Facebook Messenger : Why is my Facebook Messenger not working? Best Solutions

Is Facebook Messenger not working? Try these 10

 fixes

Are you having trouble getting Facebook Messenger to work on your phone? Get it fixed here! Let's help you connect with your friends again.

The most popular social media platform in the world is Facebook. You're bound to the Facebook world, not just with the Facebook app; you're bound to the Facebook world if you use Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger.

As part of the Facebook app, Facebook Messenger started out as an inbuilt feature. As a standalone application, Facebook Messenger has been able to market a range of useful features that make it an Instant Messaging app worth checking out. However, it does have some issues.

You have a couple of options to fix Facebook messenger not working if it crashes, doesn't send messages, or does not work in the background. 

For help finding the best Messenger app for your phone, follow our step-by-step guide below.

10 ways to fix Messenger not working

1. Restart your phone

Many problems on a smartphone can be resolved by restarting the phone. The act of restarting your phone resets the phone's memory in the same way that sleeping or taking a nap resets your brain.

You can restart your phone by holding down the power button for about 8-10 seconds. Alternatively, you can use the traditional Android method; hold down the Power key until the power menu appears. Wait for your phone to restart after selecting Restart. 

To restart your phone, you may need to swipe one way or the other.

2. Force stop the Messenger app

You can force the messenger to stop if rebooting your phone doesn't resolve the problem. Try the steps below.
 
•      Navigate to the Settings app on your phone and click Apps & notifications.
Select Messenger from the list by scrolling down.

•           Press Force stop to exit the Messenger app.
You can then re-launch it to check if it worked, or you can continue.

3. Clear Messenger's cache

When Facebook Messenger is down, this may be caused by a corrupted cache file or getting out of hand. Caches allow your apps to temporarily store some data, making them run faster and using fewer resources; but you should clear them when they're causing the Messenger app to malfunction. Follow these steps:

•           Open your phone's Settings and select Apps & Notifications

•           Find and open the Messenger app. (Some phones require you to tap an option before viewing all apps.)

•           Click on Storage & cache in the App info interface.

•           To clear the cache, click Clear storage.

Start Messenger again and see if it works.

4. Turn Wi-Fi off and then on again

Messenger might not work on your phone if it launches successfully but you are unable to send/receive messages. 

Restarting your network might fix the issue. Simply swipe down the quick settings panel and switch off Wi-Fi, wait for a few seconds, and turn it back on. 

Instead, turn off and on your data connection if you're connected to a mobile network.

5. Enable Background data

You might not receive notifications when you switch from Messenger to another app - or when you're on the screen. 

On Android, mobile data usage can be reduced by restricting background data for apps. Restricted apps will only access the internet when you are using them. 

But restricting your work and social apps from using data in the background is not ideal. 

Here's how you can add the Messenger app to the exception list again in case you turned off background data restrictions unintentionally.

•           Navigate to Settings on your phone, then tap Apps & Notifications

•           And select Manage apps or See all apps.

•           Select Messenger in the list and open it.

•           Go to Mobile data & Wi-Fi.

•           Make sure Background data is enabled.

•           You can also enable unrestricted data usage if you wish to 

keep Messenger active when Data Saver is active.

6. You need to update your phone

Another solution is to make sure your Android is up-to-date. There are a lot of users who opt not to update their phones for reasons well-known to them. 

But we can assure you that it will strengthen your security, fix bugs, improve performance, and introduce new features. 

Now that Messenger won't work anymore, go ahead and update your phone.
To check and update your phone, go to Settings > System > System Update, and connect to a Wi-Fi network (preferably).

7. Reinstall Messenger after uninstalling it

How about starting afresh? Facebook Messenger, not working can also be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling Messenger. 

You can also delete and reinstall Messenger from the Play Store if none of the solutions above have helped you. 

You won't lose your data because Messenger keeps it for you, unlike WhatsApp. After the whole process, you simply need to sign in to your account again. The steps are as follows:

•           Search for the app in the Play Store

•           "Uninstall Messenger" on the preview page.

•           Click Install to reinstall Messenger.

Sign in to Messenger after the installation. Make sure Messenger works normally after the installation.

8. Reset All Your Settings

By now, we hope you can receive Messenger notifications. Try resetting the app preferences on your phone if you can't. 

Don't worry, your data won't be lost. The resetting of app preferences on your phone will enable apps and app notifications again, restore default apps for actions, and reset background data restrictions for apps. 

If your Messenger app isn't working because you changed some settings on your phone, resetting the app preferences will resolve the issue. Below is how to do it;

•        Go to Settings and scroll down to App Preferences.

•        Choose a System from the list.        

•        Select Reset from the menu

•        And then choose Reset app preferences.

•        Press RESET APPS to confirm the action.

In addition to resetting your app preferences, you should also reset your Wi-Fi, Mobile, and Bluetooth settings to ensure the problem has nothing to do with your network.

•        Reset your options by returning back to Reset

•        Then select Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth

•        Finally, tap Reset settings to reset the network settings.

9. Enter Safe mode

•        Messenger might also be at war with an app you installed earlier. The app might be blocking Messenger. Booting into Safe mode on Android is a quick way to diagnose and fix that problem.

In case you don't know, booting into Safe Mode on your phone only loads the essential (system) apps and blocks all third-party apps until you restart your phone.

•        Start by long-pressing the Power button to open the power options on your phone.

•        Then, tap and hold the "Power Off" or "Shutdown" button until you see a pop-up (On Android devices, the process varies. If you use TECNO/Infinix, long-press the HiOS or XOS logo.)

•        Tap Reboot in the "Reboot to Safe mode" window and wait for your phone to restart.

Uninstall the apps you thought were causing the problem from the list of apps you had installed previously. Reboot your phone to exit Safe mode.

10. Find a service center

•        If unfortunately, none of the fixes works for you, the last thing we recommend is taking your phone to an expert. When there is a software problem, they can either fix it for you or if it is a hardware issue, they'll fix it for you.