I tried to text my friend but suddenly saw that my message failed to deliver. He can be able to text me, but I have failed while sending a message. I thought something was wrong with my device and started searching about it, which led me to the solution Why aren’t my texts delivering to a certain person but they can text me?
There are several possible reasons why this annoying situation can happen. This article will explore some of the most common causes and solutions for text message delivery failure. By the end, you will better understand how to fix this issue and prevent it from happening again.
Why aren’t my texts delivering to a certain person but they can text me?
Text messaging is convenient for communicating with friends, family, and colleagues. However, there are times when your texts might not be delivering to a certain person, even though they can text you. Here are some of the reasons why this might be happening:
Here is a table that shows some of the problems that can cause text message delivery failure:
Problem | Description |
---|---|
Poor or no network connection | This problem occurs when your phone is not connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network or is congested or unstable. This prevents your texts from being sent or received by the recipient’s phone. |
Incorrect, invalid, blocked, disconnected, turned off, in Airplane Mode, out of battery, out of service, or incompatible phone number or device | This problem occurs when the recipient’s phone number or device is not valid, active, available, or compatible with your texts. This prevents your texts from reaching the recipient’s phone or being displayed correctly. |
Too long, invalid characters, too large or unsupported attachments, spam filters text message format or content | This problem occurs when your text message format or content is not suitable for sending or receiving. This may cause your texts to be split, truncated, corrupted, compressed, blocked, or reported as spam. |
Outdated, corrupted, incompatible, incorrect, disabled, or conflicting text message app or settings | This problem occurs when your text message app or settings are not working properly or in sync with your phone or carrier. This may cause your texts to fail to send or receive, or to have errors or glitches. |
How to Fix text is not delivering to a certain person?
There might be some methods to fix the issue. If you follow all the steps carefully, you can fix the text not delivering to a certain person. Here are those solutions:
- Network connection Problem
- Recipient’s phone number and device
- Text message format and content
- Text message app and settings Issue
Network connection Problem
Your network connection is either bad or not working, which is one of the most basic and obvious causes of why your texts are not getting through. Cellular or Wi-Fi networks are necessary for text messages to send and receive data. Your texts might not send if your phone is not connected to a network, the network is busy, or the network is unstable.
View the signal bars on your phone to determine the quality of your network connection. You might need to change locations or switch to a different network if they are low or empty. Additionally, you might try activating Airplane Mode once, then deactivating it once more to see if it helps reestablish your connection.
Using a speed test application or website, such as Speedtest or Fast, is another way to examine your network connection. Your upload and download speeds, as well as your latency and jitter, can all be measured using these tools. If either of these metrics is excessively high or low, your network connection is unsuitable for sending texts.
To improve your network connection, you can try some of the following tips:
- Restart your phone or modem/router.
- Update your phone’s software and carrier settings.
- Use Wi-Fi instead of cellular data, or vice versa.
- Switch to a different carrier or plan that offers better coverage or speed.
- Contact your carrier or internet service provider for technical support.
- you can see Can You Text on a Plane? 2023 Guidelines and Insights
Recipient’s phone number and device
Another possible reason your texts are not being delivered is that there is something wrong with the recipient’s phone number or device. For example, the phone number may be incorrect, invalid, blocked, or disconnected. Or, the device may be turned off, in Airplane Mode, out of battery, out of service, or incompatible with your texts.
To check the recipient’s phone number and device, you can try some of the following steps:
- If applicable, verify that you have entered the correct phone number, including the area and country codes.
- Ask the recipient to confirm that their phone number is active and valid.
- Check if the recipient has blocked your number or enabled Do Not Disturb mode on their phone.
- Call the recipient and see if you can reach them. If not, you may hear a message saying that the number is not in service or that the call cannot be completed.
- Ask the recipient to check their phone’s settings and ensure they can receive texts from your carrier or app. For example, some devices may not support SMS (Short Message Service) or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), the standard text message formats. Or some devices may have trouble receiving texts from iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or other third-party apps.
- Ask the recipient to restart their phone or update their software.
Text message format and content
is something wrong with your text message format or content? For example, your text message may be too long, contain invalid characters, include attachments that are too large or unsupported, or violate spam filters.
To check your text message format and content, you can try some of the following tips:
- Keep your text messages short. Most carriers limit SMS messages to 160 characters per message. If you exceed this limit, your message may be split into multiple messages or truncated. MMS messages have higher limits but vary depending on the carrier and device.
- Avoid using special characters, symbols, emojis, or foreign languages that your carrier or device may not support. These characters may cause encoding errors or display issues preventing your texts’ delivery.
- Reduce the size and number of attachments that you send with your texts. MMS messages allow you to send photos, videos, audio files, and other media with your texts. However, these attachments have size limits that depend on your carrier and device. If you exceed these limits, your texts may fail to send or be compressed to lower quality.
- Follow the rules and etiquette of text messaging. Text messages are subject to spam filters and regulations that aim to protect users from unwanted or harmful messages. Suppose you send too many texts quickly, use misleading or deceptive information, promote illegal or inappropriate products or services, or violate your carrier’s or app’s terms and conditions. In that case, your texts may be blocked or reported as spam.
Text message app and settings Issue
is something wrong with your text message app and settings? For example, your app may be outdated, corrupted, or incompatible with your phone or carrier. Or, your settings may be incorrect, disabled, or conflicting with other apps.
To check your text message app and settings, you can try some of the following solutions:
- Update your text message app to the latest version. This can fix bugs, improve performance, and add new features that may enhance your text messaging experience.
- Clear the cache and data of your text message app. This can free up storage space, remove temporary files, and resolve glitches affecting text messaging functionality.
- Reinstall your text message app or switch to a different one. This can eliminate any issues caused by a faulty or incompatible app. You can choose from various text messaging apps available for your phone, such as the default Messages app, Google Messages, Samsung Messages, iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and more.
- Check your text message settings and ensure they are correct and enabled. For example, you may need to enable SMS or MMS delivery reports to confirm if your texts have been sent and received. Or, you may need to enable text message forwarding, which can sync your texts across multiple devices.
Conclusion
Failure to receive text messages can be a frustrating and challenging issue that can interfere with your ability to communicate with others. However, by comprehending the potential causes and fixes for this problem, you can effectively troubleshoot it and stop it from happening again.