The day out was fun and as the “photographer” of the day you have to send pictures of your friends to them via SMS but the pictures don’t seem to be sending and your friends are on your neck for their pictures but you are unable to send them not because you don’t want to, but your messages app can’t send pictures.
Instances like this can be quite frustrating. In this article we will be looking at several reasons why pictures cannot be sent via SMS and how to solve these issues.
Sending pictures as SMS is known as multimedia messages or MMS. The problem of inability to send MMS could be caused by unstable or poor network or insufficient balance on SIM card.
This can easily be done by moving to an area with a stable and strong network or by you topping up your SIM card. Sometimes, turning off your phone and turning it on again can fix the issue.
You should also make sure that your device and the recipient’s device are compatible for sending and receiving multimedia messages. If you have checked all these and everything seems to be okay, then proceed to check out the points listed below.
How to ensure that your multimedia messages are going through
If you can’t send multimedia messages, then follow the following options listed below to ensure that your phone will be able to deliver your multimedia messages.
1. Enable data connection
For any Android device to send pictures, videos and or audios it must be connected to data. Enable data connection by going to the notification bar all settings.
If Wi-Fi is being utilized, verify that it is connected and that everything is in order with the Wi-Fi connection. If the data was previously connected, disconnect it and reconnect it. If you’re still having trouble sending MMS following this step, move on to the next.
2. Force stop messages application
Force stop is an Android feature that stops an app already running. It kills the running application and removes it from phone memory without deleting any previous processes or data.
Steps to force stop an application.
- Go to settings and select apps and notifications
- Find the app you need to force stop. In this case, Messages.
- Many options will be made available. Click on the FORCE STOP button to stop the application.
Alternative
- Long press app icon.
- Select app info and click on force stop.
Launch your messages app again and send your multimedia messages.
3. Allow unrestricted data usage.
Messages applications could be restricted from using data and this could be the reason for inability to send MMS. Ensuring that the messages app is accessible to background data is pretty easy.
You can do this by following the steps below.
- Open settings and select apps and notifications
- Select all apps and select messages.
- Select mobile data and Wi-Fi and enable background data and unrestricted data usage.
4. Clearing Cache
Clearing messages app’s cache could be the end of the problem. To clear cache, long press app icon and select “app info” then select storage.
On the storage screen, click on the clear cache button to clear cache and relaunch the messages app. You can also open settings and select apps and notifications and click on messages. Then select clear cache and clear storage or data.
Doing this will remove all previous processes carried out by the app and delete all its data. In most cases this has been the solution. Relaunch applications and send your multimedia messages without any issues.
5. Check for updates
Apps get updated occasionally with new features. Knowing this, it is only right to check if the messages app is outdated. This little issue could be the very reason your Multimedia messages are failing to send. Check for any updates and update the app.
To check for updates,
- Press and hold on the app’s icon and select app info or go to settings select app and notification and open app info and select messages.
- Select app details. You’ll be directed to Play store where you will see an update button. Click on the update button to update messages app. If there is no update button then your messages app is up to date.
6. Reset network settings
For any multimedia messages or SMS to be sent there is the need for working network. If the network settings is not properly configured it could lead to this issue.
To fix this, go to settings and select systems then click on advanced and then select reset options then click on reset Wi-Fi, mobile, Bluetooth. Then click on the reset settings button. Doing this will clear all the previous network settings made to your data, wi-fi and Bluetooth.
7. Update Android.
Tried the earlier stated method and still no progress? You can now check if your phone needs to be updated. Updating your Android device to the newest version could help fix.
To check for updates, open settings then go to advanced and select system updates. After selecting system updates click the “check for updates” button.
If there are any updates available you will be able to download all available updates and then install them. It is the reason the multimedia messages are not being sent then they should be sending if you do this.
8. Download a third-party messaging app.
You can also download a third-party messaging app and try sending using it. Asides an alternative messaging app you can download other social media applications like Facebook and the more popular one for messaging.
WhatsApp. You should also make sure that the recipients have these social media apps installed on their phone. Sending texts and multimedia using apps like Facebook and WhatsApp demands that there is the presence of internet connection. Do this and you’ll be able to send your friend’s pictures to them.
All these measures, enabling data connection, force stopping messages app, allowing unrestricted data usage, updating messaging app and clearing app cache and data, and updating your Android device’s OS, have proven to be able to solve the issue of inability to deliver multimedia messages.
If you are reading this part of this article then I believe you have been able to send the pictures to your friends already.
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