How to fix a Huawei P10 smartphone that cannot send or receive text (SMS) messages (easy steps)

Network errors can occur at any moment. That said, network-related issues are inevitable. When this occurs, network functions on your device won’t work or may still be working but not stable. Tackled in this post is a network-related issue transpiring on the Huawei P10 smartphone, particularly on text/SMS sending and receiving. It also highlights and demonstrates helpful workarounds and potential solutions. If by any chance, you’ve landed into this page as you search for help in dealing with the same problem on your Huawei P10 smartphone, then this post is for you. Read on and refer to this walkthrough whenever you’re all set to troubleshoot your device.

Before you troubleshoot though, check and ensure that your phone is getting a stable signal. A single signal bar that is stable would suffice. If your phone doesn’t have service or has no signal, try to move to a different location with available signal. You might be in a farther place where your cellular tower or base tower’s feed couldn’t reach. Also try to remove and reseat the SIM card on your phone to ensure that it’s properly seated and is not damaged. This is a must-do if you see any error message pertaining to the SIM card like invalid SIM card or No SIM card detected. You won’t be able to send and receive messages and calls if the SIM card is damaged.

If the signal strength and SIM card are good but you still cannot send or receive SMS on your Huawei P10, then it’s time to troubleshoot your device. Start whenever you’re all set.

Before we proceed, if you’re looking for a solution to a problem with your phone, try to browse through our troubleshooting pages to see if we support your device. If your phone is in the list of our supported devices, then go to the troubleshooting page and look for similar problems. Feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. Don’t worry it’s free. But if you still need our help, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

First solution: Force close or quit your messaging app and then restart your phone.

Forcing the Messaging app to close or quit helps especially if the app has crashed and malfunctioning. Aside from messaging app, you can also quit/end any other background apps to prevent them from causing conflict. Background apps that crashed or get corrupted can likewise affect other apps’ operation. To make sure this isn’t the culprit, try force closing all background apps including the Messaging app on your Huawei P10. Here’s how:

To view all recently opened apps, tap the Recent Apps key on the bottom right side of your Home screen.
Swipe up and down to locate your messaging app’s preview.
Tap the X in the app’s screen preview.
Alternatively, tap the trash icon at the mid-bottom of the screen, to close all apps at once.
Another way of viewing all apps that are currently running on your Huawei P10 is through these steps:
Swipe down from the top of the Home screen.
Tap the Settings icon on the upper-right side.
Scroll to and tap Apps.
A list of currently running apps will then show up.
Tap the Messaging app then tap Force Stop.
Tap OK to confirm.
That will force the Messaging app to end.

To apply all these changes and refresh your phone system, perform a soft reset or simply restart your device.

Open the messaging app then create a test SMS message to send and receive. If everything works as intended, then you’re good. Otherwise, move on and try other possible solutions.

Second solution: Clear app cache and data/Wipe cache partition.

Cache or temporary files and data that get corrupted can also inflict the same trouble on your phone’s SMS function. As remedy, you can try clearing cache and data on the Messaging app first. This wipes all temporary files stored as cached from the app’s memory. Here’s how it’s done:

Navigate to Settings.
Tap App Manager.
Select Messaging from the list of apps.
Tap on the Messaging app to open the App Info screen.
Tap the Clear Cache button to clear temporary files from the app’s memory including corrupted data.

If clearing the app cache doesn’t help, then you can wipe the cache partition instead. It helps clear any errant files and data that are stored as cache in the system folders. This will delete old temporary system files from your Huawei P10. And here’s how it’s done:

Turn off your phone.
While your phone is off, press and hold the Power button and Volume Up button simultaneously for a few seconds.
Release both buttons when the Huawei logo appears.
Press the Volume Down button several times to highlight Wipe cache partition from the given options.
Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
Wait until your device is done wiping cache from the system partition and shows the Reboot system now option.
Then press the Power button to restart your device.

Third solution: Delete old and unwanted messages and threads from your inbox.

If you haven’t set your device to automatically delete old messages when the maximum number is reached, then you will need to manually delete them. Doing so will free up space not just on your messaging app inbox but likewise on the internal memory of your device. Any errors associated with corrupted old messages will also be obliterated. To delete a single text message from your Huawei P10, follow these steps:

Tap to open the Messaging app, select the conversation or thread in which you want to delete a text message.
Then tap Delete.
The confirmation message prompt will then appear. Read and review the message then tap Delete again to confirm.
The text message is then deleted.

To delete an entire conversation or message thread, follow these steps:

Open the Messaging app.
Press on the desired conversation or message thread until a selection box appears on the left side.
Select as many conversations you want to delete then tap on the Trash icon.

Reboot your phone when you’re done deleting messages to refresh the app for smoother and better operation.

Fourth solution: Reset APN settings to defaults.

Incorrect APN settings are also among the factors that inflict the same problem with SMS or text messages. In that case, resetting the APN settings to default will likely fix it. Here’s how to reset APN settings on your Huawei P10:

Swipe left from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Scroll to and tap More.
Tap Mobile network.
Scroll to and tap Access Point Name.
The the Menu icon or three vertical dots on the upper right corner of the APN screen.
Tap to select the Reset to default option.

Your APN settings are then reset to default. Reboot your phone to apply the recent changes you’ve made then see if that fixes the problem.

Fifth solution: Reset your device to factory defaults (master reset).

This should only be considered as last resort if all else failed to fix the problem. Your device might need a total wipeout to get rid of tough bugs and malware that might have halted your phone’s SMS function. Back up all your important information and then proceed with these steps:

Open the Apps Menu from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Scroll to and tap to select Advanced settings.
Tap Backup & Reset.
Scroll to and tap to select Factory data reset from the given options.
Tap Reset phone twice to confirm master reset.

Allow your device to complete the entire reset process and then restarts. By then you can proceed with the initial device setup process. Configure options accordingly then open the Messaging app to create a test message to send and receive. Usually, software errors will be gone after the reset which means you should now be able to send or receive text or SMS messages on your Huawei P10. If the problem persists, then you need to consider asking for more help.

Seek more help

Contact your service provider/carrier for other options and further recommendations if all else failed to fix the problem and your Huawei P10 still cannot send or receive text or SMS messages. Verify and ensure that your account status and services are good. Also ask if there are any network outages that might have affected network services including text messaging.

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