6 Ways to Fix “Android Messaging App Not Working” Issue

Q: My girlfriend is having issues with the built-in messages app. It comes up but when she goes to type a message the keyboard doesn’t appear, then it comes up with a message saying “messaging isn’t responding” then it says wait or quit. Is anyone able to help?

Many Android users might face the same problem as the user above, including you. The “message app not working” and “apps not showing on Android home screen” issue always happens when you are typing, sending, or receiving text messages. It goes without saying that this message error will cause a great inconvenience to your life. So far, we have found some possible reasons why Android device displays this error:

1. The messaging app on Android has crashed on its own.
2. The third-party apps cause it to crash.
3. Some data and system files have corrupted and caused inconsistencies in the firmware.
4. The caches of the newly installed apps have got corrupted.

Based on these possible factors that cause the messaging app not to work properly on Android, we found some solutions on how to fix this issue. You can read on to learn more about the solutions.

How to Fix “ Message App Not Working” on Android

Tip 1. Restart Your Android Phone

No matter what error occurs on your device, restarting your device is the easiest way to fix the problem. Just restart your phone and see if your message app works properly.

Tip 2. Force Stop Message App

This method works for people whose message app has crashed. If your message app has crashed by accident, you can try to force stop your message app and restart it to check if it works. Here’s how to make it:

1. Open Settings.

2. Go to App.

3. All Application Tab.

4. Look for Message App > Tap on it > Tap on Force Stop.

Tip 3. Disable The Third-party App that Installed Recently

Sometimes, third-party apps will cause the messaging app to crash. So if you get this message error since installing some third-party apps, you can try to disable the third-party apps and see if the issue can be resolved.

To disable the third-party apps, you should boot your Android phone into safe mode. Here’s how to do:

1. Press and hold the Power button until your phone’s logo appears on the screen.

2. Then, press and hold the Volume Down key until you see the Safe Mode appears on your screen.

Tip 4. Fix System Issues with DroidKit – Android System Repair Tool

If you already tried the above tips, and the Message App Not Working error still exists on your device, then you can try this Android system repair software – DroidKit to help you repair your Android phone. Because the Android messages app not working is probably caused by some software glitches on your device, and DroidKit can fix various system issues with one click. Now, this feature supports all Samsung models, and more Android devices are coming soon.

Here are the steps for you to fix messages app not working:

Step 1. Get DroidKit on your computer (Mac & Windows PC are both supported) > Install and launch the software > Click Fix System Issues.

Step 2. Connect your device and tap on Start button.

Step 3. Click Download Now button to get a firmware package for your device.

Step 4. Once finished, click Fix Now. Then, follow the instructions to put your device into download mode and tap on Next.

Step 5. Wait a minute, you can get the System Fixed Successfully page. Now, open the messages app on your device to check if it can work normally.

Tip 5. Clear Cache and Data in Message App

If your device has recently been updated to the latest version of Android, the old caches may not work with the new Android version. The conflicts between the old caches and the new Android version will cause errors including message app error. So you can go to clear the message app’s cache and data to fix the “message app not working” issue. The following are the steps to clear caches and data:

1. Go over to settings.

2. Tap the Applications.

3. Choose All applications.

4. Find the SMS app and then clear cache and data.

Tip 6. Factory Reset

If all the tips above are useless, you have to conduct a factory reset on your phone. But there’s something you should be paid attention to: Don’t forget to back up your phone before resetting or you will get an empty Android phone. Here are the steps to conduct a factory reset:

1. Go to the Settings and Choose Back up & reset.

2. Tap Factory data reset.

3. Tap on “delete all” to confirm the process.

Bonus Tip to Recover Lost Data from Android Phone

After fixing the Android message app not working issue, you might meet data loss on your device. If this tragedy of data loss happens to you, don’t fret, we also have the key to finding those data back.

To find the lost data back, you need to use the professional Android messages extractor – PhoneRescue for Android, which is one of the best Android data recovery tools, with which, you can scan and preview the lost messages, then selectively recover what you want. In this way, you can recover the important data instead of all of them to your device, which can not only save your phone’s space but also save your time deleting the useless files one by one.

Besides, it supports recovering various types of data, including messages, audios, contacts, videos, photos, calendars, app data, and more.

If you use an iPhone and are suffering from the message loss problem as well, head to the page about how to recover deleted or lost text messages on your iPhone.

The Bottom Line

That’s all about how to fix the “message app not working” issue on Android. Hope the methods above can help you fix this issue successfully. And DroidKit is a powerful tool for you to repair system issues because message app not working is probably caused by system glitches. So you can download DroidKit and go to fix messages not working or messages stopped on your phone.