Are you baffled as to ‘why is my T-Mobile SMS not working’? Does the issue happen on both iPhone and Android cellphones? Don’t worry; this article will show you why you have SMS problems and what steps you can take to fix them.
T-Mobile US is an American network service provider company, and it is doing business under the T-Mobile global brand name. The company is partially owned by Deutsche Telekom and provides wireless data and voice services. After a successful merger on 1st April 2020, T-Mobile is also the sole owner of Sprint.
With over 107 million customers, T-Mobile is the second-largest wireless service provider in America. Many T-Mobile users report that their SMS service is not working on their Android and iPhone devices despite the large customer base.
Why my T-Mobile SMS is not working?
If T-Mobile SMS is not working on your cellphone, it could be due to any one of the following reasons.
- You have turned on the T-Mobile SMS blocking service.
- You are sending an SMS to a number that is on your device’s spam list.
- The time and date are incorrect on your cellphone.
- You are using a third-party messaging app that is causing conflict with the phone’s default Messages app.
- Your cellphone device software is not updated.
- Your cellphone is showing less than two signal bars resulting in SMS failure.
- The SMS service center number is incorrect on your cellphone.
- Your cellphone is running low on storage.
- Your pre-paid account balance is low.
How do I fix T-Mobile SMS problems?
Try the following troubleshooting steps to fix the T-Mobile SMS sending and receiving issues.
Restart your phone twice
To fix the T-Mobile SMS issue, start by restarting your cellphone a couple of times. Although rebooting your phone for one time is enough for most carriers, many T-Mobiles users got their SMS functionality back by doing it twice.
After turning off your phone, make sure to wait for a few minutes before turning it back on. Afterward, test and check SMS after the phone finishes booting up.
Turn Airplane mode On and Off
Turning on and off the Airplane mode on your phone is another quick way to resolve the SMS issue on T-Mobile. To do this, swipe down the notification panel on your Home screen and tap on the Airplane mode. Now, wait for a couple of minutes and tap on the option again to turn it off. Next, try sending an SMS and see if the fix worked.
Add credit to the pre-paid account
The fix for SMS-related issues can be simple as checking your pre-paid account balance. T-Mobile’s pre-paid package requires that you must have an account balance to send text messages. Therefore, add some credit to your account and see if that fixes the issue.
Clear Messaging and carrier service app cache
As the Messages app comes as default in your phone software to facilitate SMS services through any carrier, clearing the app cache may do the trick for you.
To do this, turn off Wifi and Bluetooth. Now go to the Apps section of your cellphone and tap on the Messages app. Next, select the storage option and clear app data and cache.
Furthermore, a few T-Mobile users cleared the Carrier Services app on their cellphone and got their SMS working again. You can do it with ease under Settings –> Apps –> Carrier Services –> Storage.
Set Messages as your default app
If you have installed a third-party messaging app along with the default one, you may have selected the third-party app as the default app for messages. Doing this creates a conflict with your phone Messages app, and it may not work.
However, the fix is relatively easy. You need to choose the Messaging app as default under Settings –> Apps –> Messages.
Clear up phone storage
One of the most common reasons for SMS not working is that your phone might be running on low storage space. Many cell phones require that you have at least 15% free storage for the Messages app to work flawlessly. Therefore, try deleting unused apps and media files to free up device space and test the SMS service.
Upgrade phone software
The T-Mobile SMS issue often occurs on selected cellphone models. We’ve found out that it has something to do with the phone software. Therefore, if the above fixes didn’t work for you, try updating your phone software under the Settings option and then check the SMS service.
How do I fix T-Mobile message blocking is active?
As the problem of text spam grows, T-Mobile introduced phone number-level blocking to its service. The service lets you add filters to your incoming text and prevent specific numbers from sending SMS.
If you are not receiving SMS messages, T-Mobile may have enabled a block on your number. To fix this issue, get on the phone with a T-Mobile agent and remove the message blocking service.
Furthermore, your phone message settings allow you to block specific contacts. Therefore, it might be worth checking and unblocking an important number you may have blocked by mistake.
How do I use Google messaging on my phone?
If all of the above fixes fail to work and T-Mobile customer service cannot fix the SMS issues, you can download a third-party messaging app. We recommend downloading the Google messages app from the Play Store or App Store.
A few T-Mobile users got their SMS to start working again within 30 seconds of opening the Google message app. As the app has more features than the default Messages app, you can keep using it until you get a new cellphone or your issue is resolved by the T-Mobile technicians.
Additionally, the Google messages app works great on iPhone, but an Android phone should be running on 5.0 Lollipop and above to use the app.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide helped you fix the “T-Mobile SMS not working” on your Android and iPhone. We recommend that you start with the easiest troubleshooting steps and then move on to the complex ones.
Also, ensure that the T-Mobile SMS service center number is showing +12063130004 under your Message settings; otherwise, you won’t receive or send any texts.
