How to fix Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts | SMS not working

If texts on your Galaxy Note10+ won’t send, that’s probably due to one or a number of reasons. Find out how to fix this problem by reading this short guide.

Causes why your Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts

Troubleshooting any network problem is easy but involves doing a number of things. This is because there can be a number of factors that can cause a network issue. Below are the possible reasons why you have a texting problem:

• Phone needs a restart
• Messaging app is buggy
• Network error
• Outage
• Incorrect phone settings
• Bad third party app
• Unknown software bug

In this troubleshooting guide, we’ll help you by providing the steps to do in fixing your Galaxy Note+ that won’t send texts.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #1: Get the error

Error codes or messages are usually key in solving problems. If your messaging app displays an error every time it fails to send texts, be sure to take note of it. Then, do a Google search about the exact message or code and see if there’s any available online solution. Some errors are carrier specific so availability of solutions depend on how widespread this particular problem is. 

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #2: Force quit Messages app

If your Samsung Messages app keeps crashing all of a sudden, that may be caused by a minor bug. Such type of bugs usually develop if a system has run for a long time, or if the app has been constantly up. To see if the problem can be fixed easily, you can try to restart it. 

Here’s how it’s done:

1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the Instagram app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Another way to force close an app is this:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find and tap the Instagram app.
6. Tap Force Stop.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #3: Restart device

Another way to troubleshoot the issue is by doing a forced restart.  This is usually effective in fixing minor bugs. If your Galaxy Note10+ Samsung Messages app keeps crashing and you have no idea what’s causing it, refreshing the system by simply restarting your phone will most likely help. What you want to do is called soft reset. This is basically a restart with the aim of clearing the system by simulating the effects of a battery pull. To do that, simply press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons for about 10 seconds. Once the phone has restarted, release the buttons. This is usually effective in clearing bugs that developed when a system is left running for some time. We suggest that you restart your Galaxy Note10+ using this method at least once a week to lessen the chances of bugs.

For some Galaxy Note10+, there may be a slightly different way to arrive at the same method. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume)

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #4: Check the signal

If your Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts and network signal seems unstable or weak, there may be a problem with your network. Or, you may be in a poorly covered area and sending and receiving of messages is affected. Either case, you should know by simply checking the network signal. Anything lower than 3 bars is an indication of bad network service. Try to move to a  more open area to check. If your device sends SMS fine in a different place, the problem is not in your Note10+. 

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #5: Try voice calling

Another way to check if there’s a network problem is by checking how voice calling works. Texting and voice calling usually use the same network type so if there’s a problem with one, the other will be erratic as well. If voice calling does not work well in a place where your texts fail to send, try to relocate.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #6: Delete old conversations

Sending and receiving of texts may become problematic if the Messages inbox is full. Try to delete some old conversations that have lots of attachments. They tend to eat up a huge portion of your messaging app’s inbox. 

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #7: Reseat SIM

Another good trick that you can do in this case is to disconnect the SIM card. Some Galaxy Note users were able to fix network problems in the past by simply disconnecting the SIM card and reinserting it. If you haven’t tried it yet, make sure to do it. Also, you want to turn off the device before removing the SIM card and before you reinsert it back.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #8: Reset network settings

Network problems are sometimes caused by poor or incorrect network configuration. Try to reset the network settings on your device and see how it works afterwards.

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Find and tap the messaging app.
4. Tap Storage.
5. Tap Clear Data button.
6. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #9: Clear cache and data of Messages app

Just in case the cause of the problem lies in the messaging app, you want to try to clear its cache first. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find and tap the Instagram app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear cache button.
8. Restart the device and check for the problem.

If wiping the app’s cache won’t change a thing, the next troubleshooting step to do is clearing the data. This will return the app to its defaults. 

Open Settings app.

1. Tap Apps.
2. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
3. Tap Show system apps.
4. Find and tap the Instagram app.
5. Tap Storage.
6. Tap Clear data button.
7. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Clearing of your messaging app’s data won’t delete your text messages but just to be on the safe side, be sure to create a backup for them ahead of time.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #10: Refresh system cache

If texts won’t send after installing a system update on your Galaxy Note10+, there may be a problem with the system cache. To cover for this possibility, try to clear the cache partition. This is usually effective in fixing bugs stemming from corrupted or outdated system cache. Don’t worry, this won’t delete your personal data.

To wipe the cache partition on your Galaxy Note10+:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
5. Press Power button to select.
6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #11: Check for bad app

Bad third party apps can sometimes interfere with Android and cause problems. To check if that’s the case, restart your Note10+ to safe mode. On SAfe Mode, all third party apps are suspended and can’t run. If you can’t remember the app, try to restart the device to safe mode and see what happens. So, if the problem goes away on safe mode only, that’s a clear indication that the cause is a bad third party app. To boot the device to safe mode:

1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.
6. Check for the problem by sending texts.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If Galaxy Note10 wifi works normally on safe mode only, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your Galaxy Note10+ still won’t turn on normally (but works on safe mode), repeat steps 1-4.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #12: Erase device

If none of the solutions have helped, you have the option to factory reset your Note10+. This is a drastic troubleshooting step but necessary in helping you identify if the cause is software-related. Be sure to back your personal data up to avoid losing them during the reset.

Below are the two ways to factory reset your Galaxy Note10:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10 via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy Note10. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
2. Open Settings app.
3. Scroll to and tap General management.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10 using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
4. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby / Power key.
5. When the green Android logo displays, release both keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.
11. Follow the rest of the instructions to finish the task.

Galaxy Note10+ won’t send texts fix #12: Get help from network operator

There’s only so much that you can do as an end user. Should nothing change after wiping the phone with factory reset, you can assume that the problem is outside the device. The most likely cause of the problem lies on your carrier’s end. Be sure to talk to them about the issue.