What to do if Galaxy S9 can’t receive texts or MMS from iPhones

This troubleshooting episode will address some texting issues on the #GalaxyS9. One of the most common issues we encounter is also being answered here — what you need to do if your S9 is not getting SMS and MMS from iPhone users. We hope you’ll find this post useful.

Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy S9 can’t receive texts or MMS from iPhones

Well basically my phone wont receive text messages from iPhones. I get SMS from droids no prob but it seems to be blocking anything from iMessage or iphones. My pal has an iPhone and messaged me. Our bubbles are both blue. So his iPhone thinks I still have an iPhone, I guess. I switched to droid about a month ago. My boss is frustrated. My boyfriend. Everyone is like dude I text you, but I dont get them. Oh also, iPhones do get my text messages. It’s just if they respond, my phone doesnt receive it. It’s like a one way street. P.s. for android version here I put oreo but to be honest I have no idea what android version I have. It’s a Galaxy S9. — Robert Darkwood

Solution: Hi Robert. If you switched to Android but retained the same phone number, the reason for your problem is that the text message being sent to you are still routed through Apple’s iMessage system and not through your carrier’s. You need to deactivate iMessage first so that you’ll start getting messages from your contacts with iOS devices.

If you still have your iPhone with you, you can easily deactivate iMessage by doing these steps:

1. Put the SIM card you transferred from your iPhone back into your iPhone.
2. Make sure that you’re connected to a cellular data network (such as 3G or LTE).
3. Tap Settings > Messages and turn off iMessage.
4. Tap Settings > FaceTime and turn off FaceTime.

If you no longer have your iPhone with you, you can deregister your phone number by doing it online. Try to follow the instructions in this link.

Once you’ve successfully deactivated iMessage, your phone number will then be removed from iMessage services. This will tell your network that incoming messages should now be treated as regular messages, even if they come from iOS devices like iPhones. The deregistration is not instantaneous so you may have to wait for several hours for it to take effect.

Problem #2: Galaxy S9 keeps getting “attachment limit reached” error and can’t receive messages

Recently, every time I try to send an attachment on a text message, I get a message saying “attachment limit reached.” It does it on multiple texts, not just one specific chain. I’ve tried deleting past attachments, and switching apps (I use Android messages), but it still keeps happening. Also, on MMS texts, sometimes I don’t get texts until hours later. It’s not a service issue, because when it is, I can see that the person is texting me, it just won’t download, and as soon as I have better service, it comes through. This is different, they just aren’t coming through at all for hours, and it’s almost always in the middle of the night for some reason. — Whitney

Solution: Hi Whitney. The cause of your problem might be network-related. We think this is so since nothing changed even when you’re using another messaging app. Try to reset your phone’s network settings and see if that will help. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap General management.
3. Tap Reset.
4. Tap Reset network settings.
5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
6. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

If the problem won’t be resolved by resetting its network settings, consider doing a factory reset. There may be a software bug behind the issue. Although it’s probably a network problem, especially the one causing the delays, there’s really nothing much that you can do. Factory reset will be the last thing that you must do before you report the trouble to your carrier.

To factory reset your S9:

1. Make 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.

Contact your operator

Messaging problems, especially when it comes to delays in delivery of incoming or outgoing messages are almost always network-related. Smartphones are designed to receive or send messages by default and there’s nothing in Android that’s set to hold off receipt of incoming SMS or MMS. You should have your carrier take a look at the problem.

Problem #3: Galaxy S9 slowed down due to bad SD card

Dear Sir/Madam. Recently, my phone has slowed down significantly.  Initially it was when accessing the pictures in my Gallery, followed by delay in accessing the camera.  Subsequently the whole phone has slowed down. It takes an age to wake from an off screen to the lock screen at times!!  I have factory reset the phone but it has made no difference. I have taken the SD card out today & the phone seems to be back to its fast speed again.  Can I put my SD card back it or do I need to get a new SD card now? Why does it happen suddenly? Please help. Many thanks. — Jason 

Solution: Hi Jason. If your S9 works fine normally when there’s no microSD card inserted but returns to its problematic state when you re-insert it, that’s a clear sign that you have a bad card. SD cards can go bad for many reasons (and we can’t discuss all of them). The important thing is that you’ve isolated the root cause so you have to deal with it.

If still possible, try to create a backup of everything that’s in your SD card. Afterwards, try to reformat it using your S9. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Device maintenance.
3. Tap Storage.
4. Tap SD card.
5. Tap the three-dot icon at the upper right.
6. Select Storage settings.
7. Tap SD card.
8. Tap Format.

If you can’t format the SD card using your S9 for some reason, do it using a computer or another device.

If the SD card has become unreadable or unresponsive, you should replace it.

Problem #4: Galaxy S9 received texts show phone number instead of name of contact

My wife sends me texts from a Samsung Note 8 on Verizon and most of the time I get them and know they are from her because her name is on the conversation from my contacts.  Occasionally, the text will come in and look like it is from a generic phone number that I do not have in my contacts until I look closely and see it displays her phone number.  If I swipe the conversation to get the phone to dial the number the text is from, it tries to dial a 1 or 2 digit number. Why is this happening? I am using Message+ for my SMS messages version 6.6.5. — William

Solution: Hi William. If the problem occurs often but no constantly everytime you receive a message, it’s probably a bug in the phone or the messaging app. On the other hand, if this happens every time, you have saved the number of your wife multiple times in your contacts list. To fix it, simply delete the duplicate numbers and you should be good.

To see if it’s a phone or messaging app issue, you have to do a couple of potential solutions.

Clear messaging app cache

Apps use temporary files called cache in order to work properly. Sometimes, app caches may get corrupted. To see if you have an app cache issue, try clearing the cache of the messaging app you’re using and see if that will help.

To clear app cache:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap More settings (three-dot icon) at the upper-right.
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find the SIM Toolkit app and tap it.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap CLEAR CACHE button.
8. Restart your device.
9. Check for the problem.

Clear messaging app data

Should wiping the messaging app cache won’t help, the next troubleshooting step is to try and clear its data. This procedure will delete your messages so be sure to back them up first. You can use Samsung Smart Switch to back your messages up. If you can’t use Smart Switch, try using the Samsung Cloud service on your phone. It will only allow you to save up to 1000 messages so if you have lots of them, this may not be ideal.

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