How to fix your Motorola Moto X4 smartphone that cannot send or receive text/SMS messages [Troubleshooting Guide]

Network problems are usually the main reason why SMS functions aren’t working on your phone. Yet there are also other factors to consider including software errors transpiring on the device. This post contains some helpful ways on how to deal with a network-related issue on a Motorola Moto X4, particularly on text or SMS failure. Read on to find out what to do if your Moto X4 suddenly failed to send or receive text or SMS messages.

Before you troubleshoot, try deleting old and unwanted messages from your phone. It may be necessary to free up space and allow new messages to come in. If you haven’t set your device to automatically deleting old messages once it reaches the message limit, then you will need to delete messages manually. To do so, open the messaging app you’re using then tap to delete an individual message by tapping and holding the message, then tap the option to delete it. You can also delete an entire conversation by selecting the conversation and then tapping on the option to delete them.

Also make sure that you’ve set the phone’s default messaging app to your preferred app or the one you’re using. This would be necessary if you’ve downloaded more than one messaging apps or when you are using a different messaging app rather than the stock app.

Most importantly, make sure that your phone is connected to your network. If you see no service or no signal on the status bar, then that’s the main reason why you’re unable to send or receive text/SMS messages. In that case, you will need to deal with network connectivity issues first and once you solved that, SMS and other network functions should resume. Otherwise, try the following methods to troubleshoot your phone and clear any errors that might have prevented you from sending text or SMS messages.

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

The app might have been corrupted and is therefore not working unless you have it restarted. To get things to work as intended, force close your messaging app with these steps:

1. Open the Apps menu from the Home screen.
2. Select Settings.
3. Navigate to the Device section.
4. Then select Apps.
5. Select your messaging app from the Running tab.
6. Tap the option to Stop under Services section.
7. If prompted with the Stop system service prompt, tap OK to confirm.
8. Alternatively, you can tap the Menu key (square-shaped) button next to the Home button to bring up  all currently open or running apps. Locate the messaging app preview then swipe it away to close it.

This should clear any errors that might have caused the app to glitch. After force closing the messaging app, reboot or soft reset your Moto X4 to dump cache from its memory including temporary data that were corrupted. Doing so will prevent any of these files from causing conflict with the SMS functions on your device in any way. Here’s how a soft reset is done:

1. Press the Power button for a few seconds then release when the menu appears.
2. Select Power off then tap OK. Your phone will then shut down.
3. After 30 seconds, press the Power button to turn the phone on again.

Allow your device to finish restarting and then open your messaging app again to see if it’s already working properly.

Second solution: Clear cache and data or reset on your messaging app.

If restarting the app doesn’t fix the problem, clear cache and data or resetting your messaging app can be considered the next option to try. Should the problem be inflicted by errant cache from the app, it should be remedied by clearing the app’s cache. Here’s how:

1. Tap Settings from the app drawer.
2. Tap Apps or Applications.
3. Tap Messages or your messaging app in use.
4. Tap Storage.
5. Tap Clear Cache to clear cache for the app.
6. Tap Clear Data to delete temporarily saved data for the app.
7. Tap OK or Delete to confirm.

Restart your phone and then create a sample SMS message to send and receive on your own number. If you still cannot send or receive the message, continue to troubleshoot and try the next applicable solution.

Third solution: Update your messaging app and phone software to the latest version.

Keeping apps up-to-date is recommended to keep them as bug-free as possible. If you haven’t set your device to automatically install updates, then some of your apps are already out of data and therefore need update. To manually check for and install pending app updates on your Moto X4, follow these steps:

1. Open the Apps menu.
2. Tap to open Play Store.
3. Tap the Menu icon.
4. Go to My apps & Games.
5. Any apps with available updates will be listed at the top.
6. If you see an Update All option, then tap on that to install multiple apps updates at once. Otherwise, update each app individually.

To make sure you won’t miss any more updates for your apps, you can set your device to auto-update apps with these steps:

1. Go to the Home screen then drag the arrow up symbol.
2. Scroll to and tap Play Store.
3. Tap the Menu icon on the top left corner of the Google Play Store main screen.
4. Scroll to and tap Settings.
5. Tap Auto-update apps.
6. Select the desired option on how you would like to allow updates.

Confirm selection and go back to the Home screen when done.

Aside from app updates, you can also check for and install available software update for your Moto X4. The fix patch from the new update may be the key to fixing the problem if it’s inflicted by software bugs and malware. To check for new updates on your Moto X4, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Home screen, then drag the arrow symbol up.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Scroll to and then tap System.
4. Select System updates.

You should see a notification if a new update is available. Just follow the onscreen instructions to continue downloading and installing the new update on your device.

Fourth solution: Reset network/APN settings on your Moto X4.

A network settings reset can help eliminate network related issues including those affecting SMS functions on your device. Doing so will erase your current network settings including any errors and then restore the defaults. Here’s how:

1. Swipe left from the Home screen.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Scroll to and tap More.
4. Select Mobile networks.
5. Tap Access point names.
6. Then tap the Menu icon (three vertical dots) on the top-right corner of the APNs screen.
7. Select Reset to default option.

Reboot your phone when the reset is finished then reconnect to your Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Fifth solution: Wipe cache partition on your Moto X4.

This can help clear any networks errors inflicted by errant system cache. Wiping cache partition is usually needed when facing problems following an update installation. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Turn your phone off.
2. Then, press and hold both the Volume Down and Power buttons for a few seconds and then release both buttons when the Boot options screen appears.
3. Press the Volume Down button to scroll to and highlight Recovery.
4. Press the Volume Up button to select. The Motorola logo will display followed by the Android recovery screen.
5. On the Android recovery screen, press and hold the Volume Up button for about 10 to 15 seconds.
6. Then quickly press and release the Power button. The Android recovery screen will then show up.
7. Press the Volume Down button to scroll to and highlight Wipe Cache Partition from the given options.
8. Press the Power button to confirm selection. Your device will then instigate wiping cache partition and prompts you to Restart your phone when done.
9. To confirm restart, press the Power button.

If none of that works, try to remove and reseat the SIM card on your phone. Aside from ensuring that the SIM card isn’t loose or dislodged, doing so can also help refresh and clear errors from SIM-related services on your device. Before you remove the SIM card, turn off your device to prevent causing damage to its components.

Seek more help

Contact your network service provider or carrier to report the issue and request more help in resolving it. Verify and ensure that your account is in good status and that there are no ongoing network outages that may be affecting network services in your place at the moment. If you suspect that the problem is attributed to a bad SIM card, then you can request for a new SIM card replacement from your carrier too.