Despite WhatsApp’s numerous benefits and features, there are issues that can sometimes hinder the app’s core functions. One such issue that users often face is the inability to send and receive messages. This can happen for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are a poor internet connection, app glitches, Whatsapp outages, and more.

If you are having trouble communicating with your friends and family and can not share important information with groups, this guide is for you. In this guide, you will learn how to fix the problem of WhatsApp not sending or receiving messages on your Android or iPhone, and you will get tips on how to avoid this problem in the future. Without delay, let us get started with the steps right away.

10 Ways To Fix ‘WhatsApp Not Sending or Receiving Messages’ Problem

Check Your Internet Connection

You can not send and receive messages on WhatsApp without an internet connection. Like any other messaging app, WhatsApp requires a stable internet connection, either via wifi or mobile data, to send and receive messages, make voice and video calls, and more.

If you have network issues on your device and try to send a message, it will be queued on your device (you will see a clock icon ) and sent once you are connected to the internet again.

To send messages, make sure your device is connected to the internet, go to the control panel by swiping down on the notification panel, click Mobile data, and turn it on. You can also connect to Wi-Fi if the Wi-Fi network is available.

If you are facing network issues, follow the simple steps to fix the problem:

• Turn Off The Mobile Data: If your mobile data is on and you try to connect to a Wi-Fi network but still can not access the Internet, turn off mobile data and check if the problem is solved.
• Turn off Aeroplane mode and turn it off: When you turn on airplane mode, all network connections will be reset. This will help you fix the issues with your mobile internet connection. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to the Control Panel of your smartphone and find the Airplane Mode switch, tap on it, and turn it off. Wait for some time until your device gets a signal, turn on mobile data, and check if the problem is solved.
• Check Time & Date Settings: Make sure your phone’s date and time settings are set to automatic. If they are set to manual, this may cause problems.
• Reset Network Settings on Phone: if none of the above solutions work, try resetting your phone’s network settings.
• Check the Network permission for Whatsapp: Make sure Whatsapp has the required internet access permissions. If you are using Android, long-press the app, click the app info, data usage, and enable mobile data and Wi-Fi usage.
• Restart your smartphone: Finally, restart your smartphone. Just reboot your smartphone using the traditional methods and check if the problem still persists.

Check WhatsApp Data Usage Settings

In the latest version of Android and iOS, you can customize the individual settings of the apps, including Whatsapp. If you accidentally disable data usage for Whatsapp, the app will not be able to connect to the Internet and send messages to the other person. To fix this, enable data usage for the app.

How to allow background data usage of WhatsApp on Android

• If you are using the latest version of Android, find the Whatsapp app on your smartphone, long-press the app until the menu appears, and click the info button (i).
  
• For the traditional method: Open the Settings app on your Android smartphone.
  
• Scroll down and click on the apps or applications. This may vary depending on your smartphone model and Android version. If you do not find what you are looking for, use the search bar at the top.
  
• Now find Whatsapp and tap on the app to go to the app info section.
  
• In the app info section, find the “Data usage” option and tap on it.
  
• Uncheck the Disable mobile data and Disable Wi-Fi options and check the Background data option.
  
• Now try sending a message to the contact and see if you are able to send and receive messages through Whatsapp.

How to allow background data usage on iPhone

• Go to ‘Settings’.
• Tap ‘Network & Internet’.
• Select ‘Data Saver’.
• Toggle off the ‘Use Data Saver’ option to allow apps to use background data. To enable background data for individual apps, go back to ‘Mobile network’ and ‘App data usage,’ select the app you want to manage, and turn on ‘Background data.’

Check Whatsapp Block Status

Another common reason why you may not be able to send or receive messages on WhatsApp is that you have blocked the person or the other person has blocked you.

You can see the list of contacts you have blocked on WhatsApp in the settings. However, there is no way to tell if you have been blocked in WhatsApp. However, you can use the other signs to determine if the other person might have blocked you on Whatsapp. Here are the most common signs.

• You do not see updates to the person’s profile photo: if you have been blocked by a user on WhatsApp, their profile photo will never change for you. You will always see the photo that the person last posted when chatting with you before they blocked you. Status like “online” and “last seen” will also be hidden when you are blocked. However, in the latest version of Whatsapp, you can hide your “last seen” and “online” status without blocking the contact.
  
• You will see a single check mark for each message sent to the person: if you see a single check mark (message sent) for each message you send to a chat, there is a possibility that you have been blocked by the user. The status of sent messages is never updated to “delivered” or changed to a double-check mark for a chat you may have blocked. However, this happens even if the person is not connected to the Internet.
  
• The call will not connect: If a user has blocked you on WhatsApp, you will not be able to call them. You can still hear the call ringing, but it will not be forwarded to another person.
  
• You can’t add a user to a WhatsApp Group: This is the most common method you can use to determine if another person has blocked you on Whatsapp. However, in the latest version of Whatsapp, you can specify who can add users to the group. If the settings are set to “Nobody,” the person cannot be added to the group even if you are not blocked.
  

These are the signs by which you can determine if you are blocked by other people on Whatsapp. Once you have determined that you are blocked on WhatsApp, it is important that you respect the other user’s decision and their privacy. There is nothing you can do to unblock your number from their side.

While there are some workarounds, such as using an alternate number to contact the person, this is not recommended. This could violate the person’s privacy and may not be well received. It is always best to respect the boundaries and choices of others.

If you have someone blocked, you can unblock them from sending and receiving messages in their settings. Here’s a simple guide on how to unblock contacts on WhatsApp:

• Open WhatsApp on your smartphone
  
• Click on the three-dot menu and tap on settings
  
• Now tap on the Privacy tab
  
• Scroll down and tap on Blocked contacts
  
• Now you will see the list of all contacts that you have blocked in your WhatsApp account.
  
• To unblock them, tap on the account and click Unblock.
  

Check the Status of the WhatsApp Server

Another possible reason why you are unable to send and receive messages on Whatsapp is Whatsapp server failure. As we have already described in most troubleshooting guides, server failures are common and can occur on most services. The most common reasons include hardware failures, overload with more traffic than they can handle, cyber attacks, power outages, and more. When a server failure occurs, the app becomes unusable, and as a user, there is nothing you can do except wait for some time until Whatsapp fixes this issue.

Here are the most common methods to check Whatsapp server status. These steps can be applied to both Android and iPhone users.

• Use third-party websites: The most common method to check Whatsapp status is to use third-party websites like Down-detector. You can simply open your favorite browser on your smartphone and enter the URL: https://downdetector.com/status/whatsapp/. After visiting the website, you may see the text “User Reports Indicate Problems at Whatsapp” in case of server failure.
• Get updates from official Whatsapp channels: Twitter is the most popular and reliable source to detect server outages on popular apps. Companies also announce server outages on Twitter and other popular social networks. If you follow Whatsapp on Twitter or any other social media app, you can visit the account and see if there are any updates.
• Ask your friends: Another simple approach is to ask your friends or colleagues if they are able to send messages via Whatsapp.

Force Stop WhatsApp

Now let us move on to the device-specific solutions. Let us start with forcing the Whatsapp app to stop on your smartphone. If you can not send messages through Whatsapp, there may be a glitch or error on your device that is causing the problem. To fix this, you can force stop Whatsapp on your smartphone. Do this:

How to force stop Whatsapp on your Android smartphone

• If you are using the latest version of the smartphone, find Whatsapp and long-press on the app until the pop-up menu appears. Now click on the App Info (i) button to go to the app details. Alternatively:
• Open Settings on your smartphone.
  
• In the settings, look for the Apps or Applications tab. This may change depending on your smartphone model and the version you are using
  
• Now select Whatsapp from the list of apps. If you can not find it, click the three dots in the upper right corner and tap Show system apps. Again, this may vary depending on your smartphone model or operating system version.
  
• Now click on “Force stop” in the app information section to stop Whatsapp
  

How to force stop app on your iPhone

• Open your iPhone
• Open the app switcher by double-clicking the Home button (on an iPhone with a Home button) or swiping up from the bottom of the Home screen (on other iPhone models).
• Then swipe left or right to find the app you want to quit.
• Find Whatsapp among the recently opened apps and swipe up to close it.

Clear WhatsApp Cache

If forcing the app to quit does not fix the problem, try clearing Whatsapp’s cache. The cache is a short-term memory that is stored by the app to make the app load faster. Sometimes the cache can get corrupted and outdated, which can lead to issues like app crashes and problems sending messages.

To fix this, you can simply clear the Whatsapp app cache on your Android and iPhone. Here’s how you can clear the cache on your Android and iPhone. Also, note that clearing the cache will not delete your Whatsapp chats or change any settings. It will only clear the cache memory. The only downside of clearing the cache is that it may take some time before the app loads for the first time.

How to clear Whatsapp Cache on Android smartphone:

• Open the Settings app on your Android smartphone
  
• On the settings page, look for the “Apps” or “Applications” option. This may vary depending on your smartphone model and the Android version you are using
  
• Now find Whatsapp and tap on the app to access the app information
  
• Now click on the Storage usage
  
• Finally, tap on “Clear cache” to clear the Whatsapp cache on your Android smartphone
  

How to clear app cache on iPhone

• Open Settings on your iPhone
• Scroll down the settings menu until you find the “General” option. Tap on this to open the general settings.
• In the general settings, tap on “iPhone storage.” This will display a list of all the applications installed on your device along with the storage space they occupy.
• Scroll through the list of applications until you find Whatsapp. Tap on it to open the specific settings.
• Swipe Whatsapp to the left and tap “Offload app.”

Update Whatsapp

If clearing the Whatsapp cache doesn’t work, try updating your Whatsapp to the latest version. The specific version of Whatsapp you may be using may contain bugs or glitches that prevent you from sending or receiving messages. To fix this, you can update your Whatsapp to the latest version. In addition to these bug fixes, updating Whatsapp improves the overall performance of the app and may also introduce new features.

Uninstall and Reinstall WhatsApp

If updating Whatsapp doesn’t fix the problem, try uninstalling Whatsapp and reinstalling it on your smartphone. Uninstalling Whatsapp will remove all Whatsdata and also the bugs and issues related to the app. Make sure that you back up your Whatsapp data before uninstalling the app. Here is how to back up your Whatsapp data and how to uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone and Android devices.

How to backup Whatsapp on Android/iPhone

• Open WhatsApp, click the three-dot menu at the top, and select “Settings.”
• In WhatsApp’s settings, tap on “Chats.”
• Find the “Chat backup” option and tap on it.
• Tap “Backup” to perform a manual backup or “Backup to Google Drive” to set the frequency of backup.
• On iPhone: tap “Back up now” to start the backup process immediately. Alternatively, select “Automatic Backup” to schedule automatic backups.

How to restore chat history on WhatsApp

• Open the Google Play Store on your Android smartphone and the Apple App Store on your iPhone.
• Search for Whatsapp in the search bar at the top and click the “Install” button to download and install Whatsapp on your Android or iPhone smartphone.
• After successful installation, open Whatsapp on your smartphone.
• Give WhatsApp the necessary permissions. This includes access to your contacts, photos, media, and files.
• After WhatsApp finds a backup file, check if it’s from the expected source and tap “Restore” to restore all your conversations.
• Once you have restored your WhatsApp chats from the backup, tap “Next” to complete the setup.

Restart Your Smartphone

As cliched as it might sound, the good old device restarting trick can help you fix most device and app issues. It is an easier and more effective way to fix most problems.

Factory Reset Your Smartphone

If the above steps don’t work, you can reset your smartphone to factory settings. Resetting your smartphone to factory settings will remove all data from your smartphone, including any bugs or software issues that could cause Whatsapp to malfunction. Make sure to back up your Whatsapp data and also important local files like photos, videos, and more before performing the reset.

Guide to Solving WhatsApp Messaging Problems

There are certainly quite a few reasons why you should use WhatsApp. It’s free, offers modern communication methods, end-to-end encryption for privacy, allows free voice and video calls, and much more.

For most people, WhatsApp is the default messaging app to communicate with their friends and family and keep up to date with important information from groups. Issues like sending and receiving messages can affect the core features of Whatsapp. I hope you find this guide helpful. If you still can not fix this issue, let us know in the comments below, and we’ll be happy to help.

FAQs on Fixing WhatsApp Unable to Send or Receive Messages