After compiling some main causes, you can proceed to troubleshoot with a few solutions outlined below:
Fixing Phone Not Receiving Texts
1. Check mobile network signal.
2. Restart the phone.
3. Reset network settings.
4. Reinsert SIM card.
5. Update operating system.
6. Delete messages on Android.
7. Factory reset the phone.
8. Contact the network provider.
1. Check mobile network signal
The simplest answer to why you're not receiving text messages on your phone is related to network issues. If the mobile network is down or in a weak coverage area, you won't receive any messages. Therefore, check the signal bars at the top of your mobile device screen. Signal bars are typically displayed as bars or dots. If there are no bars or only one bar, it means the mobile network signal strength is weak. In this case, you can only wait until the network stabilizes or move to a stronger coverage area.
2. Restart Your Phone
Sometimes there are 'endless loops' or other 'behind-the-scenes' issues that you may not be able to diagnose, but can easily be resolved by restarting your phone. Are you using a non-bootable Android phone, unable to turn on? What's the error? How to fix it?. So why not try restarting the device before trying anything else? It's possible that the phone not receiving messages issue will be gone right after you read this and apply this method.
3. Reset Network Settings
This is a fairly robust solution for a strong hiccup because resetting network settings will erase all network settings on the phone including Wi-Fi passwords. Then, you will need to re-enter all necessary information.
- On Android phones, open the Settings app, then go to System > Advanced > Reset options > Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth. If you don't see the Advanced section, touch Network & internet > More > Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth. Finally, press the Reset settings button at the bottom of the screen.
- On iOS phones, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Confirm in the pop-up window and the iPhone will restart.
4. Reinsert the SIM card
The inability to receive messages may be related to the SIM card. If the SIM card is not inserted correctly into the SIM slot on the mobile device, connectivity issues will arise and prevent you from receiving text messages. Therefore, turn off the phone, remove the SIM card, wait a few minutes, and reinsert the SIM card. After restarting the phone, hopefully the issue will be resolved. If it's not a phone not detecting sim error, then you may explore other avenues.
5. Update Operating System
Install any available operating system updates, even if they seem unrelated to the issue you're experiencing. Some bug fixes and other repairs may address operations or features that your messaging app utilizes.
6. Delete Messages on Android
On Android, sometimes this issue occurs because your SIM card gets filled with too much information like text messages. Depending on how often you text, the number of messages can take up a lot of storage space on your phone. If you don't delete them regularly, you'll encounter similar issues. The process of deleting messages is very simple.
- Delete messages on your phone: You can delete individual messages or delete all by tapping the 3-dot icon in the top right corner of the messaging app, selecting Delete all threads, and pressing OK.
- Delete messages on SIM card: In the messaging app on an Android phone, tap More > Settings > Manage SIM Card Messages (located under the Advanced section). Now, you can delete all messages or selectively delete messages there.
7. Reset Phone
If you've tried every possible solution but to no avail, you have one last resort before calling your network provider for assistance. That's to reset your phone. Bring your phone back to its factory settings and hope that the issue of not receiving messages is also resolved. Before resetting your phone, you need to backup your files and data on your device.
- On Android, go to Settings > Advanced settings > Backup & Reset > Factory data reset > Reset Phone (The steps may vary slightly on different Android phones).
- On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Then, enter the screen password and press Erase iPhone. You'll need to enter your Apple ID password to confirm the action.
Wait for the phone to restart and ask someone to send a text message to check if the issue has disappeared or not.
8. Contact Your Network Provider
After applying the above methods but still experiencing the issue of not receiving messages, then perhaps the problem lies not with the device, but possibly with the network provider. Your connection is having issues and you need to gather more information about it. Therefore, contact your network provider for assistance.
Phones have many issues that you may not think of like phone not detecting headphones, not receiving messages, etc. You're encountering one of those issues so refer to the article on Mytour for answers.
