the message (or ``Message`` itself) to be edited.
+
+            message (:obj:`str`, optional):
+                The new text of the message.
+
+            parse_mode (:obj:`str`, optional):
+                Can be 'md' or 'markdown' for markdown-like parsing (default),
+                or 'htm' or 'html' for HTML-like parsing. If ``None`` or any
+                other false-y value is provided, the message will be sent with
+                no formatting.
+
+            link_preview (:obj:`bool`, optional):
+                Should the link preview be shown?
+
+        Raises:
+            ``MessageAuthorRequiredError`` if you're not the author of the
+            message but try editing it anyway.
+
+            ``MessageNotModifiedError`` if the contents of the message were
+            not modified at all.
+
+        Returns:
+            the edited message
+        """
+        message, msg_entities = self._parse_message_text(message, parse_mode)
+        request = EditMessageRequest(
+            peer=await self.get_input_entity(entity),
+            id=self._get_message_id(message_id),
+            message=message,
+            no_webpage=not link_preview,
+            entities=msg_entities
+        )
+        result = await self(request)
+        return self._get_response_message(request, result)
+
     async def delete_messages(self, entity, message_ids, revoke=True):
         """
         Deletes a message from a chat, optionally "for everyone".
@@ -849,22 +939,22 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
         return False
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _get_reply_to(reply_to):
+    def _get_message_id(message):
         """Sanitizes the 'reply_to' parameter a user may send"""
-        if reply_to is None:
+        if message is None:
             return None
 
-        if isinstance(reply_to, int):
-            return reply_to
+        if isinstance(message, int):
+            return message
 
         try:
-            if reply_to.SUBCLASS_OF_ID == 0x790009e3:
+            if message.SUBCLASS_OF_ID == 0x790009e3:
                 # hex(crc32(b'Message')) = 0x790009e3
-                return reply_to.id
+                return message.id
         except AttributeError:
             pass
 
-        raise TypeError('Invalid reply_to type: {}'.format(type(reply_to)))
+        raise TypeError('Invalid message type: {}'.format(type(message)))
 
     # endregion
 
@@ -902,8 +992,8 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
 
             force_document (:obj:`bool`, optional):
                 If left to ``False`` and the file is a path that ends with
-                ``.png``, ``.jpg`` and such, the file will be sent as a photo.
-                Otherwise always as a document.
+                the extension of an image file or a video file, it will be
+                sent as such. Otherwise always as a document.
 
             progress_callback (:obj:`callable`, optional):
                 A callback function accepting two parameters:
@@ -953,7 +1043,7 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
             ]
 
         entity = await self.get_input_entity(entity)
-        reply_to = self._get_reply_to(reply_to)
+        reply_to = self._get_message_id(reply_to)
 
         if not isinstance(file, (str, bytes, io.IOBase)):
             # The user may pass a Message containing media (or the media,
@@ -995,6 +1085,9 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
                     # TODO If the input file is an audio, find out:
                     # Performer and song title and add DocumentAttributeAudio
                 }
+                if not force_document and utils.is_video(file):
+                    attr_dict[DocumentAttributeVideo] = \
+                        DocumentAttributeVideo(0, 0, 0)
             else:
                 attr_dict = {
                     DocumentAttributeFilename:
@@ -1063,7 +1156,7 @@ class TelegramClient(TelegramBareClient):
         # cache only makes a difference for documents where the user may
         # want the attributes used on them to change. Caption's ignored.
         entity = await self.get_input_entity(entity)
-        reply_to = self._get_reply_to(reply_to)
+        reply_to = self._get_message_id(reply_to)
 
         # Need to upload the media first, but only if they're not cached yet
         media = []
diff --git a/telethon/utils.py b/telethon/utils.py
index 3e310d3d..9460986c 100644
--- a/telethon/utils.py
+++ b/telethon/utils.py
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ Utilities for working with the Telegram API itself (such as handy methods
 to convert between an entity like an User, Chat, etc. into its Input version)
 """
 import math
+import mimetypes
 import re
 from mimetypes import add_type, guess_extension
 
-from .tl.types.contacts import ResolvedPeer
 from .tl.types import (
     Channel, ChannelForbidden, Chat, ChatEmpty, ChatForbidden, ChatFull,
     ChatPhoto, InputPeerChannel, InputPeerChat, InputPeerUser, InputPeerEmpty,
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from .tl.types import (
     InputMediaUploadedPhoto, DocumentAttributeFilename, photos,
     TopPeer, InputNotifyPeer
 )
+from .tl.types.contacts import ResolvedPeer
 
 USERNAME_RE = re.compile(
     r'@|(?:https?://)?(?:telegram\.(?:me|dog)|t\.me)/(joinchat/)?'
@@ -322,8 +323,12 @@ def get_input_media(media, user_caption=None, is_photo=False):
 
 def is_image(file):
     """Returns True if the file extension looks like an image file"""
-    return (isinstance(file, str) and
-            bool(re.search(r'\.(png|jpe?g|gif)$', file, re.IGNORECASE)))
+    return (mimetypes.guess_type(file)[0] or '').startswith('image/')
+
+
+def is_video(file):
+    """Returns True if the file extension looks like a video file"""
+    return (mimetypes.guess_type(file)[0] or '').startswith('video/')
 
 
 def parse_phone(phone):
diff --git a/telethon/version.py b/telethon/version.py
index 6cf35eba..4ead720b 100644
--- a/telethon/version.py
+++ b/telethon/version.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 # Versions should comply with PEP440.
 # This line is parsed in setup.py:
-__version__ = '0.17.1'
+__version__ = '0.17.2'
diff --git a/telethon_generator/error_generator.py b/telethon_generator/error_generator.py
index a56d4b91..73fb5c5a 100644
--- a/telethon_generator/error_generator.py
+++ b/telethon_generator/error_generator.py
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def write_error(f, code, name, desc, capture_name):
         f.write(
             "self.{} = int(kwargs.get('capture', 0))\n        ".format(capture_name)
         )
-    f.write('super(Exception, self).__init__(self, {}'.format(repr(desc)))
+    f.write('super(Exception, self).__init__({}'.format(repr(desc)))
     if capture_name:
         f.write('.format(self.{})'.format(capture_name))
     f.write(')\n')