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How to fix Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus with Messages app that stopped sending text messages (easy steps)

Messages is one of the pre-installed app in your Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. In fact, it’s the default text messaging app. As long as your phone is properly set and that your account is in good standing, texting can be done without any problem especially that you have one of the most powerful smartphones in the market today. However, we have been receiving complaints from our readers that own Samsung Galaxy S9+ units who said that their phones can no longer send text messages successfully. Either they’re getting the “Message not sent” notification or the app closes on its own while it’s trying to send a text.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy S9 Plus that’s having some issues sending text messages simply because the messaging app itself has problems. We will try to determine what the cause is or why this is happening by ruling out every possibility. If you’re one of the owners of this device or any Android device for that matter and are having similar problem, continue reading as this article may help you somehow.

Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If you still need our help after that, then feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy S9 Plus that can’t send text messages

The following are the solutions you can try to fix this problem. Find out which one works for  you…

First solution: Reboot your phone

Before doing anything, make sure to restart your phone as it could be just a result of a minor system issue. I’ve encountered a lot of similar issues in the past that were fixed by a mere reboot. So, hit that power key to restart your S9 Plus. If the problem  continues after the normal reboot, try doing the forced restart to refresh and reload all apps, services and core functions. Press and hold the volume down and power keys at the same time for 10 seconds or more. The phone will reboot like it normally does but once it becomes active, try to test if the problem still happens. If it still does, then move on to the next procedure.

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Second solution: Reset Messages app

After making sure it’s not just due to a minor firmware glitch, the next thing you should do is reset the messaging app and that means to clear its cache and data. It maybe just a problem with the app and clearing the cache and data of Messages may fix the problem.

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Find and tap Messages.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
  7. Reboot your phone.

If the problem continues after doing this, then the next solution has a higher probability of fixing it.

Third solution: Run phone in Safe mode

Doing this will temporarily disable all third-party applications from running and will tell you immediately if one of them is causing the problem. In safe mode, you can still be able to use Messages and send texts. So, try using the app while your S9 Plus is in safe mode. If the problem doesn’t occur, then it means there’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem. Find that app and then uninstall it and that should be the end of the problem.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

And here’s  how you uninstall an app from your device:

  1. From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
  2. From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap App Manager.
  4. Locate then tap the app in question.
  5. Tap UNINSTALL.
  6. Review the notification then tap OK to confirm.
  7. Reboot your phone to refresh it’s memory and other connections.

Fourth solution: Wipe cache partition

Wiping the cache partition will delete all system caches created by the system but aside from that, they will also be replaced with new ones. Caches can easily get corrupted and while they’re temporary files, they may also cause problems like this when they get corrupted. That’s the reason why it’s always recommended to deleted them from time to time to make sure the system uses only files that aren’t corrupted. Here’s how to delete and replace the system caches:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby 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.

If the problem continues after this, then you have no other choice but to do the next procedure.

Fourth solution: Reset your Galaxy S9 Plus

A master reset is more than enough to solve app-related issues but if the issue continues after the third solution, then you have no other choice. However, make sure you backup your files and data as they will be deleted during the reset and you may not be able to retrieve them after.

After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection by removing your Google account from your phone so that you won’t be locked out after the reset. After doing all this, then you’re ready to do the master reset:

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

I hope that this guide can help you one way or another. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us anytime or leave a comment below.

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