How to fix Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts | SMS not working

Texting issues can happen on any smartphone.  If your Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts, you should consider finding out the real reason first in order to apply the best course of action to fix it. This post should guide you how to go about this.

How to fix Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts | SMS not working

If your Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts, there’s a number of possible factors that you can check. This troubleshooting article should help.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #1: Check for online solutions

Most cases of texting problems are indicated by an error code or message. If your Galaxy Tab A won’t send any texts, be sure to check for errors first. The error may be shown by the messaging app or after the service fails to work. Once you have the error message or code, do a Google search about it and see if there’s an available solution for it. If the issue is rampant and experienced by many users, Samsung may already have a published solution in the web. 

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #2: Force quit Messages app

If there’s no error, or if an online solution won’t work at all, the next good thing to do is to restart the Samsung Messages app. This is another basic step that you can do for any app-specific troubleshooting. There are two ways to do this.

Method 1: Close an app using Recent Apps key

1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (on the left of the Home middle button).
2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously.
3. 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.

Method 2: Close an app using App Info menu

Another way to force close an app is by going within the app’s settings itself. It’s a longer way compared to the first method above but it’s equally effective. You want to use this method if you plan on doing other troubleshooting for the said app like clearing its cache or data. Here’s how it’s done:

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 app.
6. Tap Force Stop.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #3: Clear app cache and data

Another troubleshooting step that you can try in this case is to clear the messaging app cache. This can help if the messaging app misbehaves due to outdated or corrupted cache. Here’s how it’s done: 

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Tap Apps icon.
3. Open Settings app.
4. Tap Apps.
5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
6. Select Show system apps.
7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
8. Tap Storage.
9. Tap Clear Cache button.
10. Restart the device and check for the problem.

If deleting the Messages cache won’t help, follow it up by restoring the data of the app. Before you do this, be sure to create a backup of your text messages to avoid accidentally losing them. If you have no important texts to save, then go ahead with the steps below.

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Tap Apps icon.
3. Open Settings app.
4. Tap Apps.
5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
6. Select Show system apps.
7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
8. Tap Storage.
9. Tap Clear Data button.
10. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #4: Update Samsung Messages

Installing an update can sometimes fix app problems. If your Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts, be sure to check for an update for this app. Samsung Messages app can’t be updated normally via the Play Store. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Open the Samsung Messages app.
2. Tap More settings icon at the upper right (three dots).
3. Select Settings.
4. Tap About Messages.
5. Tap Update button. If there’s no Update button, that means that the app is fully updated.
6. Check for the problem.

While in this troubleshooting step, be sure to also check for updates for the rest of your apps via the Play Store. If your Android OS has a pending update, be sure to click on the update notification to go ahead and install it. You can also manually check for system update via Settings > Software update.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #5: Restart device

Restarting a device sometimes help in fixing problems. Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Another way to restart the device is by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Bixby/Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more. 

The second restart procedure tries to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

Rebooting your device regularly at least once every week can be beneficial. If you tend to forget things, we suggest that you configure your phone to reboot on its own. You can schedule it to do this task by doing these steps:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Device Care.
3. Tap the 3-dot at the top.
4. Select Auto restart.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #6: Check for network issues

If you are experiencing other network issues like poor signal, calls not working as expected, or MMS failure, or a combination of all, there may be an on-going network problem. Contact your network operator and seek for help from them.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #7: Clear old texts

If your Galaxy Tab A still won’t send texts at this time, it’s possible that your messaging app may have run out of storage space. If you are fond of texting or sending and getting MMS, this can potentially be the reason for the problem. Here’s what you need to do to get rid of texts (steps are only applicable for Samsung Messages app): 

1. Open Messages app.
2. Go over your list of messages and find the ones you can delete. Prioritize old or large (with media attachments or MMS)  conversation threads.
3. Select a particular message or text.
4. Tap DELETE at the top.
5. Tap Select messages to delete all conversations in that thread.
6. Tap Delete at the bottom.
7. Tap Delete again to confirm.

If you want to delete multiple threads at the same time:

1. Open Messages app.
2. Press and hold one conversation.
3. Tap ALL. This will delete everything. If you want to NOT delete particular threads, tap each of them to exclude them from the deletion list.
4. Tap Delete at the bottom.
5. Tap Delete to confirm.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #8: Reseat SIM

Some network issues like texting problems may be fixed by simply doing one thing: disconnecting the SIM card. If you haven’t tried this yet, be sure to perform this step now. When removing and re-inserting the SIM, make sure that your Galaxy Tab A is OFF.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #9: Reset network settings

Texting issues may sometimes work after refreshing the current network configuration. If you haven’t tried this yet, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap General management.
3. Tap Reset.
4. Tap Reset network settings.
5. Tap Reset settings to confirm.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #10: WIpe cache partition

If your Galaxy Tab A wifi issues started after installing a system update or app, there may be a problem with the system cache. This cache is used by Android to load apps quickly. If the system cache on your Galaxy Tab A is corrupt or outdated, it might interfere with some Android functions, or cause other problems. To ensure that your Galaxy Tab A system cache is fresh, you have to clear the cache partition from time to time. Here’s how to do that:

1. 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.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
3. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
4. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
5. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe cache partition.’
6. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe cache partition.’
7. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
8. Press the Power button to go ahead with clearing of cache partition.
9. After clearing the cache partition, press the Power button again for Reboot system now.
10. That’s it!

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #11: Check for rogue apps

Not all apps are created equal. In fact, some of them may actually be designed to perform malicious tasks. In some cases, poor coding may result to issues when installed. To check if a bad third party app is preventing SMS or texts from being sent, you can restart the device 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. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Power key.
3. When Samsung appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting. This may take up to 1 minute. Just be patient to wait for it.
6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode on the device.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If Galaxy Tab A can send texts 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 Tab A still won’t turn on normally (but works on safe mode), repeat steps 1-4.

In order to return to normal mode or turn off safe mode:

1. Press and hold the Power key.
2. Tap Restart.
3. The devices restarts in normal mode.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #12: Factory reset

Factory reset may be necessary if none of the solutions above work. This solution usually works if the cause of a problem is software-related. To avoid losing data, create a backup of your files first. You can use Samsung Smart Switch for this.

Below are the two methods on how to hard reset or factory reset your Galaxy Tab A.

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

Under normal circumstances, factory reset under Settings menu should be the primary way for you. It’s simpler to do and does not require pressing hardware buttons, which some users may find difficult to do.

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 Tab A using hardware buttons

If your case is that the tablet 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 button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
5. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
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.

Galaxy Tab A won’t send texts fix #13: Talk to your carrier

If your Galaxy Tab A still won’t send texts after a factory reset, you should get help from your network operator. At this stage, there must a problem outside the device and only your carrier can help.

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