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If you’re trying to send pictures to someone who doesn’t use a smartphone, you can use a service called MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). MMS allows you to send things like images, short videos, and GIFs through text messages. If you’re having trouble sending picture messages on an Android device, don’t worry. You can follow these steps by step guides in this article to fix the issue:
But first:
- Check Your Balance: Ensure you have enough money on your SIM card or account because telecommunication companies charge for delivering MMS, often more than regular text messages (SMS).
- Confirm MMS Charges: Understand your carrier’s MMS pricing to know the cost of the picture messages you plan to send.
- Restart Your Device: Sometimes, restarting your phone can resolve issues with sending MMS.
If the problem persists, continue with the solutions below.
1. Enable data connection
To enable data connection on your Android device for sending picture messages, follow these steps:
- Importance of Data Connection: To send picture messages on Android, having an active data connection is essential. If your smartphone is unable to send or receive picture messages, the first thing to check is whether your data connection is active and enabled.
- Switch from Wi-Fi to Cellular Data: If you’re currently connected to Wi-Fi, temporarily disable it and switch to cellular data. Picture messages (MMS) cannot be sent over Wi-Fi, so ensure that you have an active cellular or mobile data plan.
- Enabling Cellular Data: You can enable your cellular data connection through two methods:
- Notification Panel: Swipe down from the top of your screen to access the notification panel. Look for the mobile data icon and tap it to turn it on.
- Android Settings: Navigate to your device’s settings by going to “Settings > Network & Internet.” Here, you’ll find the option to toggle on “Mobile data.” Enable it to activate your cellular data connection.
- Troubleshooting: If you’re using mobile data, but still encountering issues with sending picture messages, you can try the following steps:
- Disable your device’s mobile data and then re-enable it.
- If the issue persists, consider additional troubleshooting tips to resolve the problem.
These steps should help ensure that your Android device’s data connection is active and ready for sending picture messages.
By following these steps, you should be able to send picture messages using MMS on your Android device without any problems.
2. Force stop messages
To resolve the issue of being unable to send picture messages on Android, you can try force-stopping the messaging app. Here are the steps to do it:
Step 1: Open your phone’s Settings and select ‘Apps & notifications’.
Step 2: Next, choose ‘All Apps’.
Step 3: Scroll down and find your messaging app from the list.
Step 4: Tap the ‘Force Stop’ button and confirm by pressing ‘OK’ on the prompt.
By following these steps, you will forcefully close the messaging app. Afterward, reopen the app and see if you can now send picture messages.
3. Allow unrestricted data usage
To fix the problem of your Android device not sending picture messages, you need to make sure it can use cellular data freely for the Messages app. If there are any restrictions on the app’s data usage, it might cause issues when sending multimedia files. Here’s how to do it:
Make sure the Messages app can use data in the background. Go to your device’s Settings, then tap on “Apps & notifications.” Scroll through the list and select “All Apps.” Find and tap on “Messages.” Inside the Messages app settings, find “Mobile data & Wi-Fi.” Turn on both “Background data” and “Unrestricted data usage.”
By following these steps, you allow the Messages app to use cellular data both in the background and without any restrictions, which should resolve issues when sending pictures and multimedia files.
4. Clear app cache and data
If your Android phone is having trouble sending picture messages, it might be because of a cache issue in the messaging app. To resolve this, follow these steps:
- Clear App Cache:
- Go to Settings on your Android device.
- Select “Apps & notifications.”
- Scroll down and tap “All Apps.”
- Find and select “Messages.”
- Choose “Storage & cache.”
- Tap “Clear cache.”
- Clear App Data (Note: This will delete conversations within the app):
- Still in the “Messages” app settings, after clearing the cache, select “Storage & cache” again.
- This time, tap “Clear Storage.”
- Confirm the action by tapping “OK” on the prompt that appears.
It’s important to note that clearing the app’s data will remove your conversations, so it should be used as a last resort if the problem persists even after clearing the cache.
5. Update the messages app
To resolve issues with multimedia messages on your Android device, it’s important to update the Messages app. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide:
- Open your device’s Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on “Apps & notifications.”
- Look for “All Apps” and select it.
- Find “Messages” in the list of apps and tap on it.
- On the “App details” page for Messages, you’ll see an “Update” button. Tap this button to update the app.
Alternatively, you can also update the Messages app directly from the Google Play Store:
- Tap the “Update Messages” button below. This will take you directly to the Messages app page on the Google Play Store.
- On the Google Play Store page for Messages, tap the “Update” button to ensure you have the latest version installed.
Updating the Messages app in either of these ways should help resolve any issues with sending multimedia messages on your Android device.
6. Reset network settings
If your Android device isn’t sending these messages correctly, it could be due to incorrect network settings. To resolve this problem, you can reset your phone’s network settings by following these steps:
- Go to “Settings” on your Android device.
- Navigate to “System.”
- Select “Advanced.”
- Look for “Reset options” and choose it.
- Pick “Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth.”
- Tap the “Reset Settings” button to confirm and proceed.
It’s important to note that performing this action will erase any previously customized settings related to your device’s cellular data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. If you want to learn more about what happens when you reset network settings on Android, you can refer to a guide for additional information.
7. Update Android
To resolve the issue of Android not sending picture messages, you can try updating your device to the latest Android OS version. Here’s how:
- Open the “Settings” on your Android device.
- Scroll down and tap on “System.”
- Tap on “Advanced.”
- Select “System update.”
- Tap the “Check for update” button.
If there are any available updates, download and install them. This can often address problems with the Messages app not sending picture messages.
The bottom line
Regardless of the underlying cause, one of the troubleshooting methods mentioned above should assist in resolving the issue. These solutions are applicable not only to the default text messaging app but also to third-party messaging applications, such as when Google Messages is not set as your phone’s primary messaging app.