How To Fix Apple iPhone 7 unable to send but can receive MMS

Need help with MMS problems on your Apple iPhone 7? Tackled in this post is a particular issue on the iPhone 7, in which the device is unable to send MMS messages. Feel free to refer to the given solutions below when needed.

With MMS or multimedia messaging service, people are able to send and receive more than just a plain text message with their smartphones. Standard MMS messages can support single images, slideshows, audio clips and video clips (of up to 40-second). With MMS on your iPhone, you can send photos, videos, ringtones, contact details and other data to any other phone. All you need is to have the right text-messaging plan. You can use the Messages app to send MMS messages on your iPhone. And with the new iOS platforms, you can even personalize your messages with animated effects, iMessage apps and more.

But just like any other apps, MMS can also become knotty at times due to certain factors. Read on to find out which from these factors could trigger problems with sending MMS on your iPhone 7, how to deal with the problem, and get MMS back up and working as intended on your iOS device.

What causes MMS sending problems on your iPhone 7

MMS is among other network-related services on your iPhone. Thus a lot of problems with MMS are tied to network issues either on cellular or Wi-Fi. Without an active cellular or Wi-Fi network, you won’t be able to send SMS and MMS too. Glitches transpiring on your iOS device, particularly the ones tied to the Messages app are also among the usual triggers. Other MMS issues had occurred due to misconfigured MMS messaging settings on the iPhone, incorrect contact details, and account-related issues.

There are also some cases where the problem is isolated to a file type like image files that are not sending through iMessage or regular text messages. The file may not be sent because it is corrupted. The same thing can happen when trying to send messages with huge files attached.

Problems on sending MMS messages can either be due to an issue with iMessage or text messages. There are times when your iPhone won’t send multimedia messages or picture messages through text messages (MMS) but will send through iMessages, or vice versa. As much as possible try to figure out whether or not the problem is with iMessage or your text messaging plan. Also try to determine if the pictures are not sending to one person or everyone. If you cannot send MMS to a specific person, then that might be a problem on the recipient’s end, considering that everything on your end is all good and the contact details you entered are correct or valid.


When dealing with MMS sending errors on your iPhone, you need to consider looking into four things including your account, network status, iPhone software, and hardware aspects.

Before you perform any of the subsequent troubleshooting methods, test your iPhone’s internet connection. If you are trying to send MMS through iMessage app, an active Wi-Fi connection is required. So make sure that you are connected. You can try sending a message using your wireless data plan and then try sending a message when your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi.

If you cannot send picture messages, try to toggle Wi-Fi off and then back on by heading to Settings-> Wi-Fi, then tap to turn the Wi-Fi switch off and on. Or you can also turn off Wi-Fi and try to send picture message using cellular data network. Doing so will help you determine if the problem is with your Wi-Fi or cellular network connection. You will need to enable Cellular Data on your iPhone 7 in this case. To do so, head over to Settings-> Cellular-> then tap the switch to enable Cellular Data. Note that the pictures you send as text or MMS will go through if cellular data is turned off but the pictures you send as iMessages will not as the latter requires Wi-Fi connection.

Also verify if the other person (recipient) is still using iMessage. It is a common issue to people who just made a switch to an Android device without signing out of iMessage. In that case, the person needs to deregister iMessage or turn off iMessage on the iPhone. Many problems with sending and receiving MMS between a non-Apple and iOS device have been tied to this situation.

If you just made a switch to iOS with the iPhone 7 as your first device and that you’re having problems with sending MMS, contact your carrier first to check whether MMS is supported in your current plan. It is possible that the MMS message you are trying to send is not supported in your account. Once you confirmed that everything is good with your account and MMS messaging is supported but still unable to send MMS on your iPhone 7, these troubleshooting methods might be able to help you out. Should you wish to proceed, be sure to test your device after completing each method to see if the problem is fixed and that your iPhone is already able to send MMS messages as intended.

Highlighted below are methods that are deemed as generic solutions to iPhone problems with sending MMS or picture messages. If the first method doesn’t work, then try the next method and so on.

1. Quit and restart the Messages app on your iPhone

It’s a simple yet effective solution to minor glitches that randomly occurs to the Messages app on your iPhone 7. Similar to computer programs and other mobile apps, the Messages app can also become rogue at times and usually all it takes is an app restart to make it work properly again. If the problem just occurred, then you can resort to this workaround and see what happens afterwards. Just close the Messages app for at least 30 seconds then open it again. Doing so will give the app a fresh start.

2. Restart your iPhone 7

If closing the Messages app doesn’t work, then try restarting your device. A restart, also known as soft reset can fix various issues on the iPhone software that might have prevented you from sending MMS messages in any way. The process is similar to restarting a computer when it misbehaves.

  • To do a soft reset on your iPhone 7, press and hold the Power button until the Slide to Power off screen appears. Drag the slider to power off your device. Then after 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

No data on your iPhone 7 will be affected in the process so you don’t have to worry about losing critical information stored on your device from doing so.

3. Delete old conversations from the Messages app

Aside from freeing some space of your iPhone storage, deleting of old conversations will likewise rid of any broken segments within prior messages that might have inflicted troubles with sending picture messages or MMS on your iPhone. You can delete all messages from your iPhone at once with these steps:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Scroll down then tap Messages to open the app.
  3. Navigate to Message History then tap on Keep Messages. You will then see three options including 30 Days, 1 Year, and Forever. Select the first or second option. If you select the 30-day option, the majority of messages on your iPhone will be deleted.
  4. Tap Delete to confirm that you want to delete the old messages along with the attachments.

If you want to delete individual or specific messages or conversations, open the Messages app then follow these steps:

  1. Locate the message conversation you want to delete then tap and hold the message bubble.
  2. Tap More from the given options.
  3. Tap the Trash icon.
  4. Tap Delete Message or Delete All.
  5. Tap Delete Conversation to confirm.

Alternatively, you can delete a single conversation by swiping left over the selected conversation then tap Delete.

4. Remove and re-insert SIM card

If you cannot send MMS or text messages and you are prompted with errors that are related to network or SIM card, then try removing and reinserting the SIM card on your iPhone 7. Doing so will likely rectify the problem. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Get the SIM eject tool or small paper clip ready.
  2. Power off your iPhone completely.
  3. Locate the SIM tray on the right side of your iPhone then insert the ejector tool into the small hole.
  4. Gently push it until the tray pops-out.
  5. Remove the SIM card from the tray then check for any visible signs of damage like scratches. If there’s none, then reinsert the SIM card into the tray. Make sure that the notched corner aligns.
  6. Re-insert the SIM tray.

Turn your iPhone back on then try to see if you are now able to send MMS through the Messages app.

5. Reset network settings on your iPhone 7

To rid of incorrect network settings and network errors from the probable causes, try resetting your iPhone network. Doing so will reset your Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings that you have previously used. Should there be any errors or incorrect options enabled, that will be rectified in the process. Take note of your network passwords, then follow these steps to reset network settings on your iPhone 7:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Select Reset Network Settings.

Wait until your iPhone completes the network reset and reboots. Set up your networks afterwards then test to see if MMS is already working fine.

6. Update or restore your iPhone 7 through iTunes

This should be the last option since it involves deletion of critical information stored on your iPhone. A system restore might be necessary if the problem is triggered by a complex error on the iPhone software that could not be rectified by any prior workarounds. Should you wish to proceed, be sure to backup your iPhone data to iCloud or iTunes first. Then follow these steps to restore your iPhone 7 to factory settings:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
  5. If prompted, enter your passcode. Then confirm iPhone reset.

Wait until your iPhone completely erase your data and restores to factory defaults. After the reset, set it up as new then try to see if MMS is already working.

Alternatively, you can use a computer to update or restore your iPhone with iTunes.

7. Seek more help

Contact your carrier or Apple Support to escalate the problem if it persists after performing all applicable workarounds. Apparently, there is nothing more you can do on your end to get the problem solved. Aside from further assistance, escalating the problem to Apple Support is also recommended especially if it occurs after installing a new update to iOS. Most likely in this case, the problem is triggered by some bugs that came with the update and that needs to be dealt with by iOS devs as soon as possible.