SMS cannot be sent from iPhone - what to do. iPhone can't send text message (SMS)? Here's how to fix it

If you are unable to send SMS or iMessages on your iPhone. What do we have to do?

At the very beginning of the article, 4 main steps are given that will help restore the functionality of messages on the iPhone, and even on the iPad with iPod Touch. After this, a description of individual specific problems and ways to solve them.

Reboot your iPhone

It's better to do a hard reboot. Press the Home and Power buttons at the same time.

Wait until the iPhone turns off. Then press and hold the Power button. The iPhone will turn on. If messages are sent after a reboot, great. If not, then read on...

Restart LTE/3G function

Find Settings->Cellular. Turn off and after a few seconds turn on the “Cellular Data” option.

The 3G/LTE icon in the top line of the screen should disappear for a while, and then appear after enabling the option.

If it helps and the messages are sent, then great. If still not, then read on.

Reset network settings

Go to Settings->General->Reset. There select the item " Resetting network settings«.

The iPhone will reboot.

If it helps, then great. If not, then read on.

Restore iPhone like new

If all the previous points do not help, then the most extreme case remains: restoring the iPhone.

After this operation, you will have to configure everything again: Wi-Fi passwords, email, etc. But this is a guaranteed solution to any problem.

FAQ for specific message issues

Red exclamation point next to the message. What to do?

Try sending the message after a few seconds (and then minutes if necessary). Click on the exclamation mark and resend.
Check internet availability. For example, do some Google search in Safari.
Go to Settings->Messages. Make sure "iMessage" and "Send as SMS" are turned on.

If in Settings->Messages there is a message “Waiting for activation”?

Make sure the Internet on your device is working. Also check that the date on the device is set correctly ( Settings->General->Date and time).

Settings->Messages. Turn off iMessage. Restart your iPhone. Turn on iMessage.

iPhone owners often encounter problems when sending SMS messages. iOS simply refuses to send the message and shows a red exclamation mark next to it. Why does this happen and how to solve this problem?

Regular SMS may not be sent at once for several reasons. The first, and also the most obvious, is the absence or poor coverage of a cellular signal. In addition, it is possible that you simply do not have enough money in your account, and without this the SMS will not be sent (unless you have an unlimited package). But there are other problems that need to be corrected.

If SMS still won't send (we're talking now), the first thing to try is to force restart your iPhone. Hold down the Power and Home buttons for a few seconds until the "Apple" appears on the screen.

Also check your SMS settings - make sure you have the toggle switch turned on that is responsible for sending text messages if it is not available. You can find it in “Settings” - “Messages”. Another effective method is to reset your network settings. To do this, go to “Settings” - “General” - “Reset”.

Sometimes deleting the message and resending it or unloading the application from memory also helps. At least one of these methods should help you send SMS to your iPhone.

iMessage is a convenient service that allows users of iOS/MacOS devices to exchange text messages and content without the need to use SMS/MMS. If you have problems sending messages, there can be many reasons, from Internet problems to system bugs. We suggest taking a closer look at the question of why iMessage does not send messages. Get ready to learn how to set up your iOS device.

Incorrect setting

First of all, you need to make sure that the Internet is turned on and the network is available. Otherwise, iMessage will not turn on. Go to settings, check the Internet, move the switch to “Enable” mode in iMessage settings. Incorrect configuration means problems with the specified Apple ID data. It happens that the message does not arrive due to lack of Internet. In this case, move the “Send as SMS” switch. The operator will charge an additional fee for using the SMS service.

System bugs

If iMesage does not turn on on the device, the problem may be a system flaw. This happened with iOS7, where you had to turn off the Internet in the settings and reconnect. The release of the latest versions of the system solved this problem. Therefore, if you have not updated yet, we recommend that you do so. And then the iPhone and other devices will begin to receive iMessage as usual. To update, go to “Settings”, “Software Update”, the device will find the latest updates and offer to download and install them. To do this, you need to have free disk space and a sufficiently charged battery.

Server problems

It happens that problems occur on the servers themselves. As a result, iMessage is not activated and difficulties arise in working with it. All you have to do is just wait a bit until the server starts working. You can turn to a search engine and meet people on forums who are currently experiencing a similar problem.

Internet problem: operators and Wi-Fi

Internet problems can be different:

The money in your account has run out. If you use exclusively 3G and you do not receive the message, try connecting to the nearest available Wi-Fi network. This may completely solve the problem. Or simply deposit money into your account in any convenient and possible way.
Problems with 3G. Perhaps it simply does not catch the network in poor coverage. This usually happens in basements and outside the city. Sometimes the problems arise quite serious: the 3G module breaks down due to various damages. It requires replacement.
Wi-Fi problems. The issue may be due to incorrect configuration, network congestion, or problems with the Wi-Fi module itself. If it fails, you need to take your iPhone (or other device) to a service center, where an experienced technician will fix everything.

If iMessage doesn't work, first of all go to the settings and check if everything is configured correctly. If it turns out that there are serious problems with the Internet regarding the hardware, take your iPad or iPhone to a workshop!

When you need to quickly contact another person, but don't necessarily need to talk to them, you can send them an SMS or MMS message. The abbreviation SMS stands for Short Message Service; MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. An SMS message consists of text only, but an MMS may also contain text, video, photos, sounds, or other data.

When you start composing an email, the Messages app opens it as an SMS message. If you add a photo or video, the application converts the message to MMS format. In addition to SMS and MMS, you can exchange text, pictures and videos using the service iMessage. It is available on both iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac OS X. If the recipient of the message is using the iMessage service on their device, the send button will be blue, while for regular messages it will be green. When using iMessage, you only pay for Internet traffic according to your tariff plan.

Press the Home button. The home screen will open.
Click the Messages icon. The corresponding screen will open.
Click the icon to create a new message (New Message). Before sending, make sure that the recipient can receive these types of messages. Some types of tariff plans do not allow the use of SMS and MMS. In addition, you usually do not receive notifications if your message is not delivered. The New Message screen opens.
Click the + icon. A list of contacts will open.

Select the subscriber to whose number you want to send a message. If a contact's data contains only a phone number, iPhone will add the contact's name in a new message window without opening the data window. A window with contact information will open.
Select the desired contact. His name will appear in the To field on the New Message screen.
Enter the text field and enter your message in it.

In the dialog box that opens, click “Choose Existing”. You can then select Take Photo or Video to take a photo or video with your camera and then send it via message. The Photo Albums screen opens.
Select the album containing the photo you want. The selected album will open.
Select a photo. The selected photo will open.
Click "Choose". The photo will appear in the message. You can attach another photo or video to your message by repeating steps 8–12.

Click "Send" (Send).

Are there other ways to send a photo or video?

Hello everyone! Despite the fact that the world of text messages has been tightly taken over by all kinds of messengers, in some cases it is impossible to do without “regular” SMS - not all people use smartphones. Unfortunately. Yesterday I needed to do a basic thing - send an SMS. One simple but very important SMS. And what do you think? I fought with her for about 15 minutes, but she still didn’t “go away.”

No, in the end I found the reason for the failed shipments (my own fault) and “defeated” it, but I wasted my nerves... And since I always care about your health, dear readers, here are instructions on what to do when your iPhone suddenly stops sending messages. Are you ready? One two Three. Go!

So, in the standard Messages app on iPhone, you can send your text in two ways:

As an iMessage.
Just like a regular SMS.

What do they have in common? That's right - identification of unsuccessful sending.

Exclamation mark on the message icon - what is it and how to remove it?

Has a red circle with an exclamation mark inside suddenly appeared on the message app icon? Congratulations, one of your messages was not sent.

Do you want to remove this reminder? First, go to the Messages application, look for the unsent SMS and... we have two ways:

Delete it.
Try sending again.

When deleted, the exclamation mark will disappear immediately, and in the second case everything will depend on the result of resending:

If everything is “OK”, then you can close the article and enjoy life.
If the sending was unsuccessful, then read on and understand the reasons for this disgrace.

iPhone stopped sending iMessage - what to do?

So, here's what to do if iMessages don't go away. First thing...

Look, is it turned on at all? Open “Settings - Messages” - check the activation of iMessage and the addresses for sending/receiving (you must be logged in with an Apple ID, and your phone number must also be specified).

“Yes, everything was activated for me a long time ago and everything was sent before that! What else could be the reason? - you ask. Here's what:

However, even with such global breakdowns on Apple servers, there is a way out of the situation. After all, you can always send iMessage as a simple message. To do this, simply tap on the unsent message and select "Send as SMS" (the option must be enabled in iMessage settings - be sure to check!).

Although, failure may await us in this case too...

iPhone does not send SMS - what is the reason?

Yes Yes. It turns out that in order to send SMS you need a positive balance on your MTS SIM card account. Without money, they say, it’s impossible.

Okay, actually that was sarcasm. But still, such a banal thing as the presence of money in the account still needs to be checked. I didn’t pay attention to this and suffered. Maybe not for long, but still.

However, the negative balance alone does not explain the problems with sending SMS. Here are some more reasons and methods to eliminate them:

Turn Airplane Mode on and off - this way we “reboot” the network for the iPhone.
Again, reset the network settings “Settings - General reset - Reset network settings”. Yes, this also works for SMS messages.
Try inserting another SIM, sending a message and returning your card to its place.
Replace the SIM card (fortunately, the procedure is free).

Nothing helped? There is one more very important point. To send messages, you may need the so-called SMS center number of your mobile operator. In many phones it is written in the settings as a separate line. But we have an iPhone! So, it's not that simple :)

First, let's check if it is listed on your phone.

To do this, enter the command (as if we were just dialing a regular number to call) * #5005*7672# and click on the green tube.

There are two possible scenarios:

Perhaps this is the reason why SMS are not sent from iPhone. What to do in this case? Please provide the correct address.

To do this we will use the command *5005*7672*SMS center number#. Be sure to enter the number via +7!

Attention! If after entering the command you see an error, do not pay attention to it. Most likely the number was successfully installed anyway. Check this fact using the first combination.

So, where can I get this number?

You can call and ask the operator - this is far from secret information and they will provide it to you without any problems. Or search on the Internet. I would be happy to do this for you and post the entire list here, but these numbers may differ for each region (and, as we understand, there are not so few of them in Russia) - the article would turn out to be almost endless.

However, if your independent searches are not successful or you still have some other questions, feel free to write in the comments - I will try to help!

P.S. Did you find the instructions helpful? Leave a “like” or “+1” - I will be sincerely grateful for such support, thank you! Didn't read anything sensible? Click on the buttons of social networks - let the author be ashamed! :)