What to do if your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 can’t send / receive text message?

Text messaging is just one of the most basic functions of a mobile phone and a powerful smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 should be able to perform this task without any problem. However, there would always come a time when your device encounter some issues in sending and/or receiving text messages or SMS. While this issue isn’t really that serious since you can still continue using your device, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. Besides, a brand new phone should work perfectly.

So, in this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your phone that can’t send and/or receive SMS. I will provide the solutions we’ve been using to address this issue. So, if you’re one of the owners of the Galaxy Note 9 and are currently being bugged by a text messaging issue, continue reading as this post may be able to help you one way or another.

But before anything else, if you have another issue with your phone, drop by our troubleshooting page as we have already addressed hundreds of issues reported by the owners. Odds are that there are already existing solutions on our website or at least, there are similar problems we already fixed. So, try to find ones that are similar or related to your problem. If you need further assistance, however, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy Note 9 that can’t send text messages

Let’s keep this troubleshooting guide as simple as possible. Remember, you only have to do what you need to without messing your phone’s settings. After this and the problem continues, then you can still bring the phone back to the store or to your carrier and have it re-configured. Here’s what you should do if your Note 9 can’t send text messages…

First solution: Reboot your Note 9

If this is the first time that the problem happened, then it might be just a minor glitch in either the firmware or the messaging app. Glitches can be fixed by a normal reboot so take time to restart your Note 9. After which, compose a text message and send it to your own number so that you would know if it goes through or not. If the problem remained, then try doing the Forced Reboot: press and hold the volume down and power keys simultaneously for 10 seconds or more.

The second procedure will refresh your phone’s memory and reload all apps and services. It’s a pretty effective solution for as long as the problem is limited to minor firmware issue. If the problem continues even after the forced reboot, then move on to the next solution.

Second solution: Check the signal bars

If your phone isn’t getting any signal, you should be able to see that through the signal indicator at the top of the screen. But even if the signal indicator shows the device is getting signal and there’s a plane icon near it, then the wireless communications are disabled. Turn off flight mode and you should be able to send and receive text messages after that.

In case the indicator shows your phone doesn’t have reception and the problem happened for the first time, it might be just a temporary network issue and you can try to wait it out for an hour or two as network-related problems are immediately being solved by your carrier.

Assuming your phone shows it has a decent reception and flight mode is disabled, you should try to place a call to any number just to see if your phone is capable of doing so. If you can make a call just fine, the problem is only with the texting service. The next solution might help.

Third solution: Check if the Message Centre Number is correct

The Message Centre Number is a requirement so that your phone can send and receive  text messages. If it’s not correct or if there’s no number in the field, the service will be disabled even if your phone is getting signal. Here’s how to check the Message Centre Number on your Galaxy Note 9:

1. From the Home screen, tap Messages.
2. Tap the menu icon on the upper-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap More settings.
5. Tap Text messages.
6. Tap Message Centre.
7. If there’s no number on the field and you don’t know what the Message Centre Number of your network is, then call tech support and ask for it. Do the same if you can’t verify that the number is correct.
8. If you know the correct Centre Number, then key it in and tap Set.

You can always call tech support to help you fix this problem or bring your phone to the nearest Samsung store so that a technician can check it up for you. Moreover, if you want to clear all your personal information prior to having the phone checked, then backup your files and data and do the Factory Reset.

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung credentials to finish the master reset.
2. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
3. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts > Backup and restore.
4. Tap the following sliders to desired setting:
   • Back up my data
   • Automatic restore
5. Tap the Back key (bottom right) until you reach the main Settings menu.
6. Tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the screen, then tap RESET > DELETE ALL.
8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
9. If prompted to verify your Samsung account, enter the password, then tap CONFIRM.
10. Wait for the device to reset.

We’ve encountered texting issues before that were fixed by factory reset so there’s still a chance you can fix the problem by resetting your Galaxy Note 9.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy Note 9 that can’t receive text messages

First off, you should check if your phone can send a text message because if it can, then this issue is pretty easy to fix. So, troubleshoot your phone like we did above and if your phone is still not able to receive text messages, here are the things you should do:

First solution: Check your phone’s internal storage

If you use your phone as a storage of your important files and if you’re into downloading large files, it’s possible there’s not enough storage space left for the messaging app. Text messages are pretty small data but still they occupy some space. You should try transferring some of your files to the SD card to free up some space.

However, if your phone still has enough storage space and your phone is still not being able to receive SMS, then move on to the next step.

Second solution: Reset Messages

Just before you do this, verify that you can’t receive text messages from all the phone numbers sending you text because if it only happens to one number, it could be that the problem is from the number that’s texting you.

Assuming the problem isn’t limited to one phone number, then proceed with the reset of the texting app–Messages. You may lose your text messages so you may take time to copy messages that are important. After which, follow these steps to reset Messages:

1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
2. Tap Settings > Apps.
3. To display preinstalled apps, tap Menu > Show system apps.
4. Find and tap Messages.
5. Tap Storage > CLEAR CACHE > CLEAR DATA > DELETE.

If the problem continues after this, then backup your files and data and then perform the Master Reset:

1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung credentials to finish the master reset.
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.

I hope we’ve been able to help you through this troubleshooting guide. If you have other issues you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

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