Galaxy S7 can’t send SMS (“failed to send message, review message and try again” error), other issues

We’ve been getting more and more reports of some #GalaxyS7 users encountering an annoying error when sending SMS — “failed to send message, review message and try again” error. This post addresses this issue today along with 3 other S7 issues so we hope you’ll find it helpful.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Galaxy S7 not receiving all SMS in Messages app

Hi. I have a Galaxy S7 which I have had for awhile. Last week, I realized I had not been receiving all of my texts. It is completely random as I continue to get some texts but not others. This has happened with multiple senders. I can miss a text from Sender A but then receive another text from Sender A a few minutes later. I use Android Messages as my texting app. To see if it was a carrier issue, I logged into my TMobile account and saw that all my texts appear in my messaging history. I have now installed the T-Mobile Digits app on my phone so I am able to get all my texts on my device. Most of the time, I will get two notifications for a new message — one through Messages, one through Digits. But multiple times a day, I will only get the text through Digits; it never appears in Messages. — Mara Mariani

Solution: Hi Mara. We don’t work for T-Mobile and we’re not familiar with how their T-Mobile Digits app works. As it is, it may be acting as the default messaging app so naturally, your SMS only appears on it and not in Samsung’s Messages app. It’s probably taking over the entire function of the default messaging app so if you want to let the Messages app receive your texts, make sure to set it up again as the default. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap More icon at the upper right hand side (three-dot icon).
  4. Tap Default apps.
  5. Tap Messaging app.
  6. Select Messages app to make it as default messaging app.

If nominating Messages app as default won’t fix the issue, talk to T-Mobile for support. This problem or conflict is specific to their product so there’s nothing any third party support team like us can do about it.

Problem 2: Galaxy S7 photos are sorted incorrectly in Gallery app

Hi. I’m currently experiencing a problem with my phone (S7 Edge) where the pictures in the Gallery App (one that came with the device) are not matching with the time stamp/date of when the picture was taken. Ex. a picture taken on September would still be categorized in the August pictures. I have noticed this occasionally happening for quite some time (past several months). Not only does the picture taken with the camera is not matching, but even the screenshots aren’t labelled correctly for some reason. I thought it would be an an SD card problem as the pictures taken with the camera are saved on there, but the screenshots prove it false otherwise (saved to internal storage by default).

When I tried viewing pictures on Google Photos, apparently all the pictures are displayed correctly. This left me confused as I cannot pinpoint the exact problem, hoping someone could offer any tips to fixing this issue without factory-resetting the device. — Supi

Solution: Hi Supi. Photos captured by the default camera app, or by third party apps with camera functionality, use the system time and date when they are taken. This means that whatever time and date (including timezone) the system had while you were taking the pictures, they were naturally added as metadata to them. If your phone had incorrect time and data during the time they were created by one of your apps, it will be reflected in the details of the photos. If you want to have accurate date, time, and timezone in your photos, be sure set the phone’s system time and date correctly first. Keep in mind that date and time for photos can’t be changed so even if you did correct the phone’s time and date later on, those photos will still carry the wrong metadata. Naturally, since those photos have incorrect date and time, your Gallery app will sort them incorrectly as well.

If you are fond of changing your time and date in your phone (it’s really a good  “cheat” for some types of games), just remember to set the correct date and time before taking any photos and you should be fine.

If you did not change your phone’s time and date though, it’s possible that there may be a bug in the Gallery app. Consider wiping it’s cache and data to see if it fixes it. Be sure to back your photos and videos to another device first before wiping the app’s data to prevent losing them. To wipe the Gallery app’s cache and data, kindly follow these steps:

  1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
  2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
  3. Once in there, look for the application and tap it.
  4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
  5. You should now clearly see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons for the application.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 keeps saying sending SMS failed (“failed to send message, review message and try again” error)

After the most recent update, my messaging app has been telling me that “failed to send message, review message and try again” after every text i send out. The recipient seems to recieve the message anyways but the failed notification is quite annoying and i’m still receiving text messages. I just want my messages to send without the notification coming up after every text. I have the Galaxy S7 by the way. — Kane5454yoho

Solution: Hi Kane5454yoho. A bug in your messaging app may have developed after a system update so the first thing that you want to do is to make sure that you clear its cache and data. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.

Once you’ve cleared the cache and data and the issue remains, the next good thing to do is to address a possible system cache issue by refreshing the system cache. Sometimes, updates can corrupt the system cache, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Wiping the cache partition usually fixes problems arising from this situation. This procedure can be done safely as it won’t delete any user files. Here’s how:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Should wiping the cache partition won’t fix the problem, the next logical thing to do is a full factory wipe (factory reset). Unless the issue is due to firmware coding, which means that the source code of the operating system is itself buggy, factory reset should fix the problem. To factory reset your S7, follow these steps:

  1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
  2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  3. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  4. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  5. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  6. Touch Continue.
  7. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

Problem 4: Galaxy S7 keeps getting duplicate messages when SMS contains emojis

I have a new Samsung Galaxy S7. When I receive a message from one of my contacts containing emojis, I get duplicate messages. The first message has a black diamond with a white question mark in place of the emoji. The second message is the exact same message but comes through with the emojis correctly. The come in simultaneously. How can I prevent this from happening? It does not matter if the contact is sending from an Android or Apple device. — Christa Sullivan

Solution: Hi Christa. The issue may come from how your carrier handles incoming MMS (SMS that has emojis on them are usually converted to MMS automatically), or with your phone’s messaging app. To see if it’s an app issue, be sure that you do our suggestions for other users above namely:

  • wiping your messaging app’s cache and data
  • clearing a system cache
  • factory reset

If you can’t fix the issue by doing any of these, try using another messaging app like Facebook Messenger or any other third party messaging app. These apps are readily available and can function like a full- fledged messaging app.

Should the problem remain after doing all these, contact your carrier for help.

 


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