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Why Are My Messages Not Sending?

Why are my text messages not sending

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Are you having trouble delivering your messages? Being unable to send text messages can be frustrating, especially when you urgently need to text someone. Whether it's a significant update, confirmation, or just catching up with a friend, seeing those undelivered notifications can be concerning.
 

Nearly 80% of professionals currently use texting for business, and about 70% of employees favor it for internal communications. With SMS being such an integral part of our lives, any disruption can cause misunderstandings, missed opportunities, or delayed information. Various issues, such as poor network coverage, outdated device settings, or software glitches, could cause unsent texts.


Common Causes of Text Message Not Sending

Text messages not sending can often be caused by illegal content, being reported as spam, etc. Illegal content includes anything of drugs, crime, violence, etc. Some other causes of text messages not sending are explained below.
 

six common causes of text messages not sending

Mobile carrier issues

Mobile carriers can sometimes prevent your messages from being sent successfully. This can occur due to various technical issues like server downtimes, infrastructure problems, outages, or maintenance activities on the carrier's end, affecting certain aspects of their service.

Flagged as spam

Messages containing offensive material that breaches guidelines are automatically marked as “spam”. When this happens, there's a high likelihood that your message won't reach the intended recipient.
 

Some universal reasons why your message is flagged as spam:
 

  • If your SMS text contains suspicious links like bit.ly or tinyURL.com.
  • If you send multiple SMS messages with the same content to different numbers.
  • The recipient's carrier will flag the message if your SMS message length is too long, like an essay.


To identify scams or fake text messages, you must be careful about terms like unusual sender information, false sense of urgency, and poor grammar and spelling. Apart from that, most scam texts discuss winning lottery prizes and other prizes you have not taken part in.
 

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Illegal content

If you send illegal content, such as drug references, adult content, or anything related to criminal activities, the system or phone carrier will block the SMS messages. Sending illegal messages is strictly prohibited.
 

While sending the messages, you should ensure that the messages follow the guidelines and protocols.

Service Restriction

The person you're trying to reach may restrict the service to send and receive messages. They may prevent calls and SMS messages, including international calls and MMS. The ability to send SMS messages is sometimes restricted to control billing issues, business policy control, and parental controls.

Sending too many text messages from P2P numbers

People often send too many messages to advertise their products, and sometimes, personal users send messages in bulk for one-on-one interactions. Sending large volumes of text may block your service, and the messages cannot be sent. To solve this problem, the limits to send messages should be minimized.

Corrupted message cache

A phone stores information to run smoothly, known as a cache. The stored information or data can be corrupted while texting. If the issue is seen when sending and receiving messages, you can clear the message cache to solve this problem.

Tips to fix message-sending issues

To resolve message-sending issues, restart your phone, check your SIM card's placement, or reset your messaging settings to default. These simple steps can often fix common glitches and restore normal functionality.
 

7 tips to fix message sending issues

Restart

Simply restarting your phone means pressing and holding the lock button and volume down button until the phone performs a forced power cycle. This method helps shut down your phone and reset the devices, and it will often fix any glitches.

Check your SIM

Verify if the SIM card is inserted into your phone correctly. If not, then you can pop out the SIM card and place it correctly.

Reset messages settings to default

On both iOS and Android phones, we can reset the message settings. To restore the default message settings, follow these steps:
 

Android Phones:
 

  1. Open the settings app
  2. Scroll down and tap on Apps
  3. Find the messaging app and tap on it.
  4. Tap on Storage.
  5. Look for options like Clear Data or Clear Storage.
  6. Confirm the action when prompted.


iOS Devices:
 

  1. Go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Scroll down and find Messages.
  3. Tap on the messaging app.
  4. Look for an option to Reset or Reset Settings.
  5. Confirm the action when prompted.

Check for updates

You should check if there is anything to update or not. If yes, then follow these steps:
 

  1. Open the settings app
  2. Tap software update
  3. If an update is available, Tap Download and Install
  4. At last, Tap Download now

Clear the Cache on your phone

After an update, clear the message app cache. There are some steps to clear the cache on your phone.
 

  1. Open the settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap Apps.
  3. Tap the Messages app.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache in the bottom-right corner.

Clear system junk on your phone

If clearing the cache on your phone doesn't work, then you need to clear system junk on your Android phone. Many Android users use third-party apps to clear the trash and free up phone storage.

Force stop the messaging app

You can follow these steps to force the messaging app to stop.
 

  1. Open the Settings menu and open the Application.
  2. In the Application Manager, swipe down to see all the applications.
  3. Look for the Messaging app in the list and click on it.
  4. When you open the app info, you will see an option that says Force Stop.
  5. Tap on it and restart your device.
📖 You may also read: How to Text on a Disconnected Phone?

Conclusion

Having trouble sending a text message can be annoying, but understanding why your text message is not sending can help. Staying proactive and informed is essential when it comes to dealing with network issues, managing phone settings, and understanding carrier restrictions.
 

Businesses seeking a more comprehensive text messaging solution can rely on Calilio to simplify communication, reduce downtime, and meet messaging protocol compliance. It caters to business needs, ensures compliance, minimizes disruptions, and makes customer interactions seamless.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my text messages failing to send?

Text messages can fail to send for several reasons, including network outages, phone carrier restrictions, or if the message is flagged as spam due to suspicious content or links.

Why is my phone not delivering text messages?

If your phone is not delivering text messages, check for mobile carrier issues, ensure network coverage, and verify that your message content complies with legal and carrier guidelines.

Why are my messages not sending when I have Wi-Fi?

Text messages typically rely on cellular networks, not Wi-Fi. Ensure your mobile network is active and your SIM card functions properly. You can use an alternative method, such as switching to a messaging app like WhatsApp that uses Wi-Fi.

Why are my group messages not sending on Android?

Group messages may fail to send on Android due to incorrect messaging settings, lack of network coverage, or group message size limitations. To fix this, reset your messaging settings or use a third-party app to send group messages.


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