Why can't I see my inbox messages on Facebook?

If you are having trouble seeing messages in your Facebook inbox, there are a few common reasons why this may be happening:

You have messaging turned off

The most likely reason you can’t see new messages is that you have messaging turned off. To check if messaging is enabled:

Go to your Facebook profile

Click on the arrow in the top right corner
Select “Settings & Privacy”
Click on “Settings”

Go to “Messaging”
Make sure “Who can send you Facebook messages?” is not set to “No One”

If messaging is disabled, simply change the setting to allow messages from “Everyone” or “Friends” to start seeing messages again.

Your messages are going to another folder

Facebook organizes incoming messages into different folders, so your new messages may not be going to your main inbox.

To check your other message folders:

Go to your Facebook inbox

At the top, click on “Messages”
This will show your different message folders – Primary, General, Spam, etc.
Click on each folder to check for new messages

If you see messages in another folder like Spam or Message Requests, you can move them back to your Primary inbox.

You’ve blocked the sender

If you have blocked someone who is trying to message you, you won’t be able to see their messages in your inbox.

To check if you’ve blocked someone:

Go to your Facebook settings
Click on “Blocking”
You’ll see a list of all the people and pages you have blocked

If you notice someone you weren’t expecting to block, you can unblock them here

Once you’ve unblocked the sender, you should be able to see new messages from them again.

Your inbox is full

Facebook limits how many messages your inbox can hold at one time before you need to start deleting old messages.

If your inbox is full, you’ll get a notification at the top telling you that you’ve reached the storage limit.

To free up space:

Go through your inbox and delete conversations you no longer need

You can select multiple conversations at once to delete them faster
Emptying your Trash and Spam folders can also free up additional space

Once you’ve deleted enough old messages, your inbox storage will reset and you’ll be able to receive new messages again.

You’ve muted the conversation

If you’ve muted a conversation, you won’t get notifications when you receive new messages from that person.

To check for muted conversations:

Go to your inbox

At the top, click on “Messages”
Go to “Muted”

This shows all your muted message threads. Unmute any conversations you want to receive notifications for again.

Your account was temporarily locked

If your Facebook account gets locked due to suspicious activity, you may temporarily lose access to your inbox.

To unlock your account:

Go through the account lock notification prompts

Confirm your identity by providing an ID or other info
You may also need to change your password to enhance security

Once your account is restored, your inbox and messages will be available again.

You’re logged into the wrong account

If you have multiple Facebook accounts, make sure you’re logged into the correct profile to see your messages.

To check which account you’re in:

At the top right, click on your profile picture

This will show which Facebook profile you’re currently using
If needed, click on the down arrow to switch to your other account

When you switch profiles, you’ll be able to access that account’s specific inbox and messages.

You’re viewing Facebook in a browser where you’re not logged in

Messages are only visible when you’re logged into Facebook, so check if you’re still connected in your web browser.

If you’ve logged out or switched browsers, simply log back in with your Facebook username and password to regain access to your inbox.

You can also check that cookies are enabled in your browser settings, as this allows you to stay logged into Facebook across browsing sessions.

The Facebook site or app is down

In rare cases, a technical issue on Facebook’s side could prevent you from viewing your messages temporarily.

If you can’t access your inbox or any part of the Facebook site:

Check Downdetector to see if others are reporting Facebook problems

The Facebook Status Page will also note any known issues
Try waiting a bit and reloading the page to see if the problem resolves

This type of outage is usually resolved within a few hours. Once Facebook is back up, your messages will display normally.

You’re accessing Facebook through a linked account

If you log into Facebook using an linked Instagram, Messenger or other connected account, you may not see your main Facebook inbox.

To fix this:

Log out of Facebook

Log back in with your primary Facebook username and password (not your linked account)

This ensures you’re accessing your core Facebook profile where your messages reside.

Conclusion

Can’t see your Facebook messages? In most cases, the issue is caused by an account setting that needs toggling or a quick troubleshooting step:

Confirm messaging is enabled
Check your other message folders
Make sure you haven’t blocked the sender

Free up space if your inbox is full
Unmute conversations you want notifications for
Resolve any account locks or restrictions

Switch to the correct profile if using multiple accounts
Log back in if you’re logged out of Facebook
Wait if Facebook is experiencing a temporary outage

With a quick check of these common issues, you should once again be able to view all incoming messages and continue using Facebook messaging as normal.

Reason	Fix
Messaging turned off	Enable messaging in settings
Messages going to other folder	Check Spam, Requests, etc
Sender is blocked	Unblock the sender
Inbox is full	Delete old messages
Conversation is muted	Unmute the conversation
Account locked	Complete unlock prompts
Wrong account	Switch to correct profile
Logged out of Facebook	Log back into Facebook
Facebook is down	Wait for outage to resolve
Linked account login	Log in with primary FB account