SMS/MMS not working

[6500K]

Hello community, I have an error that is driving me nuts.

My texting, both SMS and MMS, stopped working around Wed night (Dec 2).  I noticed my sent texts would sit there trying to be sent out.  Here's what I tried:

- rebooting my phone several times

- clearing the messaging app cache

- trying two new messaging apps (Signal Private Messenger & Pulse SMS)

- checking my free space (I have over 10 GB free on my phone)

- voice calling - to and from my phone works fine

- I tested SMS and MMS texts to and from two other phones that I know work (I tested the two other phones texting and calling to each other and they are on different carriers)

- checked and rechecked, deleted and re-entered PM APN settings several times to no avail

This one is a head-scratcher.  I'm hoping to get this resolved quickly because I'm currently helping several individuals who are quarantined due to positive Covid-19 by delivering food and giving moral support via texting.

Thanks in advance.

[edwardb]

Yes, Google released a Carrier Services update that broke SMS-texting for some people, on December 2-3, and later released another update that fixed the problem.

Details:

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/12/10/google-is-rolling-back-a-carrier-services-update-to-fix-sms...
https://9to5google.com/2020/12/10/carrier-services-sms-android-issue/
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/10/22168099/google-android-sms-text-issues-carrier-services

[HALIMACS]

Hi @6500K 

One way to recognize @gpixel for their efforts is to go to one of the posts sent to you by @gpixel and mark it as a Solution.

Really glad you got it working without the dreaded reset.

[6500K]

@Jb456 I had way to many customizations that I did not want to do again, and my memory is not as great as when I was younger.

At least now I can help some people I know who are going through Covid-19 by bringing them food and supporting them through texts.

[Jb456]

@6500K  Well happy a positive outcome came about for you. Also I have to give you Kudos! For your patience of not wanting to factory restore. Way 2 go 👍

[6500K]

@Jb456 I have a combination of settings, some automatic and some manual.  I pretty much check everyday - it's a routine for me.  The Carrier Services app on my phone either got corrupted, or there were two updates recently (the first one broke my texting and the second one fixed it) - I cannot really say, but I have a feeling it was the latter due to the recent app reviews.

[Jb456]

@6500K 

Glad you got it working. Do you have Google Play updates set to update automatically? I have mine set to update only on wifi(to save data). You should to. There are always updates to many apps on the phone and if you just update manually it could always pose problems.

I had a carrier update earlier today. 

 

[6500K · Accepted solution]

The Solution:

At half past midnight I was about to factory reset my phone when I decided to check the Google Play store one last time to ensure my subscriptions were there.  I noticed there was an update for an app which puzzled me because I had uninstalled all my apps, except for the ones that came with the phone. 

The app was called "Carrier Services".  It sounded like something related to the communications part of the phone so I ran it.  Then I decided to reboot one last time.  When my phone booted up a ton of texts started coming in!  I sent a whole bunch to a few other phones and they seemed to all go through.

The next day I sent many texts to different people and received all their replies.

If you look at the reviews for this app you will notice that many of the recent ones complain about the same thing I went through.  Bad on you Google!

Needless to say, I am very happy this got resolved before I did the dreaded factory reset.  I really hope this saves someone from going through what I went through.

Big shout out to @gpixel who persevered with me through private messages and continued to send me suggestions on what to try next.  @gpixel deserves many bravoes for being an outstanding PM community citizen! 

[Zounds! persistence pays off .......... Luddite]

[6500K]

@JK8 

Yeah that's what the mods suggested as well.  I have systematically done a lot of trouble shooting and it has come to the dreaded factory reset.  I'll post an update tomorrow when I do it.  The mods suggested the reset be done from the dialer instead of the menu item - didn't know you could do that.

[6500K]

Hi @HALIMACS , unfortunately there is no chat setting under my message app settings menu.  I wish it had something like that so I could try it but it looks like I will do a factory reset tomorrow.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[JK8]

---

@6500K wrote:

Hi @JK8 , I am using my work phone to test sending and receiving texts.  My work phone number already has a 1 in front of it.

When I boot my phone to safe mode texting works fine.  When I boot it to regular mode it stops sending and receiving texts.

I have now uninstalled all apps except for 4 that I paid for and need.  I rebooted it several times and it still doesn't fix my problem.  The mods tried to do a few things but nothing has worked so far, except for booting it into safe mode.  My last resort is to do a factory reset.

---

If you have tried everything posted above along with the mods, I would do a factory reset. You have put that sim in another phone and it worked fine which means it is not an account problem but a phone problem.

[HALIMACS]

Hi @6500K 

No idea if this would have any impact on your issue... BUT

If you have a Chat Settings under your Message settings, could they be set to "Chat" vs "Text(SMS)/MMS" or "Automatic"?

[6500K]

Hi @JK8 , I am using my work phone to test sending and receiving texts.  My work phone number already has a 1 in front of it.

When I boot my phone to safe mode texting works fine.  When I boot it to regular mode it stops sending and receiving texts.

I have now uninstalled all apps except for 4 that I paid for and need.  I rebooted it several times and it still doesn't fix my problem.  The mods tried to do a few things but nothing has worked so far, except for booting it into safe mode.  My last resort is to do a factory reset.

[JK8]

@6500K 

Can you receive texts?

Can you delete one of your contacts and re-add the number with a 1 in front and try sending a text.

[6500K]

@Dunkman I already tried the network reset and it didn't work.

@JK8 I tried 3 other apps - Signal, Pulse and Google Messages

No luck so far.

[JK8]

@6500K 

Can you download another texting app and see if it works.

[Dunkman]

---

@6500K wrote:

Just one more piece of the puzzle:

I looked at the service menu and phone info area.  The sub menu on IMS status says my IMS is unregistered.  I contacted the moderators and listed this as a possible reason for my problem.  Hopefully, they will be able to offer a fix.

Btw, I have been with PM for over almost 3 years with this same phone.  Never had any problems until now.  Baffling eh . . .

---

@6500K 

See what the moderator says.  

As mentioned before, you could eventually try

network reset

factory reset (last resort).

[6500K]

Just one more piece of the puzzle:

I looked at the service menu and phone info area.  The sub menu on IMS status says my IMS is unregistered.  I contacted the moderators and listed this as a possible reason for my problem.  Hopefully, they will be able to offer a fix.

Btw, I have been with PM for over almost 3 years with this same phone.  Never had any problems until now.  Baffling eh . . .

[6500K]

Here's the weird thing.  I tried what @benfatto suggested and switched from PM's LTE to 3G and it took.  Then I was able to send an SMS and an MMS to my other Bell phone.  Then I sent an SMS and an MMS to my PM phone (Sony XA1) and it all worked.

I thought I was golden, until I tried it a few minutes later and it was back to the problem again.

I have not been able to reproduce this.  Like I said earlier, I may have to use my old phone until I can try some new suggestions.  In the end, if it ends up that it's my XA1 phone then I'll have to look for another to replace it.  I'll keep everyone posted.

Thank you all for your help so far.

[6500K]

@darlicious Thanks for the further instructions. I tried the "Update" button and rebooting it and it still does not send/receive SMS/MMS messages.

Unfortunately, my phone has an unremovable battery so I cannot do the latter half of your instructions.

[darlicious]

@6500K 

I know you checked the message centre number but did you follow thru?

Program the SMS service centre number

If you are not able to send text and picture messages, make sure that the correct SMS service center number is set up on your smartphone.

From the Home screen, tap Phone.

Dial *#*#4636#*#*

Select Phone Information.

Make sure the following number is entered in the SMSC box: +16475800172.

Tap Update.

The SMS service center number is set up on your smartphone.

Restart your smartphone

Restarting your smartphone causes its software to reload and renews your connection to the network, which can fix some problems:

Remove the battery.

Wait ten seconds.

Reinsert the battery.

Turn your smartphone on.

Your smartphone is restarted.

[6500K]

@NDesai ugh the dreaded factory reset - thanks for the suggestion but I was trying to avoid even mentioning it hahaha

I have too many customizations on this phone to do that now.  My immediate solution may be to use my old phone until I can really dig into this and separate out the culprit.

I really do appreciate all the input so far from everyone.  This is why I think PM is #1 in community help!  🙂

[6500K]

@benfatto , my apology - I left it to search for several minutes and it did indeed come up with other carriers such as Freedom and Bell.  It tired to connect to them but it failed.  I did notice that Public Mobile has two networks: LTE and 3G.

I'm currently on the LTE network so I'll try to change it to the 3G one and see if it fixes the texting problem.  Keep your fingers crossed.

[NDesai]

@6500K Since everything is working fine on another phone, i do not think there is anything wrong with your sim or account. Issue is within your phone. If you run out of ideas to try, possible solution might be to reset to factory default. 

[6500K]

@Dunkman and @JK8 , I tried my SIM in my previous phone and all SMS/MMS/voice calls worked - both to and from the phone.  My other test phone is provisioned on the Bell Mobility network.

This tells me that the SIM card is working okay and that my Sony XA1 phone may be faulty.

The only thing I can think of that changed is I added the holiday 2GB/500 min intl call add-ons on Wed.  Beyond this, no new apps have been added or uninstalled.

[6500K]

Hi @benfatto , I tried what you said but the "Search networks" button does not return any other networks/providers, so I cannot proceed further.

Thanks for the suggestion - I understood what this would do and I agree that it may have worked if I could do it.

[6500K]

Hi @gpixel , I tried what you said and the number that pops up is 16475800172.

That's the same number that shows up in the messaging app's settings under "SIM settings".

[benfatto]

@6500K  

When you have trouble sending or receiving SMS, it's possible that  a ”force" change of your SMS settings may solve the issue.  

1. Go to Settings
2. Then go to Mobile networks and select a network other than Public Mobile, Telus, or Koodo
3. When you exit the menu the phone should lose the network.
4. Repeat the process and select Public Mobile as your mobile network.

This procedure will force the update of the message centre number. You can verify it in your message settings.

[gpixel]

@6500K 

Go to the phone application.
From the phone application, press *#*#4636#*#*. (You will have to press the Call or Send button after entering this code in for some Android devices).
Tap on Phone Information
Scroll to the bottom to where it says SMSC tap refresh and tell us the number showing

[6500K]

Hi @gpixel , thanks for your suggestions.

I have a Sony Xperia Ultra XA1 that is about 2.5 years old.  

I tried to tap on a saved network but all I get is a window that says the security type (WPA/WPA2 PSK) and a choice to "forget" or to "cancel".  I have a lot of BELL devices on there since a lot of them are Bell routers and getting the passwords for each one will be problematic.  For some of them it will be easy when I visit the people I support, like my relatives (once I retire I'm hoping to do a better job of organizing all this info).

I'll try transplanting the SIM card to another phone I used to use for PM and let you know, as well as the person who suggested this earlier.

[gpixel]

@6500K what's the make and model of the device?

• go into your phone's wifi settings
• scroll down to all your saved networks
• tap on a saved network
• tap on share wifi and you will see a QR code and the password beneath it

•  reset your network settings and restart, leave the APN settings alone
• disable "automatically select network" 
• do a search and select the public mobile network to try and reset your message center number

delete all those extra messaging apps you've downloaded. go into your default messaging app settings where you can delete the cache etc. and make sure it has all the permissions it needs to send sms