What to do about your HTC U11 that can’t send or receive text messages [Troubleshooting Guide]

Among the most common issues that we often receive are related to text messaging so we find it really necessary to address problems that have something to do with sending or receiving of messages. Recently, we started receiving complaints from HTC U11 owners that’s why we need to find out if those problems are widespread or isolated. We need to do some troubleshooting procedures to try to fix the problem.

In this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your HTC U11 that might have this kind of issue. Let’s try to consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can easily pinpoint where the problem really lies. That way we can try to formulate a solution that might fix it for good. So, if you’re one of the owners of this phone and are currently bugged by a similar concern, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

But before we go to our troubleshooting, if you happen to be looking for a solution to a different problem, then I suggest you visit our HTC U11 troubleshooting page for we may have already addressed concerns that are similar with yours. Feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. If they don’t work and you need further assistance, you can always contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire and hitting submit.

How to troubleshoot HTC U11 that can’t send text messages

Your phone should be connected to your provider’s network to be able to send and receive text messages. But when it comes to sending a text, we simply have to rule out the possibility that it’s not an issue with your phone before calling your provider about it. That said, here’s what you should do…

Step 1: Reboot your phone

If this is the first time you failed to send a text message, don’t do anything yet except reboot your phone to refresh its memory and probably fix glitches that’s causing the sending of text messages fail. We have, of course, encountered similar issues with other devices before and some of them were fixed by a simple reboot so it’s worth trying.

After the reboot, send a text message to your own number so that you would know if it’s successfully sent and received. If the sending fails once again, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Run your phone in safe mode and try sending a text

We have to rule out the possibility that this kind of problem is due to a third-party app you installed on your phone. We don’t really know which app it is so we will try to temporarily disable all third-party apps by booting your phone up in safe mode, here’s how…

While your phone is on, press and hold the POWER button for a few seconds to turn your phone off.
When prompted, press and hold Power off.
When you see the Reboot to Safe mode dialog box, tap OK.Your phone will restart and you should see Safe mode at the lower portion of the screen.
Test your phone to see if Safe mode resolves the issue.If yes, uninstall a recently-downloaded app that might be causing the problem.
To switch back to Normal mode, turn off your phone, and then turn it back on again.

Or you can try this procedure…

Turn the HTC U11 off.
Press the Power button to turn it on.
When the HTC logo displays on the screen, let go of the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
Let go of the button when you see Safe mode at the lower left portion of the screen.

Now try to send a text message to your number to know if it goes through. If it doesn’t, move on to the next step, however, if you’ve successfully sent the message, it means one or some of the apps you installed is causing the problem. The next thing you should do is try to update the apps that have available updates…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Play Store.
Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
Choose one of the following options:
- Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
- Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

If you’re already suspecting an app or two, try clearing its cache and data…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Apps.
Browse to the app you want to clear and then tap it.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and Clear cache.

Or, you can uninstall it if clearing its cache and data won’t fix the problem…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Apps.
Tap the application you want to uninstall.
On the App info screen, tap Uninstall.
Tap OK to confirm.

If the phone can’t still send a text message in safe mode, however, then try the next step.

Step 3: Clear the cache and data of the Messages app

It’s now time to reset the messaging app you’re using. I assume you’re still using the built-in messaging app and haven’t installed any third-party apps that offer the same function. Try clearing the cache and data of the Messages app to reset it and bring it back to its out of the box settings…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Apps.
Find and tap Messages.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and Clear cache.

After this and you can’t still send a text message, then you have no other option but to do the next step.

Step 4: It’s time to reset your HTC U11

You’ve already done everything you could but your phone is still unable to send a text message so it’s time to make a backup of your important files and data so you can restore them later. After this, reset your phone to bring it back to its factory default settings…

Your HTC U11 should be turned off before you can proceed.
Get your phone into the Download Mode by pressing and holding the Volume Down and Power keys together. If you can see red, blue and yellow text on a black background after doing this, then it means you have successfully entered the download mode.
Now, using the Volume Down key, highlight the option “reboot to bootloader” and then press the Power key to select it.
Using the Volume Down key again, highlight the option “reboot to recovery” and press the Power key to choose it.
When you’re prompted with the triangle and exclamation mark, press and hold the Power key and press the Volume Up button until you see another screen with yellow, blue and white texts.
Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option “wipe data/factory reset” and to select it, press the Power key.
It may take a few seconds for the HTC U11 to delete all the system caches and when it’s done, you will another options. This time, highlight “Reboot system now” and press the Power key to confirm.

This doesn’t only reset your phone but also deletes all your personal information so that in case you need to bring your phone to a tech, your privacy is protected.

If the phone can’t still send a text message after the reset, call your service provider as it might have something to do with the message center number and only them know what the correct center number is.

How to troubleshoot your HTC U11 that can’t receive text messages

Not being able to receive text messages is a bit easier to fix than the previous problem. It’s because there’s not much to do about your phone that’s try to receive incoming messages, although there are still a few things you should do. Without further adieu, here are the steps in troubleshooting your U11 that can’t receive SMS…

Step 1: Make sure your phone gets good signal

Signal is a prerequisite, without it, you won’t be able to receive anything. Just by looking at the notification bar and checking the signal indicator is enough to tell you that your phone gets a good coverage or not. And assuming your phone shows there’s good signal in your area, try sending a text message to see if it goes through and if your phone can receive it. If it does go through, then you have no issues with the signal nor with your account. If it doesn’t go through however, as early as now, you should call your service provider or follow the steps above.

But assuming the message was sent but not received by your phone, then do the next step.

Step 2: Make sure you’re not trying to receive MMS

When you insert an emoji in your text message, it will automatically be converted to MMS and you need to turn on mobile data to be able to receive it. If the mobile data is turned off on your phone, try turning it on and send the same text message to your own number. If it goes through this time, then your phone should have mobile data enabled to receive all other messages that contain pictures or any sort of special characters.

Try sending a text message that contain a few letters only and without any special characters and attachments. If this kind of message is sent and received by your phone, then it must have something to do with the type of message your phone was trying to receive. If you can afford to have mobile data turned on most of the time, then do it.

Step 3: Make sure your phone still has enough storage space

Messages are being downloaded when they’re received and they’re saved in your phone’s internal storage. If there’s not enough space, those messages won’t be downloaded and it may appear as though your phone can’t really receive texts. To address this, you just have to delete some large files or even uninstall apps you don’t use anymore. After which, your phone should be able to receive messages already.

Step 4: Wipe Cache partition

If your phone has enough storage space but can’t receive messages, then try wiping the cache partition as it’s possible the problem is caused by some corrupt caches in the system. Don’t worry, it’s a safe procedure and none of your data will be deleted.

Your HTC U11 should be turned off before you can proceed.
Get your phone into the Download Mode by pressing and holding the Volume Down and Power keys together. If you can see red, blue and yellow text on a black background after doing this, then it means you have successfully entered the download mode.
Now, using the Volume Down key, highlight the option “reboot to bootloader” and then press the Power key to select it.
Using the Volume Down key again, highlight the option “reboot to recovery” and press the Power key to choose it.
When you’re prompted with the triangle and exclamation mark, press and hold the Power key and press the Volume Up button until you see another screen with yellow, blue and white texts.
Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option “wipe cache partition” and to select it, press the Power key.
It may take a few seconds for the HTC U11 to delete all the system caches and when it’s done, you will another options. This time, highlight “Reboot system now” and press the Power key to confirm.

If this procedure still fails to fix the problem, then the next step might.

Step 5: It’s time to reset your HTC U11

Backup all your files and data as they will be deleted during the reset. It’s necessary to reset your phone now that every troubleshooting procedure failed to fix the problem. If this is one of those minor issues with the firmware or app, then a reset will fix it, otherwise, you need a technician to check it out for you. Here’s how you reset your phone…

Your HTC U11 should be turned off before you can proceed.
Get your phone into the Download Mode by pressing and holding the Volume Down and Power keys together. If you can see red, blue and yellow text on a black background after doing this, then it means you have successfully entered the download mode.
Now, using the Volume Down key, highlight the option “reboot to bootloader” and then press the Power key to select it.
Using the Volume Down key again, highlight the option “reboot to recovery” and press the Power key to choose it.
When you’re prompted with the triangle and exclamation mark, press and hold the Power key and press the Volume Up button until you see another screen with yellow, blue and white texts.
Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option “wipe data/factory reset” and to select it, press the Power key.
It may take a few seconds for the HTC U11 to delete all the system caches and when it’s done, you will another options. This time, highlight “Reboot system now” and press the Power key to confirm.

I hope this helps.

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