If you see “Free Msg: Unable to send message – Message Blocking is active” on your phone after you sent a message to phone contacts on your iPhone it simply means that you can’t send text messages because sending messages on your iPhone or Android is blocking.
You will usually see unable to send message message blocking is active if you are using T-Mobile, Mint, Boost, or any other network that relies on T-Mobile’s network.
So, when you are unable to send message message blocking is active it simply means that the feature to use SMS or send messages on your account is blocked by your Network carrier or you have personally blocked the person you are trying to send a text.
Unable to send messages on your phone [Android or iPhone] could be a network-related problem, most times, you may have blocked the person by mistake.
Well, whatever that could be the reason behind the “Message Blocking is active” error on your device there is a way around it to fix it successfully.
In this article, you will learn how to fix message blocking is active on your iPhone and Android.
What Does Message Blocking is Active Mean?
When “message blocking is active” displays when you attempt to send a message on your phone (Android, iPhone & T-Mobile), it means that you have blocked your phone from sending messages to the contact or the recipient has added your phone number to block or blacklist.
For as long as this message blocking is active on your device, you will be unable to send messages on your device. Sometimes, it could mean that your phone number is not active on the network service or it has been deregistered.
Does this Affect Messaging Apps like WeChat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messengers
Message blocking is active doesn’t affect messaging apps like WeChat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook messengers. Because these messaging apps don’t require mobile service to work, with WiFi, these messaging apps can work perfectly, unlike the primary mobile messaging feature that requires a mobile number and the cellular network to send and receive messages.
Why is Message Blocking Active
Below are some of the reasons why you are unable to send SMS to a contact on your iPhone or Android due to the error message that says “Message Blocking is Active.”
- The plan you are using doesn’t include text messages. If you opted-in for data only, you will not be able to send text messages with the same plan.
- You have been blocked from sending messages to the phone number or the phone number you are sending the message to is inactive.
- You are sending a text message to a service that is different from your default service, such as sending a text or SMS to a premium service that is not supported.
- You will receive a text or response that says “Message Blocking is active” if SMS messaging is disabled for your account.
- If you have blocked someone on your phone from receiving text messages you will see “Message Blocking is active.”
- You will also see unable to send messages if there is a problem with your APN or SMSC settings.
The easiest way to fix “unable to receive message message blocking is active” if you are using T-Mobile or another carrier account is to put a call through to them and complain about the error and your inability to send SMS on your account.
How to Fix Message Blocking is Active
Here are some tips to fix unable to send messages on your phone due to the error message “Message Blocking is Active.”
Check to See Whether you are Blocking the Numer
If the number you are trying to text is blocked on your account you won’t be able to send an SMS to it and when you try to you will see “Message Blocking is active.” So, the first thing to do is to do a background check to see whether the number is part of your block list on your Android or iPhone.
Android
- Go to your “Phone.”
- Tap on the “3 dots” at the top right.
- Choose “Settings.”
- Select “Blocked numbers.”
- If the number is blocked tap “X” to unblock it.
- Tap “Unblock” from the popup to confirm it.
iPhone
- Go to your “iPhone” settings.
- Scroll down and tap “Phone.”
- Choose “Blocked Contacts” when you scroll down a bit.
- You will see all blocked contacts here. Tap on the “Edit” button at the top right.
- Click on the red minus icon (-) next to the number that returns unable to send an SMS error message.
- Choose “Unblock when prompted.
- Select “Done” to remove the number from your blocked list.
If the number isn’t available on the list check your network carrier to see whether it’s blocked on your account.
Restart your Phone
Simply restarting your phone either Android or iPhone can help you fix the problem.
iPhone
If you don’t have a shortcut to restart your iPhone follow the steps below to restart.
- Press and hold the “Power button” and either the “Volume button” at the same time.
- Swipe the “Power off” slider to the right to turn off your iPhone.
- Press the power button after a few seconds to turn on your phone.
Android
- Press and hold the power button.
- Swipe to “Restart.”
- Hang on for your phone to restart.
Once restarted you need to give your phone a few minutes to boot and connect to the mobile network or cellular network and see whether you can send text to the number.
Disable Message Block for your Network Carrier Account
T-Mobile allows users to turn off SMS and MMS blocking easily.
- Sign in to your T-Mobile account.
- Choose “My T-Mobile.”
- Select your profile by clicking on “My Profile.”
- Click on the “Blocking Controls” option.
- Select the phone number that is returning “Message Blocking is active.”
- Select “Other Controls.”
- Uncheck the option “Block sending and receiving SMS/MMS.”
- Click “Save” to save changes.
However, if your plan is from a different carrier that relies on T-Mobile to work; like Mint, Boost, Metro, and many others you will also have the option to turn off message blocking in your account.
Turn off WiFi Temporarily
Turning off your phone’s Wi-Fi can help you to resolve this. A lot of users have confirmed that. By disabling your Wi-Fi calling feature you can turn it off in the meantime to see whether the text error message “Unable to send message – Message Blocking is Active” will be fixed.
iPhone
- Go to your “iPhone” settings
- Tap on “Phone” when you scroll down the interface.
- Tap “Wi-Fi Calling.”
- Enable the option to turn on Wi-Fi calling.
Android
- Go to your “Android” phone settings.
- Choose “Connections” or “SIMs” depending on your phone.
- Select the “Wi-Fi Calling” option.
- Toggle the option to use “Wi-Fi calling “Off.”
If this doesn’t work you should consider turning on your Wi-Fi calling following similar steps.
Enable Send SMS on your iPhone
If the feature to send SMS on your iPhone is disabled you will not be able to send text. You can only send iMessages. So, to send normal SMS or text messages you need to enable your iPhone feature to send SMS.
- Go to your “iPhone” settings
- Scroll down and select “Messages.”
- Find and toggle on the option to “Send as SMS.”
With this feature turned on; it means that you can send SMS text on your iPhone when there is no Mobile Data or Cellular Data to send iMessage.
Clear your Android Message App Cache
If you are using an Android phone the only thing you need to do could be just to clear the message app cache.
- Go to your Android phone “Settings.”
- Choose “Apps” and “Apps Management.”
- Tap the option to see “All Apps.” This is usually different from device to device based on the manufacturer’s setup.
- Locate and select the “Messages” app icon from the list.
- Click on “Storage” or a combination of terms that include storage.
- Select “Clear Cache.”
- Tap “Confirm.”
If your messages app requires a password it will not be affected. But if you choose the “Clear Data” option it will be erased and you will be prompted to type the password when next you want to access the app.
Check your Message Center Number
If your message center number is not correct you will run into unable to receive message message blocking is active. While each network carrier has a different SMSC number you have to make sure that your network SMSC number is correct.
If you are using T-Mobile, Boost, Metro, and Mint, the network SMSC code is +12063130004. Anything other than the code above will result in the error message or inability to send SMS text.
To confirm your message centre number you need to follow the steps below.
- Launch the “Messaging App.”
- Tap on the “3 dots” to access the “Menu.”
- Choose “Settings.”
- Select the “More Settings” option.
- Choose “Text Messages.”
- Go to “Message Center” to confirm that your SMSC number is correct.
By default, your network will set the right message center number but if you see something different then that may be where the problem lies. You need to contact your provider and request the correct number.
Reset your Phone APN Settings
Your phone APN is supposed to be the default. But for unknown reasons or because you played around with it and don’t know what to do with it, it may affect how your phone operates with the network settings.
Android
- Go to “Settings.”
- Choose “Connections (Samsung) or Network (on other phones)
- Choose “APN” or “Access Point Names.”
- Choose the “Menu” option.
- Tap “Reset Access Point” or “Reset to Default.”
- Choose “Reset” and “Confirm” from the popup.
iPhone
- Go to your “iPhone” settings.
- Tap on “Mobile Data or Cellular Network.”
- Tap “Reset Settings.”
If there is no option to reset your APN on your iPhone it means there is no way to do that then you will need to contact your provider to help reset it or send a default APN to you so that you can set it as the default.
Check to Confirm That There is a Network Coverage in your Area
If you are sending a message where there is no network coverage, the message will not be delivered. Not only that, but you also won’t be able to make a voice call, and voice over data call.
Your Phone Number must be Active to Send SMS
You need to confirm that your phone number is active. The number mustn’t have been deregistered by your network provider. You can contact your network provider, asking for the status of your phone number. But, you can also check the status yourself.
You can also check your phone number status by following the steps below.
- Go to your phone settings page on your account.
- Check the phone status and make sure it’s listed as “active.”
- Other options that could stop you from sending messages include porting or suspending.
If your phone number is suspended or still porting, you will see it on the device’s settings page.
Does this Affect Messaging Apps like WeChat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messengers
Message blocking is active doesn’t affect messaging apps like WeChat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook messengers. Because these messaging apps don’t require mobile service to work, with WiFi, these messaging apps can work perfectly, unlike the primary mobile messaging feature that requires a mobile number and the cellular network to send and receive messages.
Check to Confirm That There is a Network Coverage in your Area
If you are sending a message where there is no network coverage, the message will not be delivered. Not only that, but you also won’t be able to make a voice call, and voice over data call.
Your Phone Number must be Active to Send SMS
You need to confirm that your phone number is active. The number mustn’t have been deregistered bu your network provider. You can contact your network provider, asking for the status of your phone number. But, you can also check the status yourself.
You can also check your phone number status by following the steps below.
- Go to your phone settings page on your account.
- Check the phone status and make sure it’s listed as “active.”
- Other options that could stop you from sending messages include porting or suspending.
If your phone number is suspended or still porting, you will see it on the device’s settings page.
Find out More About Text Messages Service Whether it is Enabled or Disabled.
If the service to send text messages on your device is disabled, you will be unable to send or forward messages on the device until it’s enabled.
To confirm that your device is set to send and receive messages, follow the steps below.
- Go to your device settings on your phone.
- Navigate to “Can send/receive text messages.”
- Make sure it’s enabled.
This should fix “unable to send messages on your device.” But, if there is no edit button to enable send/receive text messages, this could mean that the number isn’t active.
At this time, if the person that sent you a text message” see “message blocking is active,” it could mean that the person’s device doesn’t have SMS enabled device.
If you are Sending a Message to an International Number Try to Confirm that You are using the Right Country Code
Each country has its own (short) code to make international calls and send international messages. In most cases, you need to add the 3 digits for international numbers to make calls and send messages.
So, if the error, “message blocking is active,” pops on your device while trying to send an international message, it could mean that the country code isn’t wrong or not included.
You Could Be Sending the Message to a Wrong Contact or Incomplete Number
This happens a lot of times when we want to send a message to a phone number that is not stored on our device. You need to double-check that the phone contact is correct. Better still, write the phone number down, delete it, and enter it at the point where you are asked to enter contact information to send the message. You can later store the number on your phone if the message now went through or if it didn’t show “message blocking is active.”
Call to Inform the Owner of the Number that the Number is Returning “Message Blocking is Active” When you are Trying to Send a Message to it
That could sound ridiculous, but that might be what you need to do to fix things right. The problem could be because the owner of the number doesn’t want you to send a message to the contact, thereby blocking you on the network.
If the owner of the number claims that things are right, screenshot the “message blocking is active” message and send it through messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. This will prove you right.
iMessage could be Interfering if you Moved from iPhone to Android
That is ridiculous, no doubt. But, if you recently migrated from iPhone to Android, you may need to deregister the number from iMessage. And here is how.
Follow the steps on the page to deregister your phone number as iMessage to see if it fixes the “message blocking is active” or not.