You Have Been Blocked from Originating Messages to - What Does it Mean and How to Fix the Error?

Text messaging has been a quicker and more convenient communication medium than phone calls. Whether it’s a personal, social, or business purposes, people prefer texting for a quick response. But along with all the benefits, there come some unexpected errors interrupting the conversation.

You’re texting your friend or group of friends and suddenly receive a “You have been blocked from originating messages to (number)” error out of nowhere. It becomes more frustrating when you can get messages from them without any problem but cannot text back to that particular number.

So, what might be the reason that you can’t text a number but receive messages and calls? Is it possible to fix the issue? Well, you certainly can and here we’ve explained everything for your convenience.

Table of Contents

What are the reasons for the error “You have been blocked from originating messages to”?

One of the most common reasons for the error “you have been blocked from originating messages to” while trying to send a text is the recipient perhaps blocked you. It can be a mistake or intentional. But in both cases, your text would not reach them, so you might need to talk to that person directly to ensure they haven’t blocked you.
If you’re experiencing the error when sending messages to all your phone contacts, there might be a problem with your device and the network carrier. It’s possible that your carrier may haven’t activated the text messaging feature on their plan. So, contacting the carrier to check the number and its plan can fix your issue.
When there’s a misconfiguration in the phone settings, you’ll be receiving the response “you have been blocked from originating messages to ###”. Check for the text message-associated settings. If you find something wrong, then it explains why you’re having problems when sending messages.
For a new mobile or carrier plan, check your profile in the service carrier. Make sure that the phone number in the carrier matches the number on your phone. It rarely happens when a carrier mixes the phone numbers leading to such glitches. If this is what happens to you, reach your carrier to correct the fault.
Sometimes, Google apps could be the reason behind the text messaging problems. Typically, when one Google app is preventing text messages, other Google apps on the phone might also block your ability to send and receive texts from a particular number.
There is another possible cause behind the response “you have been blocked from originating messages to” is your number has been spoofed. Therefore, it’s now listed in the spam database by the carrier. Though it does happen occasionally, still ensure that the numbers giving you this error are all on the same carrier. If yes, you might need to file a complaint with a Notice of Dispute or apply with the spam contesting form with that carrier.
Text messages often can’t be sent due to messaging apps. For example, we couldn’t send texts with Samsung S8 default messaging app. But once we updated the phone to S20, there were no more issues with text messaging.
You also need to verify that the error doesn’t show up in a particular zone or location. If you or the message recipient is somewhere with a weak cellphone signal or another ZIP code, the messages wouldn’t go through.

Solution 1. Restart the Phone

The most primary and useful solution to fix any phone problem is to restart the phone.

There’s a chance that you’re facing the problem because of a hardware fault or software glitch and restarting your phone must solve it if one of these is the reason.

So, try out this easy solution first before heading to the other ones.

Solution 2. Transfer SIM Card to Another Phone

The messaging app of the device could be the source of the error, so transfer your SIM card to another phone and see whether it can send texts. It’s quite possible that the default messaging app of the phone in question is blocking text messaging.

Solution 3. Check if the Number is Blocked

You and the recipient will require to verify that you both are not on each other’s blocklist. In case they’ve blocked you or you’ve blocked them on your phone, the “you have been blocked from originating messages to” issue will occur.

Solution 4. Reset Text Message Settings

Though the service carrier automatically sets the text message settings on a phone, still you need to check it to identify any misconfiguration.

If there are any, reset it to their default settings and then restart the phone. Now, see if that fixes your issue.

Solution 5. Check Network Settings

Network settings are also vital for sending text messages successfully.

Hence, check your network settings and enable the auto network selection option. This will help you to connect to the nearest tower and you can send messages again.

Solution 6. Check the Maximum Limit of Messages

There is a maximum limit set in most phones to send and receive messages with internal storage. In most cases, your device will warn you if you exceed the limit. It’s also important to make sure that your and the recipient’s phone have not reached the maximum limit.

Some phones already have a pre-set limit. To prevent any problems, delete the unessential and old conversations as well as media files to clear some space.

Solution 7. Change Text Format

Is the text format you’re attempting to send supported by the carrier? Not all carriers support sending MMS or SMS for some reason. If that’s your case too, the text won’t go through and you’ll be receiving this response.

Solution 8. Update Device Firmware

It’s important that you keep updating the device firmware. The developers release new updates from time to time that can fix any glitches and bugs on the phone.

So, make sure you have updated firmware to its latest version so the phone can perform at its best. Also, turn on the auto-update feature for the firmware to avoid any trouble.

Solution 9. Check Network Connection for iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, you must need a WiFi or active mobile data connection to be able to send an MMS or iMessage. Even, you also need a data connection to send an SMS or WiFi connectivity to send the SMS over WiFi.

You also need to check if the carrier supports group messaging or MMS on iPhones. To verify that, go to Settings> Messages. If the “Messages” option is not there, it means your carrier doesn’t support this feature. Therefore, you keep getting the error.

Solution 10. Contact the Recipient using Another Number

There’re certain chances that the recipient might have blocked you unknowingly. So, now it’s time to contact that person using another number and ask them to fix this problem. It’s the most straightforward and effective way of resolving this problem. You can also call them with the same phone and if it connects, ask them to check their block settings in the contact list.

Solution 11. Call Your Carrier

If nothing is helping you with the problem, calling the carrier is your final option.

You may have crossed the maximum capacity or they may have suspended your account due to some reason. It could also be possible that they’re working on the maintenance or there’s a technical issue causing you to have this error.

So, give them a call to know what happens. If the issue is from their end, they may be able to solve the error “you have been blocked from originating messages to” for you.

That’s all. These are all possible solutions to fix the error with your phone text messaging. Make sure to go through them one by one and you’ll be able to send messages again. If you find this article helpful, please share it and let us know if you have any further queries.