How to fix Galaxy J7 Prime that won’t send texts, keeps saying “failed” when sending SMS

Are you having trouble sending texts or MMS on your #GalaxyJ7Prime? Today’s troubleshooting guide will walk you through the steps that you can try if your J7 Prime is unable to send SMS, or, like the case mentioned below, randomly stops sending and keeps showing “failed” message.

Today’s problem: Galaxy J7 Prime won’t send texts, keeps saying “failed” when sending SMS

The issue is an intermittent but recurring problem.  With good reception both wireless and internet, sending a text message will sometimes fail multiple times.  Last night it took 11 attempts to send a text. We have identical phones and in order to test we will send texts from the same location and one phone is successful multiple times and one will fal multiple times>  The message on the phone is simply “failed”. As I said it is intermittent and does not appear to have any pattern. Any ideas ? Already used your “Quick Tips” suggestion. Thanks in advance. — Victor

Solution: Hi Victor. If you’re positive that you have good cellular signal everytime your J7 fails to send SMS, there’s a good chance that the problem is phone-related. Although we can’t totally eliminate the possibility of a network-side problem in this case, yours may have something to do with the device. This means that you need to focus your troubleshooting on your phone. Below are our recommendations.

Solution #1: Force restart

Network troubles sometimes develop if a device has been running for a long time. To minimize the chance of encountering a problem like the one you’re experiencing, consider restarting your J7 and see what happens. Here’s how to do that:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Note: Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Also, allow up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Solution #2: Reseat SIM card

Some issues sometimes defy logical explanation. For example, some users have reported that they were able to fix sending and receiving issues by simply removing and re-inserting their SIM card. For us, that does not really provide a convincing explanation but since it worked for these guys, we’ve got to recommend it too. Actually, we believe this can work in these cases simply because reseating the SIM card — by disconnecting and reconnecting — is actually one way to refresh cellular settings in a device. If a texting bug is caused by cellular setting that has become outdated, reseating the SIM card may force a change for good. So, without much ado, we suggest that you do this simple step if force rebooting your device won’t work at all.

If you’re using a CDMA phone, which does not rely on a SIM card to hold subscriber information like GSM phones does, reseating the SIM card may only affect the 4G/LTE capability of your device so you can skip this.

Solution #3: Reset network settings

Aside from reseating the SIM card, the best way to reset your J7’s network settings is by going under Settings. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap General management.
3. Tap Reset.
4. Tap Reset network settings.
5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
6. Restart your J7 and check for the problem.

Solution #4: Delete old message threads

While hoarding old messages won’t technically cause sending of SMS issue, having too many may cause storage issues. Every messaging app has a finite allocated storage set aside by the operating system. If you have way too many messages, it may prevent the app from receiving or sending messages. Make sure to clear up old messages to ensure that inbox and outbox both have enough storage space for new messages. Because the issue happens without pattern, you may need to observe your device for some time before you can determine if this suggestion works or not.

Solution #5: Clear messaging app cache

If the problem remains at this time, the next good thing that you can do is to clear the cache of the messaging app you’re using. Here’s how to do that:

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. Tap More at the upper-right hand (three-dot icon).
4. Select Show system apps.
5. Once in there, look for the messaging application you’re using and tap it.
6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more.
7. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
8. You should now clearly see the CLEAR CACHE button. Tap it.
9. Restart your J7 and check for the problem.

Solution #6: Clear messaging app data

Unlike clearing of your messaging app’s cache, wiping data will result to total deletion of your messages. If you don’t want to lose your text messages, be sure to back them up first. Samsung cloud allows you to store up to 1000 messages in the cloud so we suggest that you use that. Just go under Settings > Cloud and accounts. If you have lots of messages, we suggest that you use Samsung Smart Switch instead. This way, you can keep a copy of not just messages but the entire phone is need be.

Once you’ve backed your messages up, follow these steps to delete your app data:

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. Tap More at the upper-right hand (three-dot icon).
4. Select Show system apps.
5. Once in there, look for the messaging application you’re using and tap it.
6. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more.
7. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
8. You should now clearly see the CLEAR DATA button. Tap it.
9. Restart your J7 and check for the problem.

READ: How to create backup from Samsung device to your computer via Smart Switch

Solution #7: Safe mode

This next troubleshooting step can be a little demanding in terms of your time because it involves observation for some time. As you may have known, when your S8 is on safe mode, you’ll only be able to use pre-installed apps. If you’re using the stock Samsung messaging app, it should work fine when you boot your device to safe mode. The possible cause though will not so if you’ll be able to send texts normally without failing, you can bet an app is to blame. The key here is to observe your phone for a time especially since the issue occurs at random. Try to replicate the problem as best as you can by sending messages whenever you can. Do this for at least 24 hours to notice any difference.

To restart to safe mode:

1. With your J7 Prime off press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
2. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
3. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
4. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
5. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:

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 J7 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

Solution #8: Factory reset

Texting issues like your case usually don’t need a factory reset but if the problem still persist at this point, you should do it to find out if the problem is software-related or not. And just like in doing safe mode, make sure that you observe the phone for 24 hours after doing it to see if you’re right or not.

1. Create a backup of your personal 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.

Solution #9: Contact your operator

Finally, if all our recommended solutions above won’t help, you should report the trouble to your carrier. Remember, you’ve already covered all possible causes that can be caused by your phone. That leaves network issue as the only remaining possibility. We can’t say exactly what this network issue may be but hopefully your carrier can.

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