When you get the “Message Blocking Is Active” error on your Android or Apple iPhone, you can’t send your text message no matter how many times you try. A few things cause this problem, and we’ll explain how to fix the error so you can start texting again.
The above error could be caused by a wrongly installed SIM card, a mobile plan that isn’t working, a blocked phone number, or other things.
1. Put the SIM card in your phone in the right way
Your SIM card might need to be in your phone, so you can’t send text messages. Your phone needs help reading the SIM card information, making it hard to send text messages and make phone calls.
You can make it work again by putting your SIM card back into your phone. For that:
- Take the SIM card tray out of your iPhone or Android.
- Remove the SIM card from the tray.
- Put the SIM card back in the right spot on the tray.
- Put the tray back into your phone.
- Wait a few seconds, then try sending your message again.
2. Check with your mobile carrier about your plan.
Because your mobile plan has run out or doesn’t include SMS messages, in this case, you can’t send texts from your phone.
You can find out by calling your carrier from a different phone or by going to their website and asking for help. Your carrier should tell you about your current plan and what you can do to get your text messages back.
Once you’ve fixed the problems with your plans, sending and receiving texts on your phones won’t be a problem.
3. Unblock the phone number that has been blocked on your phone
Even though the block feature is meant to stop you from getting calls and text messages from a certain number, you can fix the problem by unblocking the number you’re trying to send your message.
You can unblock a phone number later if you want to.
- Open the phone application Android phone.
- Choose Settings by tapping the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap Blocked numbers to see a list of the numbers you don’t want to call.
- Choose the X next to the phone number you want to let through.
- Choose Unblock when asked.
- Try sending your message from the Messages app.
- On an iPhone, go to Settings to find the device settings menu.
- Scroll down to the Phone option.
- Tap Call Blocking & Identification to see the names of the people you have blocked.
- Choose Edit in the upper-right corner and tap the sign to the left of the number you want to unblock.
- Select Unblock next to the phone number, and tap Done in the top-right corner.
- Try to send your message from Messages.
4. Give your Android phone access to premium SMS services
Android phones have a “premium messages” feature that lets you send people more expensive text messages. This feature may cost you extra from your carrier. You should turn this feature on if you get the “Message Blocking Is Active” error.
- Open your Android phone’s settings.
- In Settings, choose Apps & notifications.
- Select Special app access at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose to access Premium SMS.
- Choose the app you use to send messages and choose Always allow.
- Use the Messages app to send your message.
- Turn iMessage off on your iPhone.
The Messages app on the iPhone lets you send both text messages and iMessages. Since both features are part of the same app, your phone may not know what kind of message you are trying to send.
If this is the case, turn off iMessage on your iPhone and see if that helps.
- Open the iPhone’s settings.
- Choose the option “Messages.”
- Turn off the switch for iMessage.
5. Change the wrong time and date on your phone
Having the wrong date and time on your phone can cause several problems. Your iPhone or Android device may tell you “Message Blocking Is Active” because the date and time are set incorrectly.
You can fix this by setting your cell phone to set the time & date automatically.
6. Get your phone’s operating System up-to-date.
The operating System on your phone runs and manages all the apps and system services you have installed. This computer’s operating System may have a bug that makes it hard to send text messages.
Since you can’t fix these system-level problems, update the software on your phone to the latest version, and the problem should go away.
- On both Android and iPhone, updating the software is quick, easy, and free.
- On Android, go to Settings, and at the bottom, tap System.
- System updates are an option.
- Find the updates and put them in.
- Restart your phone.
- Go to Settings and General > Software Update.
- Let your phone find the available iOS updates.
- To install the updates, tap Download and Install.
7. Reset your phone’s network settings
Your network settings set the way your phone connects to different networks. If these settings are broken or wrong, you won’t be able to use some network features, like sending text messages.
A problem with your network setup might have caused your message error. You can easily fix this by restoring all your network settings to their defaults. This gets rid of your custom settings and puts the factory values back.
- Open Settings on your smartphone and go to System System> Reset options.
- Choose Reset Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile.
- Choose your SIM card from the drop-down menu, then tap Reset settings.
- After you’ve changed the settings, restart your phone.
- Open Settings, tap General > Reset.
- Choose Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your iPhone’s passcode.
- When asked, choose Reset Network Settings.
- Turn your iPhone back on.
Conclusion
There are so many reasons why your phone might say, “Message Blocking Is Active.” Try the steps above if you run into this problem and need help fixing it. Then you can go back to sending text messages to anyone you want from your phone. Have fun texting.