If you get a message that says, “this person is unavailable on messenger,” you can’t send messages to that person.
Even though Facebook is very popular, it can be hard to figure out why its apps must be fixed. You can’t get in touch with Facebook directly, so you must use the platform’s Help Center.
But the support center does not list every error message. For instance, what does it mean when the Messenger app tells you, “This person is not available on Messenger?” Here’s a full explanation of the error message, why you might be getting it, and how to fix it if you think something is wrong.
What does it mean when it says, “This person is not available on Messenger”?
If you’re talking to someone on Messenger and you see this message, it’s clear that you can’t talk to them. But what makes it happen?
Inside the app, a mobile view of a Facebook Messenger chat shows
You may see this message when you chat with a Facebook friend for several reasons.
- The account for your friend no longer exists.
- You won’t be able to message someone who has deleted their Facebook or Messenger account or whose Facebook account has been suspended.
- Connect with a mutual friend and ask if they can access the account of the person you’re trying to reach to see if this is the case. This is likely the problem if they need help finding the Facebook page of the friend you’re trying to reach.
- If they can find your friend’s Facebook account and message them without trouble, your friend may have blocked you.
- Your friend has put up a block.
If you’ve checked to ensure that your friend’s account still exists and that you haven’t been blocked, the problem may be a site or app error.
Check Facebook’s Twitter to see if they’ve posted about any problems, or log out and back in, refresh your browser, or reinstall your app.
What to do
The “This person is unavailable on Messenger” message on Messenger seems to say what it means, but it could also mean something else.
Messenger and other messaging apps let you know if you can message the other person. The message says that the person you’re talking to isn’t on Messenger, but that means little about the message itself.
This error message shows up after you’ve sent the recipient a message, making you wonder if the recipient is leaving Messenger. Are you getting blocked? Is the account closed or frozen?
Even so, there are ways to find out why this is happening on Messenger, so you can use Messenger to talk to the other person again.
Let’s fix the error
When someone deletes their Messenger or Facebook account, you’ll get a “This person is unavailable on Messenger” message. But it could also mean the other person blocked you on Messenger.
Messenger shows you this message and stops you from sending messages to the person. This error message says that the person is no longer using Messenger. This may be true, but there are other reasons why this message appears.
This message is there, and it will go away when the person who got it changes their mind and starts using Messenger again. You can only talk to the person or share your screen once they use Messenger again.
- This person can’t be reached through Messenger.
- But Messenger as a platform shows the same error message (“This person is unavailable on Messenger”) when:
- You are blocking that person.
- The person you sent the message to has blocked you.
- The account of the recipient has been closed.
You probably are if you don’t think you’re blocking the recipient. But the fact that you might be blocked isn’t enough to stop you from wondering why this happens. There are other reasons, too.
The way to fix this is to show that you are blocked or that the recipient’s account is suspended.
Check to see if the other person is closing down their Messenger account.
- You can turn off your Facebook account while keeping your Messenger account. This lets you stay in touch with friends on Facebook without using the feed, groups, or other features.
- You can only turn off Messenger if you keep your Facebook account. You need to turn off both.
- The other person with whom you get the error message “This person is not available on Messenger” Their account is either suspended or turned off.
- The only way to look out is to talk to the other person in person or through other means.
- Problems with technology could lead this problem.
- Some users said they got the error message after technical problems with their phone, PC, or the Messenger apps for Android and iPhone. After they fixed the technical problem, the problem was solved.
So, the only way to get rid of the message is to fix the technical problems causing it to show up. You could clear Messenger’s cache, reinstall the app, or update it.
Try reinstalling the Messenger app.
There may be bugs in the Messenger app that can be fixed by reinstalling. Both Android and iPhone can do this.
On Android, open the Play Store. Search for Messenger. Then, tap Uninstall. Wait for a few seconds until the Messenger app is uninstalled.
Tap Install once more. Once it’s done, open the app, sign in to your Facebook account, and see if the “This person is unavailable on Messenger” message is still there.
Update Messenger
You can update Messenger if you still see the error message. This ensures that the Messenger app gets the latest updates, which might fix the bugs that are causing the problem.
- Clear the Messenger app’s cache and history.
- On an Android device, open the Settings app, click on Apps, and then look for the Messenger app.
- Tap to clear the data. Choose Clear all data and clear the cache.
Messenger shows a message that says the person is no longer on the platform, which could mean more than one thing. Lucky for you, there’s a way to find out if that’s true and if someone has blocked you on Messenger.
