Getting Message Failed To Send? – Fixes for iPhone And Android

By John Adebimitan

Almost everyone now uses a smartphone, and better phones generally mean better and faster text messaging. We’ve recently had users complain about message sending failures, and we thought it good to create a small guide to help you fix this “message failed to send” issue.

So in this article, we’d talk about the best fixes and likely reasons why your messages fail to send.

Getting “Message Failed To Send”? – Causes

That Phone Has Been Turned Off. If a phone is off, then your message won’t get through. But it will keep trying to connect until it gets delivered. However, if the phone doesn’t come on after a while, it won’t get delivered.

For example, some mobile cell carriers are configured to automatically resend messages every six hours till they successfully get through. However, if the phone you’re trying to reach doesn’t come on within that period, you get the reply “message failed to send.”

The Number Is In Roaming Mode

Sending a message to a number that’s not in your home country will indeed cause some issues. Also, it is quite expensive to be sending a message to numbers in a different country. So if the Number is in roaming mode at that particular moment, you’ll definitely get the “message failed to send” error.

The Sender You’re Using Is Not Permitted

Certain jurisdictions or operators prohibit some types of senders or peer-to-peer messaging networks. Take Japan, for example; they do not allow A2P SMS messages from standard phone numbers. These limitations are intended to deter businesses from participating in high-volume messaging or spamming.

Wrong or missing area code

If you’re messaging someone in another country or state, chances are that the reason your message failed to send is that you haven’t indicated the correct code.

  • Ensure that you use the correct area code.
  • For businesses ensure you collect each client’s area code to prevent the “message failed to send” error on messages.

Incorrect mobile numbers

You would want to confirm that you are texting the right recipient and you have their phone numbers correctly entered when sending the message. When phone numbers are incorrect, messages won’t send, and you’d probably get the “message failed to send” error.

SIM cards

Check that your SIM cards are either well-sat in your phone and/or aren’t damaged. If your SIM card has any issues whatsoever, it could result in issues when sending messages and making calls.

Phone Plan

You would also want to confirm that your plan comes with support for your specific messaging needs. If your plan is a voice call-only plan, then messages won’t work. If your plan is a local-messaging-only plan, international messages won’t work.

Read also: Message Blocking Is Active – What It Means and How to Fix

Getting Messages Failed To Send? – Best Fixes

Force Stop the Messages app. Restarting your message app might be what you need if your message failed to send.

To do this:

  • Go to Settings, then open Apps
  • Select Messages
  • Click on Force Stop

Fix 2: Reboot your Mobile Device

You know, rebooting your phone might be all it needs to refresh itself and resolve any issue going on. You should turn your phone OFF for a few minutes and then turn it back ON to see if it works. This option would generally work either you’re an android phone or iPhone user.

Read also: Why Is My Phone Not Allowed to Make or Receive Calls? Causes and Best Fixes

Fix 3: Update Your Device

If rebooting your device didn’t work, try updating the software. 

  • Go to Settings
  • Open Systems and click on Updates
  • Check to see if there’s any recent update available and apply this

Fix 4: Erase Your Phone’s Cache

Deleting your phone’s cache is the most frequently used method of resolving Android issues. So if you keep getting the “message failed to send” error, try the following.

  • Select Apps from the Settings menu
  • Navigate through the list and click on the default Messaging app
  • Then you’ll notice the option to Clear Data and Clear Cache
  • Select one or both
  • Afterward, restart your device and try sending a message

Read also: Why Does My Phone Say No Service?

Fix 5: Check the Number and country code of the recipient

Perhaps your text is not being sent to a single recipient. Verify that their phone number is correct and, if necessary, add a country code.

Fix 6: Maybe You Blocked That Number

  • Open your Messaging App
  • Select the three dots on the top-right corner
  • Open Settings
  • Select Blocked Numbers or Blacklist
  • Click on the number to unblock it if you find it on this list

Fix 7: Factory Reset your Phone

A factory reset wouldn’t be a bad idea if you’re still dealing with the “message failed to send” issue.

Don’t forget to backup your data before doing a factory reset of your device. To complete a factory reset:

  • Navigate to the Settings
  • Go to System & Updates and click on Reset
  • Select Reset Phone and just wait it out

Read also: Google Play Services Keeps Stopping? Best Fixes

How to Fix Message Failed To send on iPhones

Check Your Network Coverage. Without a stable network connection, you cannot send text messages and make calls. You could just wait a few more minutes or change your position to get good network coverage. Chances are that your message failed to send because of poor network coverage. Below are some other fixes to try out for iPhones.

Fix 1: Ensure that iMessage Is Turned On

If you’re sending an iMessage but it’s going as a normal text message, it could be because the person you are trying to contact is not using an Apple device, they don’t have iMessage on their device, or yours is unavailable. To confirm that your iMessage is turned ON.

  • Go to Settings
  • Select to Messages
  • Confirm that iMessage is ON

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve talked about reasons why your message failed to send, we’ve also talked about some fixes we’d generally recommend. If none of these works, you just might need to contact your mobile carrier for assistance.

Read also: How to Remove a Hacker from My Phone

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