TEXT MSG WERE NOT SENT? WHY ? REMEDY!!!

If you’re trying to send a TXT message 

(also known as a text or SMS) 

but you’re receiving an error or the 

message just sits in your outbox and 

won’t send, follow the instructions below 

for a solution.

If you’re able to send TXT but the recipient 

isn’t getting them, check out

Try these things first

Restart your phone

Switch your phone off and back on to refresh

 your network connection. This fixes a 

surprising number of problems.

Check for outages

Check the NETWORK STATUS PAGE to see

 if there are any known network issues that 

might be causing the problem.

Check coverage

Use the COVERAGE CHECKER to make

 sure you’re in a NETWORK coverage area. The

 Coverage Checker will also indicate if the 

signal there is strong enough for indoor 

and outdoor usage, or outdoor usage only.

If you’re in a covered area but have very 

low or no coverage bars, or your phone 

displays SOS, no service or emergency calls only, 

run  through our TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE  for some 

additional tips. 

Then try these things

Try making a call

This’ll check whether it’s an issue with

 your whole service or just your 

messaging.

Account status

When you try to make a call, do you hear a

 recording that says your outgoing calls 

are currently barred? If your calls and TXT 

have been barred because of an overdue 

account, GET IN TOUCH 

Insufficient funds

If you’re on prepaid, when you try to send

 a message do you get one back from 

SYS-ALERT with the text “Transaction 

Failed - Insufficient funds”? If so, CHECK 

YOUR BALANCE  by calling or texting 

XXXX(NETWORK OPERATOR) to 

make sure you’ve got enough

 credit to send the TXT.

• If you don’t have enough credit, you’ll 
• 
  
• need to RECHARGE or top up your MY 
• 
  
• CREDIT to send the message

• 
  
• 
  

Message centre number

If your phone allows you to make changes

 to your MESSAGE NUMBER make 

sure that it’s set 

Message format

If your phone’s message settings have an

 option for message format, make sure it’s

 set to 'text'.

iMessage on iPhone

If you’re using an iPhone, is the message 

enclosed in a blue bubble?

This indicates that it’s trying to send the 

message over the internet as 

an i MESSAGE rather than an SMS so 

you’ll  need to make sure that 

your MOBILE DATA or WIFI is on and

 working. If you need further help, check 

out APPLE'S TROUBLE SHOOTER .

If you’d like to send messages via SMS 

rather than iMessage, here’s what you can

 do:

• For an undelivered iMessage, tap the 
• 
  
• message and select Send as Text 
• 
  
• Message

• If you’d prefer to only send messages via
• 
  
•  SMS, go to Settings > Messages and 
• 
  
• toggle iMessage to off

• You can also opt to automatically send
• 
  
• messages as SMS when iMessage is
• 
  
•  unavailable by going 
• 
  
• to Settings > Messages and
• 
  
•  toggling Send as SMS to on

Free up space

Make sure your inbox and sent messages

 folders aren’t full as this can stop you

 from sending messages. You can make

 some room by deleting old messages.

MMS

Is the message being sent as an MMS?

Some phones will convert very long text 

messages into MMS rather than sending

 via SMS. If you’re having trouble sending

 MMS, check out our TROUBLESHOOTING

Try a different device

Try your SIM card in another phone. If it 

works, this indicates there’s something

 wrong with your phone. If it doesn’t work,

 it’s likely to either be related to the

 network or your account.

 Some other things you can try

Network selection

Check that your phone is set

 to AUTOMATICALLY SELECT NETWORK

Network mode

Try SWITCH MOBILE NETWORK  to 2G or

 3G only to see if this lets 

you send a message. If it doesn’t make

any difference, remember to switch it back

 to auto mode when you’re done.

Software/device issues

Issues with your phone’s

 software can affect its ability to send TXT.

 If your phone is running slowly or isn’t 

performing how you’d expect, here are 

some things to try:

• Check it there’s a
• 
  
•  SOFTWARE  available for your phone.
• 
  
•  Software updates often contain bug 
• 
  
• fixes for performance issues so installing
• 
  
•  the latest update may fix the problem

• If no update is available, try BACKUP 
• 
  
•  and restoring it to factory settings. You’ll
• 
  
•  find instructions to restore factory
• 
  
•  settings on many phones in
• 
  
•  our INTERACTIVE USER GUIDE

•  

Next steps

If you've checked everything above and

 are still having trouble with your

 service, GET IN TOUCH . If you’re able to

investigate:

• Your device model

• The street address/es where the problem is happening

• The time and date the issue first started (state if it’s AM/PM, and to the closest minute if you can)

• Do you know of any other Vodafone users that are experiencing the same problem in your area?

• Any other information that you think could be helpful