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When you’re waiting for an important phone call, you don’t want to deal with random text messages showing up on your phone. One of the more irritating messages you might get says that you have insufficient prepaid funds or an MMS was blocked. These messages occur for a few reasons, regardless of your plan or provider.
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Fixing These Messages
Scammy texts can come through in the middle of the day or the night. They can wake you from a deep sleep, keep you from doing things you need to do, and be a nuisance. Insufficient prepaid funds or MMS-blocked messages are annoying, but there are some simple ways to fix and stop these messages from reaching your phone.
1. Check Your Balance
Signing up for a prepaid plan can help you save money. Though you usually need to pay full price for your phone, you pay less per month. Many prepaid plans today include unlimited texts and calls for one low price. The problem is that other plans require you to pay for the services you need.
If you have already hit your MMS limit, you cannot receive any more unless you add money to your account. You may also get a message about insufficient funds if you need to top off your plan.
2. Look for Plan Changes
No matter which cell phone provider you choose, you need to pick a plan. Many people today opt for unlimited plans, but other customers choose cheaper plans that limit how many texts and calls they can send and receive each month.
You want to ensure that your plan includes unlimited MMS or at least offers this feature. There’s a chance that you get this message because you changed your plan and took off this feature or you signed up for a new plan that lacks MMS messaging.
3. Blocked Numbers
Another reason you might get a message that your phone blocked an MMS is because it came from a number you already blocked. You wind up on call lists when you sign up for new websites, enter contests, or share your phone number online. This often happens when you request more information from a specific site.
While you might get texts and calls that help, the chances are good that you’ll get too many texts from certain numbers. Blocking the number will keep those messages from coming through. If you received a blocked MMS, it might come from someone you recently blocked.
4. No Data
Cell phone plans give you a certain amount or unlimited data every month. When you’re at home, you might turn off your data and connect to your WiFi to save your data. You may even turn off your data because you don’t think you need it.
This causes your phone to block all MMS messages because those messages must have an internet connection to come through. You can’t view those messages if you do not have an internet connection and your data is off. Make sure you either turn on cellular data or connect to a network.
5. WiFi Problems
It’s also helpful to turn off the WiFi on your phone, especially if you keep getting messages that your phone blocks. Many customers who complained online about insufficient funds and MMS blocked messages found that the problem only occurred when they used WiFi on their phones.
Using WiFi is helpful if you’re in an area with limited cellular coverage. You might take a vacation where your provider doesn’t have coverage or when you’re at home and far away from the nearest tower. Try turning off the WiFi and using your data plan to view those messages.
6. Provider Bugs
Verizon noticed many customers complained about getting these messages and had their team investigate. The company found that it was a common bug that often affected people who used group messaging.
Try turning your phone off and waiting 60 seconds before restarting it. If your phone has this bug, restarting it should fix the problem. You can also reset your phone to its factory settings, but this will require you back up your files. A factory reset on your phone without backing up your data first will result in lost files.
7. Software Updates
It’s possible that you get insufficient funds and MMS blocked messages because your phone doesn’t have an important update. While you can set up your phone to automatically download and install updates, some people turn off this feature to save their batteries.
Open Settings and then System. Pick the Check for Updates option and give your phone time to look for any available updates. After you install them, restart your phone and check your messages.
8. Scam Messages
Scams are another reason why you might get messages claiming that you have blocked MMS texts or insufficient prepaid funds. When you’re in a hurry or not paying attention, it’s easy to click on a message without thinking twice.
Many phones today will block messages that come from scammers, but you can also download apps that do this for you. Scam messages often take the form of blocked MMS messages. The person sending it hopes you’ll click on the message and download malware to your phone.
Some of these messages include links to harmful sites or claim that you can only view the message when you download new software. Never follow a link or open an attachment in a message unless you know the sender.
Conclusion
Getting messages about insufficient funds when you don’t have a prepaid plan and notice missing MMS messages is a pain. These messages can appear because you clicked on a scam offer or your provider has a bug and for loads of other reasons. Once you try some of these solutions, reach out to your provider for more help.