A common problem for any Android user may be that they cannot send a text message to a single person. They can send and receive text messages from others, but for some reason, messages sent to this one person just aren’t getting through.
Here is a list of things to check to troubleshoot this issue.
Restart the Phone
A simple restart might do the trick. Hold down the “Power” button, then select “Restart“.
Check Blocking
Sometimes blocking happens accidentally. Check to be sure that you didn’t accidentally end up on a block list either with the message recipient’s carrier or on the block list of the recipient’s phone.
Check Contact Number
Open the “Contacts” app and ensure the phone number is correct. Also try the phone number with or without the “1” before the area code. I have seen it both work and not work in either configuration. Personally, I just fixed a problem texting where the “1” was missing.
Disable iMessage
If the recipient or sender has used or is currently using an iPhone, it can cause problems for Android users since the iPhone utilizes the iMessage network. Have the iPhone user disable iMessage by going to “Settings” > “Messages” and setting “iMessage” to “Off“.
In some cases, the iPhone user will need to perform these steps:
- Power off your smartphone.
- Power the iPhone off and insert the SIM card you used with the device before.
- Power on the iPhone.
- Ensure you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
- Open “Settings” > “Messages“.
- Slide “iMessage” to “Off“.
- Leave the iPhone powered on for about an hour. iMessage should eventually deactivate.
- Power on your device.
If you cannot perform this process, or you are still experiencing this problem, try the following steps to deactivate iMessage online:
Note: These steps will remove access to the appstore. You can always reactivate the device to gain access again if you wish.
- Visit the Apple Support Profile website, and login with your Apple credentials.
- Select your iPhone device on the site.
- Select “Unregister“, then select “Unregister” again.
iMessage should now be deactivated. Check to see if you can receive text messages from an iPhone user.
If things still aren’t working for you, or you cannot perform the above steps, contact Apple Support. They can usually send a code to your new phone and deactivate iMessage on their end. It usually takes a period of 24 hours for the deactivation to complete.
This process has fixed this issue on multiple occasions. On one occasion, we contacted Apple Support via email. The Support department said that the person sending the text message may need to change how they are sending text messages. They will need to use an account with that shows “name”(Mobile Phone) instead of “name”(iPhone). These instructions didn’t make sense to us, but I figured I would include that information in case it helps anybody.
FAQ
I have an iPad registered to the same phone number I am using with my Android. What do I do?
You will have to deactivate iMessage on the iPad and any other Apple devices that are linked to the phone number you are using if you wish to receive text messages on the Android.
Silvia says
Thank Goodness for Stevens post. My Samsung Galaxy 9 mysteriously stopped texting my daughter. I could text dozens of other contacts, but not her. I tried it all. 1, no 1, phone resart and more. His method worked. I called ATT support and they were no help. Someone is supposed to call me back in a few days. Meanwhile my DD is far away and lots going on. So happy I can text her again. Yay Steven!!
Hayley A says
Thankyou Fan Tao!!!!! Adding a 1 fixed it all :) Tried everything else I had found. Now I can text my girlfriend. Life Saver!
Dave K. says
I could text everyone in my contacts except my son. Could always text him but suddenly could not.
Kept getting the error 96 message plus encoding problem.. I use an android LG Rebel 4.
I first made sure I had his proper phone number in my contacts. That was correct. I then tried to send him another text by simply typing in his phone number and it when right to him. Now when I text him using the old method of applying his contact it works every time. Hope this helps someone.
Donna says
Put a 1 in front of number worked! Suddenly couldn’t sent to one number. That worked
… yay
Wayne Burns says
I tried everything on my Samsung S10e, changed the message APP to on by google LLC & solved my problem of not being able to send message to one specific contact.
JayDub says
Number that suddenly started acting up did NOT have a “1” in front of it. The number was in the format (XXX) XXX-XXXX. I changed the format to XXX.XXX.XXXX (separated by periods, no “1” in front, and no other separtators/punctuation) and it started working again. Wondering if just changing the format at all does something.
Fan Tao says
Yes, adding a “1” in front of this one person’s phone number contact allowed texts to go through finally. What doesn’t make sense is that texting this person worked before (the message app or Android may have been updated since then) and f0r other people who don’t have the “1” in the contacts text messaging works fine! Perhaps it has to do with that particular phone number or that person’s carrier??? Sounds like a bug! My phone is a LG Stylo 4, Android 8..1.0.
Sara says
For me, nothing worked except deleting the contact and re-creating it.
ChristinaG says
I have a note 10 and tried all steps listed by Mitch and in the comments, still won’t work. So frustrating!
Brian B says
I had this same problem. I cleared cache, restarted phone. Nothing! Finally added a 1 to number and deleted conversation and started a new one. And no new problems. It’s weird only one contact my girlfriend and we text everyday. So not sure why it happened, but it’s fixed.
Mel says
I had this problem as well and tried all of your suggestions, finally I noticed that some of my contacts had a + in front of the 1. I tried just the one still didn’t work. Only after I added the + sign in front if the 1 did it begin working. Also noted was that my number had the +1 on the contact doe the person I was trying to text so it may be that the two contacts have to match each other.
Greg. Starrett says
I took the ” 1 ” out and that worked for me. Thanks!
Peggy B. says
I initially tried the basics: restarting my phone and deleting & then adding the contact back. I then spent two sessions with a Verizon Tech Coach who was unable to fix the problem. I didn’t have the “1” in front of the number, but was told it shouldn’t matter. Nothing they recommended worked. Finally I Googled my problem & found this website. I put the “1” in front of the number and, voila! I am now able to send a text!! Thanks soooo much!!!
Greg Solomon says
If you can’t send a text to one person…it’s a very easy fix.
Simply go into your contacts and click on the person you can’t send a text to. Then edit their phone number and add a “1” in front of it.
In other words, instead of 555-555-5555.
Add a “1” so that it’s 1-555-555-5555.
Don’t forget to click “save” in the upper right hand corner after you edit it.
Your problem will now be solved and you’ll be able to send texts to the person with no problem.
Regards,
-Greg
Karen says
I had one person I could receive from but not send to. Soon, it was two people. The suggestion of clearing the cache and storage with a Force Stop and reboot worked for me. Thank you!
Jennifer J Ritchie says
Thank you! Just adding a one to the number fixed the problem. So happy.
Rosa says
Thank you Steven! your instructions on 8/25/19 worked for my S10
Matt Russell says
Thanks Sean. It worked ! Thought it was never going to be fixed !
Regards,
Mcwolfcastle says
Adding a “1” to the number fixed it, thanks!
Anton says
I fixed this on my Android Nexus 6 by a) going to My Contacts and selecting the contact I couldn’t text, b) going into SMS messages, as if I were about to try again and text them, c) tapping the 3 dots at the top right, and selecting “Details”, and finally d) flipping to on, the “Only send SMS and MMS Messages” option. Suddenly my contact could receive text messages again. Bizarrely this option isn’t even there for my other contacts, and the ‘Only’ at the front of it would seem to suggest that I would now no longer be able to call her. But I can, so the ‘Only’ appears to be extraneous, and more importantly, we are now connected again and therefore happy bunnies!
Denia says
My bf has a iphone and i have a andriod. Lately i haven’t been able to receive his texts or phone calls, and he hasn’t been able to receive mine either. We checked everything and everything is the same. It’s just not working. Idk what to do. Please helpp
Arlene says
I also couldn’t send to just one particular person so I followed Steven’s advice and it worked so thanks Steven. My text was sent and the person responded.
Sophie says
I have a Samsung galaxy j6 plus and I have been trying to message my girlfriend but its saying its sent but it’s not going through to her I received her messages and I can message other people fine I dont know what to do
Gail Dytrych says
Gail D.
I suddenly started getting error 96 messages whenever I texted one friend. Never happened before.
Got to your technipages, added the 1 and it worked. Weird
Jackie Patchitt says
I followed Steven’s instructions from his post dated 25th August. Messages, storage, clear data/cache and it worked straightaway with all previously undelivered texts being sent as soon as I switched the phone back on
Thank you for the tip
J says
Tried it all….last two things I tried, not sure which one worked. But one worked.
1. Making sure the message center number is correct / is in the spot that requires it.
Or
2. Making sure that under Sim settings the SMS messages option is set to home.
I was ready to give up but there was hope. Just have to keep searching until you stumble on the right solution.
Steven says
Could not text to only one person on a brand new Galaxy S10E. Tried all of the above and also got a new SIM Card and nothing worked.
Luke, a T-mobile tech support saved the day.
Open ‘Settings’
Scroll down and tap on ‘Apps’
In the ‘Apps’ window scroll down and tap on ‘Messages’
In the ‘Messages’ window tap on ‘Storage’
In the ‘Storage’ window there are two buttons. Tap on the ‘Clear data’ and the ‘Clear cache’.
Go back to the ‘Messages’ window and hit the ‘Force stop’ button
Exit ‘Settings’ and turn off phone
Turn phone back on and try texting the person
This worked for me and I can now text this one person.
John says
I had the same problem……I could get my friends texts but she couldn’t see mine.
Tried everything……..finally found a solution.
I had previously converted to Handcent Next SMS as it enables me to send up to six pictures at a time. Messages used to reduce photos but I can’t find that facility any more. Anyway, my friend also downloaded Next SMS and problem solved. Seems it was a bug in her version of Messages. Android doesn’t allow me to delete it and readd……..so I was stuck with it.
Hannah Stern says
Wow, this worked. After months of trying to find info online to figure out why I couldn’t message only one of my contacts who I do the school run with, and had to keep calling her instead of texting her. It was getting annoying. Thank you so much! Really appreciate it.
Ken S says
I took the 1 off and that worked. Weird since I haven’t changed that in years., to MY WIFE no less. Everyone else works with the 1.
Shawn says
Just added the 1 and it fixed it thanks!!!
Camryn Dwyer says
I did everything but still not working!! So confused
Am says
Yes Katie thank you. Adding a. “1” in front of the contact’s number worked! Happy 4th!
Vishal says
I hv same problem try Textra SMS app it will definitely work.
Marie says
Added a 1 in front of the number and it worked! Yay!
Carl says
Problem: Android phone can not send txt to one specific iPhone.
Solution: Adding “1” in front of the area code.
Go figure…. it worked
Sherry says
Thank you! My daughter is leaving for a world tour tomorrow and I was getting worried. No idea why all of a sudden I couldn’t text her… She could text me however and I could call her. Adding a 1 worked perfectly! 👍🏼👍🏼
Galaxy angel says
Thank you Katie I have done what you said and my contact works thank you so much your awesome
Katie says
I had deleted our text conversation in the past. Didn’t work. Today, I deleted the contact, tried to just text my friend’s number with a “1”. Didn’t work. Deleted THAT failed conversation (so she’s no where in my phone). Then restarted my phone. Added her as a contact with the “1” and it worked!!
Maria says
Yes! Adding the “1” in front of the number solved the issue for two contacts I wasn’t able to text too. I spent HOURS on tech support with Verizon and nobody had been able to solve it. I am SO GRATEFUL!!!
Sarah says
I tried adding adding the 1. Did not work.
Deleted the contact and re-added them. Worked like a charm :)
Elaine says
No. I’ve done everything except factory reset. And still can’t send or even see conversation in my messaging app. So I can’t delete the conversation. I deleted him in contacts, but when I go to messaging I see phone number, but not texts, then screen goes black and I get “messaging not responding” notice
Stephanie says
I can text everybody except for my friend. Pictures and texts don’t go through. I tried everything, including putting a 1 in front and re-entering the number and nothing worked.
Priscilla Collette says
I had this happen before, at that time when I deleted the person and re-entered them that worked.
This time it didn’t, I even tried turning off and restarting my phone.
I read Bess Bauman’s hint from March 17, 2019 about adding a 1 in front of the number and low and
behold that worked!! So thank you Bess Bauman :)
Bess Bauman says
I had this happen to me today. Suddenly I couldn’t text my brother. I went into his contact and added a 1 in front of the number and it worked!
Deborah D Jones says
My husband couldn’t receive my texts though I could receive his. We could call each other and my messages always showed delivered. Not blocked. Same type of samsung 9 phone on the same At&t family plan. We both had to redo the contacts and threads to finally get it to work again.
Georgia Savoy says
I’ve been having this problems for weeks. I’m on a Note8. I can’t not receive the messages from one person. I’m trying to download a different message app to see if this will resolved my problem since other fixes listed here didn’t do anything for me.
Erin says
This issue started for me last month with one friend, and now hopped on to a second. So annoying. deleting and re-adding contacts does not work for me. They are not blocked, we’ve both checked out phones in every way possible. I had to switch to Facebook Messenger for now because of this.
Misach says
All the high-flying technical solutions posed on this website and elsewhere failed me.
I then followed the low-tech solution mentioned above: I delleted the contact and then added it back and it fixed the problem.
Rob says
I have tried all of these suggestions still cant send or receive to only one contact in my samsung phone and its fustrating bc i think i tried everything and dont know what it could be
Jim says
I delleted the contact and then added it back…and it fixed the problem.
Tina says
I deleted my contact and then put it back in and it worked.
Stacey says
Thank You!!! My issue was the “1” – this saved my text relationship w/ my mom!
Abhinav says
I m not receiving text messeges from one number. Although i can receieve calls from that number. I m able to send messeges and they are being received at this contacts’s end too. I m able to send and receive sms from all other contacts
Michael Cockrell says
This happened to me today with no explanation. All of a sudden I couldn’t text my wife. MMS would go through but not SMS. And I could text anyone else with no problem. Ended up using someone else’s suggestion of putting a 1 in front of the number in the contact and it worked. Thank you whoever suggested that!
Sean says
Found this thread and tried Richard’s solution. I went to “messages”, clicked “Start chat”, then typed in the phone number. It pulled up my contact as a suggestion, but i clicked the phone number instead. That pulled up the same messaging thread that I’ve used for a year.. Worked instantly
Kenneth Graham says
I had this problem with 2 of my contacts. I had to take out the 1 and the prefix to be able to send them messages.
Linds says
I reset the network settings. That worked for me.
Cheri says
Thank you, Richard Costello! I was going crazy over this…I was able to send/receive texts from EVERYBODY but my husband…I tried your suggestion and manually typed his number in instead of tapping on his name… IT WORKED!!!
Tim says
How will you know.if someone has blocked you from sending them a Tex and calls
Pam says
I had this happen…I deleted the contact, then re-entered the information. The change that WORKED for me was putting a 1 in from of the area code, which I had not done before
Lana says
Same thing has happened to me. My friend has AT&T and they said it must be my straighttalk phone…I only have problems with texting her. I can receive hers….could it be AT&T??
Tanya says
Great ideas but none worked for me. My sister isn’t receiving my texts only pics but I can see everything she sends me. I have to screenshot what I texted her and send it as a pic. No clue what to do next. She contacted her provider (at&t) and they said it must be something in my settings. I haven’t contacted my carrier (sprint) yet. Any ideas or empathizers?
Lana says
i’ve been googling this to no avail, my landlord tried texting me from his iphone (tmobile) for the first time, i was not in his contacts, he entered my number with and without the leading 1, every time, he got this message => free msg: unable to send message – message blocking is active. so i tried texting him from my android (tracfone/safelink wireless) and got the same free msg! he never blocked me, i never blocked him, we are not on each others contacts. i can’t find the answer to this, help! thanks in advance :)
Leanne says
I had the same problem with texting my mom. I finally tried disabling the message app and then enabling it again and this fixed the problem.
Mark says
Had this issue also with my mom’s “contact”. I could not get her messenger window to come up. I fixed it by completely DELETING her from my contacts. Then, brought up the phone keypad, punched in her phone number, then, at the top where it says “ad new contact”, I added her as a new contact. All is working now. It is possible it somehow became corrupted. Hope this helps.
Someone says
On my android phone, the contact was set to “voice” instead of “mobile”. I changed it and it worked.
D Davison says
Richard Costello’s suggestion worked for me! All of a sudden couldn’t text my daughter. Found this thread a tried entering the phone number instead of clicking on her contact name. It worked!
Richard Costello says
Another possible solution from Google that worked on my pixel was to enter the person’s phone number not name in address field. I don’t know why but it fix the problem.
Kay says
Thank you PatriciaJ – your suggestion worked to have the other person restart 👍
Alicia Villamil says
My android phone Samsung Galaxy note 4 can’t send messages to 2332, 2336 etc.
PatriciaJ says
I tried deleting the thread, the cashe, restarting the phone multiple times, sending on and off WIFI and nothing worked. Finally asked the other person to restart their phone and that worked. Doesn’t make any sense. This is not something we should be dealing with in today’s society. Seriously,