Galaxy S7 MMS not working, can’t send and receive MMS [troubleshooting guide]

One of the common texting problems in a lot of phones is MMS not working, or being unable to send and receive MMS. This #GalaxyS7 troubleshooting article will walk you through the things that you can check to identify where the problem lies.

Today’s problem: Galaxy S7 MMS not working, can’t send and receive MMS

I have a Samsung S7 SM-G930R6. I have tried a factory reset. updated APN from carrier Cityfone. Mobile data is on. I can’t send or receive MMS messages. This is a different problem than anything i have read. Here’s why. I noticed something missing in my built in Messages app. If I go to Settings / More Settings / Multimedia messages, I only have 4 options (Group conversations, Delivery options, Auto Retrieve and Roaming auto retrieve. I do not have the option of Set restrictions. I have an older Samsung Galaxy Prime that does have the Set restrictions setting and it is set to Free. Never had a problem with this phone. It was just limited in internal memory. From reading other articles on your sight, I understand that this is what is needed for large file to transfer back and forth (MMS). I was also limited to the 160 character SMS restriction. If I sent an SMS message larger than 160 characters, it would be converted to an MMS message and then not be sent. I can’t receive an MMS message either. I have installed ChompSMS and that has allowed me to send large SMS messages but still I can’t send a photo MMS message. I have set the MMS Carrier Limit to “Carrier has no limit”. Still no go. I have also tried ChompSMS with the inbuilt Messages app turned off using the Force Stop option and still nothing works. Is there a way to reload the Full Samsung firmware that includes the native apps? — Gord.barr

Solution: Hi Gord. There’s a long list of a possible causes why your S7 is unable to process MMS. Let’s discuss each of them in this post so you can narrow down the causes and eventually fix the problem.

How to troubleshoot a Galaxy S7 that can’t send and receive MMS

Before you proceed, we would like to emphasize two important requirements in sending and receiving MMS:

  • you must be subscribed to it
  • your phone must have mobile data enabled

We understand you’ve already turned on mobile data so make sure that your current account is permitted to use MMS in your current network. If you don’t know how to do that, contact your carrier.

Now, if you’ve already taken care of these two basic requirements ahead of time, let’s see the other troubleshooting steps that you can try.

Check if voice call is working

This is an important first step that you want to do. If you’re having trouble making and receiving voice calls, or if the service is intermittent, you may not be able to send and receive MMS as well. If you think voice calls is problematic in your device, contact your carrier for troubleshooting support.

Reseat the SIM card

Removing and re-inserting the SIM card can sometimes fix messaging problems as the device will be forced to re-configure network settings. Be sure to turn off your phone first before you physically take the SIM card out. Once you’ve inserted the SIM again, that’s the time to turn your phone back on again.

Double check APN settings

In case something’s amiss, try to run a quick scan of your phone’s APN settings again to ensure that you don’t miss a letter, punctuation, space, or anything somewhere. Keep in mind that APN settings are very specific and any wrong word or missing character can lead to MMS failing or not working as expected. Get the official APN settings from your carrier only. Third party sites that provide APN settings may give inaccurate information.

Messaging app inbox is full

SMS and MMS won’t send or come in if your messaging app has no enough storage to accommodate them. To make enough storage space, make sure to delete old conversations, especially those that contain a lot of MMS.

Clear messaging app data

To ensure that there’s no messaging app bug causing this problem, we highly recommend that you delete the data of whatever SMS/MMS app you’re using. Doing so will return all settings of that app to their defaults. It’s also an easy way to delete messages. Just make sure to back important SMS and MMS before proceeding.

Toggle wifi

Some carriers allow sending and receiving MMS even when you’re on wifi. If this is what you’re using, consider toggling your wifi in your device to see if that will make a difference. Or, you can try to connect to another wifi to see if it will work.

Change SIM card/number

In some cases, replacing a SIM card or your number can fix MMS woes. If the solutions above won’t work, it’s time that you try doing this step. Try to get a new SIM card first. If that won’t fix it, you may try changing your number. This is a drastic move and can result to more hassles as you’ll have to update your contacts with your new number. You may also have to go through some account-specific changes with your carrier so be sure you know all the disadvantages first by consulting them.

Factory  reset

This solution is necessary if nothing has worked up to this point. By doing it, you’re basically reverting all software settings back to the way they should be officially. Of course, you’ll also be bringing back all pre-installed apps, effectively reverting all their settings to defaults. Any app or service you have inadvertently disabled or removed will be returned as well and that can be a good thing for this situation.

Reflash stock firmware

Factory reset will only bring the official version of whatever Android version you’re running right now to their defaults. However, it will not really put in older Android version that came with your device when you first unboxed it. For example, if your S7 came with Android Marshmallow originally and you have now installed Nougat to it, factory reset will only revert you to the vanilla version of ANdroid Nougat. If you want to put Android Marshmallow, you’ll have to reflash it manually. We can’t guarantee that putting in older Android version will fix the issue and bring back the settings your missing in your current messaging app but you can give it a try. Just remember, flashing is a risky procedure so be sure to use a good guide to walk you through the steps. One misstep and you’ll end up with a bricked phone. Use Google to look for a guide how to reflash your particular phone model’s firmware.


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