Fix: Facebook Messenger won’t send messages

Facebook Messenger issues are not common but, when they occur, it’s usually something big. The error we are covering today concerns the essential purpose of this app which is, of course, messaging. Some users report that Facebook Messenger won’t send messages (text, media, attachments). We have a few solutions to suggest and help you resolve the issue at hand.

Table of contents:

1. Check the Facebook services status
2. Check the network connection
3. Grant all permissions to Messenger
4. Clear local data from Facebook Messenger
5. Check Time and Date settings
6. Reinstall Facebook Messenger
7. Make sure that you are not blocked

Why can’t I send messages to friends on Facebook Messenger?

There are a few possible reasons for this, but we mostly blame connection issues or local data corruption. Of course, we can’t forget about seldom global outages.

Whatever the reason, check the steps below to solve it.

1. Check the Facebook services status

Facebook has had a major outage recently and, based on reports, it affected users around the world. It’s not likely that the problem will occur frequently, but issues with apps might come as a consequence of a global server-side outage.

So, before you move to troubleshoot the problem on your side, make sure that Facebook Messenger is up and running for other users. You can check the Facebook services status (this includes Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram) on Down Detector, or check the official Facebook Twitter handle.

In case there are some issues, wait for a couple of hours and they should sort it out. On the other hand, if there are no reports of any major outages, continue troubleshooting the problem by following the steps we listed below.

2. Check the network connection

The most common culprit for this and similar errors lies in connection problems. If your internet connection is super slow or you can’t connect, you won’t be able to send or receive messages in Facebook Messenger.

So, ensure that your Android has a connection to a stable Wi-Fi or mobile data network. The best way to find out if there are any connectivity-related issues is to use other network-dependent apps. Open Chrome and check if the pages load and, if they do, continue to the next step.

However, if you run into some connectivity issues, restart your Android and router, forget the network and reconnect again, or try some other steps we put in this how-to-fix article.

3. Grant all permissions to Messenger

By default, Facebook Messenger doesn’t require any permissions in order to chat. Zero permissions. However, sometimes third-party apps will start misbehaving if they don’t get the required permissions. With that in mind, we recommend navigating to Settings > Apps > All apps (App Manager or Manage apps) > Messenger. Once there, open Permissions and grant all permissions to Facebook Messenger.

Also, while there, open Wi-Fi and mobile data or Mobile data and make sure that Facebook Messenger has permission to use Mobile Data in the background.

4. Clear local data from Facebook Messenger

If the previous step failed to address the issue and Facebook Messenger still won’t send messages, try clearing the local data from the app. This way, you’ll reset the app and, hopefully, address the issue at hand. And, considering that Facebook Messenger piles up too much data for a cloud-based messaging app. Which can often lead to issues caused by data corruption.

Follow these instructions to clear local data from Facebook Messenger:

1. Again, navigate to Settings > Apps > All apps > Messenger.
2. Tap Storage.
3. Clear data and restart your Android.
4. Open Facebook Messenger and sign in with your credentials.

5. Check Time and Date settings

All Android apps rely on the system time to work and, if your time and date are not properly set, many apps won’t function as intended. The best way to ensure that time and date settings are properly set is to stick to automatic settings (internet-based date, time, and time zone settings).

Here’s how to set automatic time and date on your Android device:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose System, General Management, or Additional settings.
3. Open Date and time.
4. Toggle ON the “Use network-provided time” or “Automatic date and time“.

6. Reinstall Facebook Messenger

You can also try reinstalling the Facebook Messenger app and hope for the best. This is another standard troubleshooting step and it usually helps with some minor issues with both third-party and built-in apps.

Here’s how to reinstall Facebook Messenger on your smartphone:

1. Again navigate to the Play Store and open Facebook Messenger.
2. Tap Uninstall.
3. Restart your device, get back to Play Store, and install Facebook Messenger again.
4. Sign in with your credentials, grant permissions when prompted, and try sending the messages again.

7. Make sure that you are not blocked

Finally, we can’t overlook the possibility of some users blocking you in Facebook Messenger. No matter how harsh it sounds, if you got blocked on Facebook Messenger, you won’t be able to send messages. There is no prompt informing you about this — your messages just won’t be delivered.

Also, sometimes users that deactivated Facebook services might still appear in the chat list even though they don’t use Facebook and Facebook Messenger anymore.

With that out of the way, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and make sure to post your questions or suggestions in the comments section below.