WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, is one of the most used instant messengers today with more than 300 million daily users. Besides the standard chat, you can use it to send all kinds of multimedia files. However, that’s not of much use if WhatsApp is not receiving messages.
Users reported that they are unable to see received messages but, strangely enough, can send messages without any issues. If you are not receiving messages on WhatsApp, chances are that there’s a widespread server issue. On the other hand, the problem may be on your side. In most cases, the contact is accidentally blocked or there are connection issues at hand. Either way, we suggest moving through the list below to troubleshoot the problem. Hopefully, you’ll be able to receive messages on WhatsApp again after following the solutions we provided for you.
Table of contents:
- Make sure that you haven’t blocked a contact
- Clear the data from WhatsApp
- Reinstall WhatsApp
- Disable Mobile Data limitations
- Check the storage
- Leave the Beta program
- Rollback to an older version of WhatsApp
Why am I not receiving messages on WhatsApp?
If you are not sending or receiving messages on WhatsApp, try these solutions to fix the problem:
- If you are blocked, your messages won’t be delivered to the recipient that blocked you.
- Clear data to reset WhatsApp or reinstall the app.
- Make sure that the network isn’t the problem.
- Ensure that you are not low on space.
- Roll back to an older version of WhatsApp with an APK.
- Check the WhatsApp help page.
Solution 1 – Make sure that you haven’t blocked a contact
Firstly, make sure that the contact that sends you files isn’t on your Block list. If contact is blocked, you won’t be able to see any of the messages sent to you. Sometimes, erroneously, you might even get a notification about the message but the actual content won’t come through.
Follow these steps to check your block list:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Click on the 3-dot menu and open Settings.
- Select Account.
- Open Privacy.
- Select Blocked contacts.
- Unblock contacts to allow them to send you messages on WhatsApp.
Solution 2 – Clear the data from WhatsApp
Going forward, ensure that your device is connected to either Wi-Fi or mobile data is enabled. Sometimes, due to an unstable connection, some multimedia messages might not go through fully.
After that, we recommend clearing WhatsApp cached data from your handset. If you are unsure how to do it, follow the steps below:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Apps.
- Open Manage apps.
- Locate and open WhatsApp.
- Tap Storage.
- Clear Data and reboot your device.
- Log in with your number and check for improvements.
Solution 3 – Reinstall WhatsApp
In case the app is still misbehaving, reinstalling it might help. This will also ensure that you have the latest stable version of WhatsApp. Just make sure to back up your chat history or you’ll lose all your messages. Just don’t forget to back up your chats before reinstalling WhatsApp.
Here’s how to reinstall WhatsApp on your handset:
- Navigate to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp and uninstall the app.
- Restart your phone and open the Play Store.
- Search for WhatsApp and install it.
- Look for improvements.
Solution 4 – Disable Mobile Data limitations
Certain OEMs offer the per-app option to disable or limit Mobile Data. Therefore, if you are unable to receive messages on WhatsApp when the mobile data is ON, we recommend checking this feature that’s possibly preventing WhatsApp from using the mobile connection.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Open Settings.
- Select Apps.
- Choose WhatsApp from the list.
- Under the Restrict data usage or Mobile data, make sure that Allow background data usage and Allow background data usage while Data saver is on are enabled.
- Now, open WhatsApp, click on the 3-dot menu, and open Settings.
- Choose Data and storage usage.
- Under the Media auto-download section, select what kind of files will be downloaded on Mobile Data, Wi-Fi, and when roaming.
Solution 5 – Check the storage
As you already know, to open multimedia content received via WhatsApp, you need to download and store it on your device. Now, even though WhatsApp will compress files a bit to reduce their size, videos, and photos these days are quite large. And, if you don’t have enough storage space, you won’t be able to receive files.
We recommend backing up some files to cloud storage, SD card, or your PC and deleting them from your phone to get some space. Also, clearing cached data from apps will provide you with a hefty chunk of free storage space.
Here’s how to delete cached data from your phone:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Storage.
- Tap on Cached Data.
- When prompted, confirm to clear cached data.
- That should provide you with some extra space.
Solution 6 – Leave the Beta program
In addition, if you enrolled in the Beta program for WhatsApp, we suggest leaving it and sticking with the public release for the time being.
Here’s how to leave the Beta program on WhatsApp:
- Open Play Store.
- Search for WhatsApp and scroll down.
- Under the You’re a beta tester, tap Leave.
- Once you are out of the Beta program, update the app.
7. Rollback to an older version of WhatsApp
Finally, you can use an APK to roll back to an older version of WhatsApp and, hopefully, resolve the issues that might be present solely on the current version.
- Navigate to APKMirror and download an older APK version of WhatsApp. Alternatively, you can try any other version except the one currently installed on your device. Beta versions are also an option but we suggest avoiding them due to stability issues.
- Uninstall the app as explained in solution 3.
- Allow app installation from external sources.
- Install APK, sign in, and look for improvements.
With that step, we can conclude this article. Thanks for reading and make sure to tell us about your problem or share alternative solutions in the comments section below. Your feedback is more than welcome and, as a side note, do check our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in November 2019. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
