Let's figure out why

If you’re not receiving TXT messages, there are a few things that could be causing it. Run through this troubleshooting checklist to find a fix.

Try these things first

Restart your phone

Switch your phone off and back on to refresh your network connection. This fixes a surprising number of problems.

Check for outages

Check the Network Status page to see if there are any known network issues that might be causing the problem.

Check coverage

Use the Coverage Checker to make sure you’re in a Vodafone coverage area and to see if the signal should be strong enough for both indoor and outdoor usage.

If you’re in a covered area but have very low or no coverage bars, or your phone displays SOS, no service or emergency calls only, run through our troubleshooting guide for some additional tips.

Then try these things

Try making a call

This’ll check whether it’s an issue with your whole service or just your messaging.

Send yourself a TXT

This'll see if the problem is just with receiving or with sending as well.

Check the number they're sending to

Make sure the sender is entering your number correctly.

If they're trying to send you a TXT from overseas, they'll need to enter it in international format. Eg. if your number was '0426320000' they'd enter:

+ The exit code
61 The country code for Australia
426320000 The number with '0' removed

Putting it all together, they'd enter +61426320000

Free up space

Is your inbox full? This can stop you from receiving new messages so delete any old messages you don’t need. Picture messages, in particular, take up more space.

Blocked contacts/spam settings

Are you having trouble receiving TXT from specific numbers? If your phone has a blocked numbers/spam list or you're using an app with these features, make sure they haven’t been added to it.

Switched from iPhone?

If you’ve moved to a non-Apple phone and you’re not getting messages from iPhone users, make sure you’ve switched off iMessage.

iMessage on iPhone

Are both you and the sender using iPhone? If so, the message is likely to have been sent over the internet as an iMessage rather than via SMS.

Make sure your iMessage is on and that both you and the sender have an active internet connection though either mobile data or Wi-Fi. If you need further help, check out Apple’s iMessage troubleshooting guide.

Check the sender’s phone and network

Is it only happening with one number in particular? If so, it might be a problem with their phone or telco. Get them to check with their provider to see if there’s an issue at their end.

International TXT

Is the issue only with TXT being sent from an overseas provider? If so, get the sender to check with their provider to confirm they’re able to send TXT to Vodafone Australia mobiles.

Try a different device

Try your SIM card in another phone. If it works, this indicates there’s something wrong with your phone. If it doesn’t it’s likely to either be related to the network or your account.

TXT barring

Have you accidentally barred TXT messages on your phone? You can remove a TXT bar by entering GSM codes.

Check message expiry

If your phone's been off or out of coverage for a long time, TXT being sent to you might have expired. Check our article on TXT expiry periods for more info.

Some other things you can try

Network selection

Check that your phone is set to automatically select a network.

Network mode

Try switching your phone’s network mode to 2G or 3G only to see if this fixes the issue. If it doesn’t make any difference, remember to switch it back to auto mode when you’re done.

Software/device issues

Issues with your phone’s software can affect its ability to receive calls. If your phone is running slowly or isn’t performing how you’d expect, here are some things to try:

  • Check it there’s a software update available for your phone. Software updates often contain bug fixes for performance issues so installing the latest update may fix the problem
  • If no update is available, try backing it up and restoring it to factory settings. You’ll find instructions to restore factory settings on many phones in our interactive user guides

Important info

Some phones will send long text messages as a picture message (PXT/MMS). If the message you’ve been sent was a picture message, check our support page for troubleshooting steps.