How to fix Galaxy J7 Neo MMS not working issue

Many people usually contact us to get help for their MMS issues. In this troubleshooting article, we help one Galaxy J7 owner figure out the reason why MMS won’t work.

Problem: Galaxy J7 Neo MMS not working

I recently purchased an unlocked Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo off of Amazon for Christmas. I discovered that the mobile data would not work and I could not receive MMS messages (pictures, group texts). I took it to an AT&T store and the lady there looked at a few settings and looked at the back and handed it back to me and said that nothing could be done because it was a China phone and not a phone bought directly from an AT&T store. I then took it to another AT&T store and the lady there changed the APN setting and now my mobile data works just fine. I asked her about the MMS messages and she said to just contact tech support.

So that night I called tech support and after over half an hour on the phone, nothing got accomplished. I’ve also read so many articles and watched so many videos and everything they say to check is already on the right setting. Every time I receive a picture or group message it just says “No Subject” and will not download even on just mobile data and when I try to send a picture it just spins around until a notification pops up saying that it cannot send. My regular SMS text messages send and receive fine, it’s just the MMS messages that will not work and it’s quite inconvenient. I hope something can be done and any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Solution: Even the same phone model can have multiple variants under it. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy J7 can be labeled slightly different in other areas and each of them will be running on modified Android versions. In Latin America, the Galaxy J7 there is called J7 Neo. If you got a J7 Neo, then it’s probably running a firmware from one of the carriers in Latin America.  This may or may not be the reason why MMS won’t work in AT&T network.

Turn on mobile data

Aside from possible firmware incompatibility issue, another thing to check is mobile data. MMS needs cellular data or mobile data internet connection in order to work. If you don’t have mobile data subscription from AT&T, MMS will not work at all. SMS does not require cellular data and is part of your basic subscription so it should work even when mobile data is turned off.  

If you’re paying for mobile data subscription from AT&T and it’s working, then the most probable reason why MMS does not is due to firmware incompatibility. Unfortunately, if that’s the case, there’s no way to make it work at all. This is the same problem that a lot of CDMA phone owners encounter when they switch carriers. If you have a CDMA phone, you can kiss MMS goodbye.

Clear cache partition

The goal of this possible solution is to ensure that the system cache is refreshed. Sometimes, updates may corrupt this cache and cause all sorts of problems. By wiping the cache partition, you are making sure that Android has a fresh set of cache when starting up. Here’s how to do it:

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

Reset network settings

In case the problem is caused by incorrect network configuration only, try to wipe your device’s network settings and see what happens. When it’s done, the following changes will occur by performing a reset of network settings.

  • Stored Wi-Fi networks will be deleted.
  • Paired Bluetooth devices will be deleted.
  • Background data sync settings will be turned on.
  • Data restrictive settings in applications that were manually turned on/off by the customer will be reset to the default setting.
  • Network selection mode will be set to automatic.

Here’s are the steps to wipe your device’s network settings:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > General Management > Reset > Reset network settings.
  3. Tap RESET SETTINGS.
  4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS. Once complete, a confirmation window will appear.

Reset app preferences

In case an important default app has been disabled, you can also try to reset app preferences. Doing so will enable all system apps needed by cellular features to work. Resetting app preferences is oftentimes overlooked in many Android troubleshooting articles but when it comes to an issue like yours, it might help a lot. It’s possible that one or some of your default apps may not be set correctly, causing this glitch to occur. Because there’s no way to know if this guess is true, what you need to do is to simply ensure that all default apps are turned on. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your Galaxy J7 and check for the problem.

Factory reset

Lastly, try to wipe your phone and return all software settings back to their defaults with a factory reset. This is an inevitable solution that you should do if all our suggestions above won’t help. To factory reset your J7:

  1. Create a backup of your data.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

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