How to fix Samsung Galaxy A8 (2019) that cannot send or receive text message or SMS (easy steps)

Unable to send SMS or text messages on your Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) handset? If that is so, then this post may be able to help you. Read on and learn what to do to deal with this issue.

Problems on sending and receiving text messages or SMS are more often due to network errors, if not software issues on your device. There are also some instances when the problem is attributed to account issues like what happens if you forget to settle your previous or outstanding accountabilities with your service provider/carrier. But the worst among the possible causes is hardware damage. While this may not be the case in new devices, it can and may happen due to any circumstance. Tackled in this particular post is a similar issue transpiring on the new Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) smartphone. So if you’re having trouble sending or receiving text or SMS messages on the same device, then feel free to refer to this context.

For smartphone owners who found our site while trying to find a solution, try to see if your phone is one of the devices we support. If it is, then visit the troubleshooting page for that device, browse through it to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. However, if you still need our help after that, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A8 2018 that can’t send / receive text messages

Before you troubleshoot your device, verify and ensure that your phone has service. You might be using your device in an area that’s already out of your network’s coverage so your phone is getting no service. See the signal/network strength indicator on your phone’s status bar and make sure it has at least 1 or 2 signal bars up. Otherwise, you will need to find a spot where good or even better signal is available.

If the signal is fine but sending or receiving of SMS is still not working as intended, then you may proceed with these workarounds and attempt to fix any system error that’s preventing your phone from sending/receiving text messages.

First solution: Clear Messaging app’s cache and data.

Temporary files and data stored in the Messaging app’s cache folders can also affect the app’s main functions. These caches or temporary files can crash at some point and eventually triggers pertinent errors to occur. To make sure this isn’t what’s causing you this trouble, try to clear cache and data on your messaging app. Here’s how:

Open the Apps screen.
Tap Settings.
Tap Apps.
Select All Apps.
Scroll down to locate Messages and then tap on it.
Tap Storage.
Select the option to Clear Cache or Clear Data.

To complete the process, perform a soft reset or restart your phone.

It is also possible that your network operator’s message center number in the device’s settings is either missing or incorrect. This means you will need to set or edit the network operator’s message center number first for you to send and receive SMS as intended. Here’s what you should do then:

Open the Apps screen.
Tap Messaging.
Tap the 3-dot or More icon to view more options.
Tap Settings.
Tap More settings.
Tap Text messages.
Locate Message center. Usually you can find the message center number of your network operator beneath it.
If the message center number is incorrect or missing, tap Message center.
Then enter your network operator’s message center number.
Finally, tap SET to apply the new changes.
Restart your phone then try sending a text message.

In case you don’t know what information or number to enter, you may contact your network operator or check your network operator’s website to view or verify and their message center number instead.

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Second solution: Soft reset/reboot your phone.

Minor software bugs and glitches often cause minor issues to occur. If this is the first time you encounter errors or problems in sending or receiving SMS on your Samsung A8 2018 handset, then most likely a random bug is inflicting trouble. To rule this out, performing a soft reset or device restart can help. And to do so, just follow these steps:

Press and hold the Power button and the Volume Down button simultaneously for about 10 seconds or until your device restarts.

Alternatively, you can do the usual restart procedure with these steps:

Press the Power button for a few seconds or until the phone shuts down.
Then after 30 seconds, press the Power button again to turn the phone back on.

Create a test SMS and see if you are now able to send and receive it on your phone.

Third solution: Remove and reinstall the SIM card.

Removing and reinstalling the SIM card can also help especially if you’re getting SIM-related or network-related errors when trying to send SMS on your phone. It’s another way to fix temporary glitches that might have caused conflict with the SIM-card system or cellular network functions of your phone. To remove and reinstall the SIM card on your Samsung A8 2018, just follow these steps:

Insert the ejection pin into the tiny hole to loosen and pop the tray out.
Gently pull out the tray from the tray slot.
Remove the SIM or USIM card from the tray and examine the card for any visible signs of damage like scratches or dents. If everything looks good to you, place the SIM card back into the tray with the gold-contacts facing downwards.
Gently press the SIM or USIM card into the tray to secure it.
Insert the tray back into the tray slot.
Check and ensure that the tray is secured in place and then restart your phone.

After it boots up, create a test message (SMS) to see if everything works as intended.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings.

Invalid network options and relevant settings can also be the underlying cause. If you happened to configure your device before the problem started, then most likely incorrect settings are to blame. To fix the error, you can just revert the changes back to how they were previously configured. But if this isn’t possible, performing a network settings reset can be an option. This reset will delete all your current network configurations including Wi-Fi networks, and Bluetooth. Should you wish to continue, take note of your Wi-Fi passwords as you will need to enter them later when you set up Wi-Fi on your phone again. Then follow these steps to reset network settings on your Samsung A8 2018 handset:

Tap Settings from Home.
Scroll to and tap General Management.
Select Reset from the next options.
Tap Reset Network Settings.
Read and review the information displayed then select Reset Network Settings again.
Tap Reset again to confirm and instigate network settings reset process.

Your phone restarts automatically when the reset is finished. Configure your network settings then create a test SMS message to send and receive. If SMS sending or receiving still doesn’t work as intended, consider other options.

Seek more help

You may opt to escalate the problem to your service provider or carrier if the prior methods failed to fix the issue and that your Samsung A8 2018 smartphone is still unable to send or receive text messages. There might be some issues with your account that need to be settled first for your services to resume. Also ask them to check their outage board or verify network system status to determine whether or not the problem is due to an ongoing outage.

Otherwise, you may contact Samsung Support to report the issue especially if the problem has instigated after installing a new Android update. In this case, you may be dealing with a post-update issue that requires a fix patch from Samsung.

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