Only ONE contact not working for Messages?

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Level 1

41 points

Only ONE contact not working for Messages?

Hi All,

Hope you can help me with this one... and please, I'm hoping for input from as many who have an idea, so please don't feel like there's no need to jump in on this even if there's someone else here posting with a solution. These threads are most useful with more than one insight. I'll try them all.

So, here it goes...

We've got an iPhone 4s on one end... and probably (but I'm not certain) an iPhone 4s at the other (could be an iPhone 4).

On both ends, both users can send texts and SMS/MMS messages to everyone else in their respective phone books. They can also send each other emails successfully. But they cannot -- on either end -- send each other Messages (SMS/MMS or regular Messages).

On both ends, the other user comes up as a red contact and the messages bounce back "not delivered."

And we can't, for the life of us, figure out why.

ALSO, in case it means anything, only this ONE contact comes up as red when typed into Messages on the companion Macbook. So it's not just the iPhone on our end that's an issue. (NOTE: I'm only at one end of the chain here, helping my mother-in-law with her phone. Her daughter is at the other, several States away. So we can't see what she's got going on with her phone.).

Here's what we've tried so far, with no luck (so jump past any recommendations that include the following, please):

1) On both ends, we have deleted and recreated Contact cards.

2) I logged out of iCloud, allowing it to delete the local contact cards etc. and logged back in.

3) I logged out of the Messages account on this end and then logged back in.

4) On both ends, we've checked to make sure neither contact is blocked (well, on this end anyway... on that end, they say they have but we're not sure if they're doing it right).

Note: I have NOT reset the Network Settings... but only because all other contacts but this one are working.

Any ideas, guys?

Thanks in advance.

Posted on Jul 12, 2014 8:43 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

stevejobsfan0123

Level 9

54,384 points

Jul 12, 2014 8:47 AM in response to JTF

Are you sure it's trying to send as SMS? If both users have iMessage enabled, it will favor that. When you send a message, does it appear in blue?

Also, the MacBook cannot send SMS, only iMessage, so if the recipient does NOT have iMessage enabled, that would be why it can't send.

I would suggest you both go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive, sign out and sign back in. Also make sure that the addresses that you are trying to reach each other at are listed there.

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Answer 2

JTF Author

Level 1

41 points

Jul 12, 2014 10:59 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

Thanks... and then for the suggestion to sign out and sign back in. I've already done that though (see #3 in my original post... that's what it meant). And I've already sent a link to the person with the other phone, suggesting she do that too. Also thanks for the point on the MacBook not being able to send SMS. Good point.

That said, yep... I'm sure I'm not trying to send an SMS. Even so, that would at least go in green... right? But we cannot send either SMS or iMessage from this end. When I open a new Message... and type in the contact name... it goes red. Just red. As though it's already unreachable. Even though it's the right number and the right email address. I would at least expect that it would, if she weren't registered to iMessage, be deliverable as an SMS (green)... but no.

Here's the process, if it helps:

I open a new message and type in the address -- it goes red (already a sign of trouble).

Then I try to type in a message anyway. It goes green.

Then I hit send and get back a "Not Delivered" error.

Same on her end.

Now, here's something interesting.... I'm typing to you now on a different machine, running under a different administrator (me) and I've just tried to send a message to the same two recipients. One, my mother-in-law's, works just fine. The other, my sister-in-law's ALSO goes red on my machine.

Hmm.

Question: You say "I would suggest you both go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive, sign out and sign back in. Also make sure that the addresses that you are trying to reach each other at are listed there."

By this, I'm assuming you only mean that each person's sending and reachable addresses are listed in the settings, right?

I guess it's possible she never set that up (on the other end) but she says she can text fine with everyone except her mom.

On the other hand, why would her email address go red in my new Message window too?

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Answer 3

Jul 12, 2014 11:09 AM in response to JTF

You said you're trying to send to her email address? That could be your problem, as you can't send SMS to an email address, you can only send iMessage.

Yes, I mean to make sure that the send and reachable addresses are listed in the Messages section of Settings.

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Answer 4

JTF Author

Level 1

41 points

Jul 12, 2014 11:37 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

Well... yes and no. Yhat is, yes we were trying to send a iMessage to her email address… And yes, we were trying to send an SMS to her phone number… Frankly, we were trying to send it in any way that we could. But none of the above works. And, no, we were not trying to send an SMS to her email address... just the appropriate message forms to the appropriate reachable contacts. With no luck.Ssorry that wasn't clear.

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Answer 5

Jul 12, 2014 12:30 PM in response to JTF

In that case I would make a backup: Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Back Up Now. Then restore to factory settings (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414), and set up Messages, to see if it works on a "brand new" device. If it does, you can try restoring from your iCloud backup, and if the problem returns, restore as new again and load your data back manually.

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