Why is my message not delivering to someone on Messenger?

There are a few common reasons why a Facebook Messenger message may not be delivered to the intended recipient:

You or the recipient have messaging turned off

One of the most common reasons for messages not delivering is that either you or the recipient have messaging disabled in your Facebook settings. To check your settings:

Go to your Facebook profile

Click on the arrow in the top right and choose “Settings & Privacy”
Click on “Settings”
Click on “Messaging”

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

If your messaging settings are enabled, you’ll want to check with the recipient to see if theirs are disabled. They would need to follow the same steps above to enable messaging.

You or the recipient have blocked each other

Another possibility is that you or the recipient may have blocked each other, which would prevent messages from going through. To check if you’ve been blocked:

Go to the recipient’s Facebook profile
See if you can find the “Message” button – if it’s missing, you’ve likely been blocked

And to check if you’ve blocked someone:

Go to your Facebook settings
Click on “Blocking”
See if the recipient is listed here

You or the recipient would need to unblock each other to resume messaging capabilities.

You or the recipient have privacy restrictions enabled

Facebook allows you to restrict who can message you based on your friend list and other factors. It’s possible you or the recipient enabled privacy restrictions that are preventing messages from being delivered.

To check your privacy settings:

Go to your Facebook settings
Click on “Privacy”
Click on “Privacy Checkup”

Review the “Who can contact me?” and “Who can send you friend requests?” sections

Make sure the recipient is not restricted in either of these settings. The recipient would also need to check their privacy settings on their end.

You or the recipient have been flagged for suspicious activity

In some cases, Facebook may disable messaging capabilities if they detect suspicious or abusive activity from an account. This is often a temporary restriction. Some signs this may have happened:

You try sending a message but get an error indicating the action was blocked
The recipient is able to send messages to others, but your messages to them specifically are not going through

If messaging is disabled across the entire account, the user would be notified by Facebook. The recipient can try appealing the restriction through Facebook, or wait for the block to expire before messaging abilities are restored.

The recipient’s inbox is full

Facebook Messenger allows users to have up to 5,000 conversations, with no limit on the number of messages per conversation. However, there is a storage limit of 30,000 messages in the inbox itself.

If the recipient has hit that limit, new messages will not be delivered until older messages are deleted to free up space. The recipient would need to delete some old message threads to allow new messages to come in.

There are connectivity issues

Temporary technical problems either on your end, the recipient’s end, or Facebook’s servers can sometimes cause messaging disruptions. Some signs of connectivity issues include:

Trouble loading Facebook overall
Very slow message sending/receiving
Error messages when trying to send messages

Some troubleshooting steps:

Check your internet connection and try again with a stable/strong connection
Restart your phone or computer

Try accessing Facebook from a different device
Try connected to a different wifi network or cellular data

If the issues persist for more than a few hours, it’s likely a wider problem on Facebook’s end. You may need to wait for Facebook to resolve their outage before messaging works again.

You’ve been temporarily “banned” from messaging

If you send a very high volume of messages, especially to people you are not connected to on Facebook, the system may temporarily limit your ability to prevent abuse/spam behavior. Some signs this may have happened:

You are unable to send messages to ANYONE (not just one person)
Attempting to send messages gives you an error message about not being able to message right now

Messages may be very delayed (hours or days) before sending

To restore your full messaging capabilities you will need to wait out the temporary ban. This could last a few hours, days, or longer depending on the severity and how many times messaging has been disabled.

You or the recipient hit the message limit

Facebook Messenger allows you to send up to 100 messages in a 24 hour period to someone you are not connected to on Facebook. If you hit this limit, you will be unable to send additional messages for a period of time. Likewise, if the recipient has hit their limit in messages received from people they are not friends with, that could prevent your messages from delivering.

The best way to prevent hitting this limit is to connect as friends on Facebook first before messaging extensively. However, if you do hit the 100 message cap, you’ll just need to wait a day or so before you’ll be able to message that person again.

The message contained blocked content

Facebook has algorithms in place to detect content shared via Messenger that violates their guidelines. This includes things like:

Abusive, harassing, or threatening language

Sensitive topics like sex, drugs, violence
Sending illegal or regulated goods
Spammy/duplicated messages

If you attempt to send a message with blocked content, it will not be delivered. Avoid these types of messages to prevent delivery issues.

You or the recipient has an old version of the Messenger app

Messenger is updated frequently to fix bugs and improve performance. If you or the recipient has an extremely outdated version of the app, it could potentially cause messaging problems. Make sure you both have the latest version installed.

On iOS, you can check for app updates by going to the App Store > Tap your profile icon > Tap “Available Updates”. On Android, go to Google Play Store > Tap the hamburger menu > Tap “My apps & games” > Tap “Update” next to Messenger.

The recipient’s account is deactivated

If the recipient has deactivated their Facebook account, no new messages will be able to reach them. Existing messages will stay in their inbox for 14 days before being permanently deleted. After 14 days, reactivating their account will not restore old conversations.

You will need to communicate with this person outside of Facebook Messenger until they reactive their profile. When/if they restore their account, you can resume sending messages.

You’ve been restricted from messaging new people

In some cases, Facebook may limit your ability to message people you have no prior thread history with. This is often done to prevent harassment, scams, or other unwanted messaging.

Signs this restriction may have been placed on your account:

You are able to reply in existing threads but cannot start new message threads
Attempting to message someone new gives an error or says unable to message this person

To lift the restriction, you will need to build up a history of positive messaging behavior. Only exchange messages with people you know and avoid sending spam/unwanted messages.

The message was marked as spam by the recipient

If the recipient has marked your message as spam or abuse, future messages will automatically go to their spam folder rather than the main inbox.

To prevent having your messages marked as spam:

Only message people you know, avoid strangers
Use natural conversation, avoid copied templates
Do not send promotional content unless approved to do so

Messages delivering to the recipient’s spam folder rather than inbox is not a technical failure, but an indicator your messaging behavior requires improvement.

Conclusion

There are a variety of reasons Facebook Messenger messages may fail to deliver properly to the recipient. The most common issues are privacy settings, message blocking, inbox overwhelm, and temporary service problems. Less likely but still possible causes include account deactivations, spam violations, messaging limits, outdated apps, and restrictions placed for abusive behavior.

Try going through the various troubleshooting steps outlined above to identify and resolve the specific issue preventing your message from sending. If the problem persists over an extended time, you may need to explore alternative communication channels until the underlying cause can be fixed.

Reason for Message Not Delivering	Troubleshooting Steps
Messaging settings disabled	Check messaging settings for both sender and recipient Make sure messaging is enabled
Blocked by sender or recipient	Check if you are blocked by the recipient Check if you have blocked the recipient Unblock each other to resume messaging
Privacy restrictions enabled	Review privacy settings for sender and recipient Remove any restrictions blocking communication
Suspicious activity flag	Appeal restriction if applied to entire account Wait for block to expire
Recipient’s inbox is full	Recipient needs to delete old messages
Connectivity issues	Check internet connections Restart devices Try different networks Wait for outage resolution
Temp messaging ban	Wait out temporary ban Change messaging behavior
Hit message limit	Wait 24 hours to resume messaging Connect as friends on Facebook
Blocked message content	Avoid prohibited content
Outdated Messenger version	Update Messenger to latest version
Recipient account deactivated	Wait for recipient to reactivate account Use alternate communication methods
Restricted from new message threads	Build up history of good messaging Only message known contacts
Marked as spam by recipient	Improve messaging behavior Avoid unwanted messages

In summary, there are many potential reasons a Facebook Messenger message may fail to deliver. With some targeted troubleshooting steps, review of settings, and patience for any restrictions to lift, you should be able to identify and resolve the underlying issue preventing your messages from sending or being received. Be sure to follow best practices for polite and appropriate messaging behavior as well to avoid limitations on your account’s capabilities.