Facebook Messenger Not Sending Pictures? 11 Ways to Fix It (Solved)

If you can't send photos on Messenger, you'll not enjoy the full benefits, if you're having problems with Messenger not sending pictures, this is what you need to do.
Timothy Iyekowa
By Timothy Iyekowa - Technical Writer
15 Min Read

To fix Facebook Messenger not sending pictures, uninstall the app from your device, restart your phone, and then go to the App Store or Play Store and reinstall the Messenger app.

As the most used messaging app in the world after WhatsApp, you’ll encounter many errors when using the app.

If you can’t send photos on Messenger, you’ll not enjoy the full benefits, if you’re having problems with Messenger not sending pictures, this is what you need to do.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to fix Facebook Messenger, not sending pictures on your device. You’ll also know why you can’t send photos to Messenger.

What To Do If Facebook Messenger Is Not Sending Pictures?

Users have been complaining that Facebook Messenger is not sending photos, and this can be a big issue.

This problem occurs in both Android and iPhone devices. I’ve personally experienced it, and sometimes even when your internet connection is stable it won’t send.

There are different reasons why Facebook Messenger won’t send pictures on your mobile device, and sometimes even on a PC.

Well, for us the app was just having a glitch, and a quick reboot helped fix the issue. The people I know that wear affected by this issue just only need to uninstall and reinstall the app.

So if you’re experiencing the issue, here’s how you can fix Facebook Messenger not sending pictures on Android or iPhone.

Uninstall the app from your device, restart your phone, and then go to the App Store or Play Store and reinstall the Messenger app.

Login, and then grant permission for File and media, and also Camera. Then you’ll be able to send photos on Messenger again. Make sure the pictures you’re sending are in small size.

If it’s not working, use the Facebook/Messenger Lite app to send photos, and If it’s not working, it means there’s a technical issue. You can always use Facebook or Messenger web to send pictures.

Why Won’t Facebook Messenger Send Pictures?

If you’re wondering why you can’t send photos on Facebook Messenger, there are different reasons.

If the Messenger app won’t send pictures, it could be because of a server-related issue, or the internet connection not working on the app.

This problem can also be caused by cache issues [not always the case]. If you’re sending large photos, you may encounter this issue.

Messenger not sending pictures may also be because of not allowing permission to find the photo.

How To Fix Can’t Send Photos on Facebook Messenger

To fix Facebook Messenger pictures not sending, you can use the guide below to fix the location.

First, check if the Facebook Messenger server is down at downdector.com.

Fix 1: Switch Network Provider

One of the major causes of your Facebook Messenger not sending pictures is because of the internet connection.

If the photo won’t send, you may have poor internet speed. To fix this issue on Messenger, you’ll need to switch to a better internet network.

If you have been using your cellular network before, you’ll need to switch to Wi-Fi or the reverse.

Fix 2: Reduce The Photo Size

You can send many images on Facebook even though it’s more than 25MB, but you can’t send one photo that’s more than 25 MB.

Facebook Messenger has a limit on the size of media files you can send on the app, this is to stop people from sending large files on the app.

So if you want to send photos that are more than 25MB, you can compress the file to a sizable amount, or you can use another platform to send it.

Fix 3: Check For Permissions

If you’re not able to send pictures on Messenger, it may be that you’ve prevented Messenger from accessing photos.

To fix the problem on your device, you’ll have to grant permission to Messenger to be able to access your photos.

You’ll need to check if Messenger is allowed to view your photos on both Android and iPhone.

Go to your Android Settings > Apps & notifications > Tap on App info or See All [Num] apps > Find Messenger app > Permissions > File and media > Tap on “Allow access to media only.”

You can also tap and hold the Messenger app on your Home Screen, then tap on the App info icon, tap on Permissions, then Location, and tap on Allow access to media only.

Go to your iPhone or iPad Settings > Find Messenger app > Tap on Photos > And then select All Photos to allow media access.

Fix 4: Restart Your Device

You can easily fix Facebook Messenger pictures not sending by just restarting your device.

If you can’t send photos on Messenger, you can reboot your phone to fix the problem.

Once you restart your device and open the Messenger app, the problem will be fixed, and you’ll be able to send pictures again.

For Android: Tap on the power button and tap on the restart option. You can power it off and wait for a few minutes before turning it on.

For iPhone: You can soft or force restart your device, this will clear glitches and stop running apps in the background.

You can also tap and hold the power button to turn it off and then turn it on.

Fix 5:  Clear Messenger App Cache

If you’ve been using the Messenger app for a long time, it means that there are a lot of caches stored on your device, and you need to clear them.

If you’re using an Android device, and you’re facing an issue with any app, you can clear the app cache.

To fix Facebook Messenger not sending pictures, you need to clear the app cache.

To clear your Messenger cache, open your Android Settings > Tap on Apps & notifications > Tap on App info or See All [Num] apps > Find the Messenger app > Tap on Storage & Cache > Tap on Clear Cache.

Clear Messenger Cache

You can also tap and hold the Messenger app on your Home Screen, then tap on the App info icon, on Storage & Cache, then tap on Clear Cache.

This will clear all the temporary data the Messenger app has stored since you began using the app.

Since you can’t directly clear cache on the Messenger app, or from the iPhone Settings, you’ll need to offload the app.

Open the iPhone Settings > And then tap on General > Tap iPhone Storage > Then find the Messenger app and open it > And tap on the Offload App button.

Fix 6: Update Messenger App

If you haven’t updated the Messenger app in a long time, updating the app now is a good time to fix the issue.

The old version of the Facebook Messenger app may not be working properly, causing the app not to glitch.

To update the Messenger app on your device, go to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Once you see an update, click on it to update right away.

Fix 7: Uninstall And Re-Install Messenger

If you’ve tried updating the app and pictures on Messenger are still not sending as expected.

You’ll need to delete the app from your device and wait for about 3 minutes before reinstalling it.

For Android: Tap and hold the Messenger app, and you’ll see the uninstall option at the top, drag and drop and the app will be deleted.

For iPhone: Tap and hold the Messenger app, and on the small pop-up menu, tap on Delete App. The app will be removed from your device.

Once you’ve deleted the app from your phone, you’ll need to wait for 3 minutes, then restart your phone before reinstalling the app.

Fix 8: Use Facebook Web

If you’re having trouble with the mobile app, you can try the Messenger web version to send pictures.

Head over to your favorite browser on mobile or computer, then go to facebook.com and log in to your account.

You’ll be able to send pictures on the web version.

If photos can’t be sent on the web, it means that Facebook has a technical issue.

Fix 9: Clear Browsing Data (Desktop)

If you’re using a PC, or a Mac computer and pictures aren’t sent on the Messenger site, you can clear your browser cache and cookies.

This can help solve the problem on the Messenger site, all you’ve to do is clear browsing data.

For Chrome, And Other Chromium Browser

Open any Chromium browser > Press Ctrl+Shift+Dlt and you’ll see the Clear Browsing Data box pop up > Choose the Time Range > Choose Cookies and other site data > And Choose Cached images and files > And then, click on Clear now.

For Mozilla Firefox

Open Firebox > And click on your Tools bar > Go to Settings > And select Privacy > Click on Clear your recent history under the History option > Select only the top four options and click on Clear now.

For Safari

Open Safari > And click on the Safari drop-down menu > Select Preferences and go to the Advanced tab > Click on the Show Develop menu in the menu bar checkbox >
Close the Preference window > Select the Develop menu and choose Empty Cache > Select the History drop-down and click on Clear History.

Fix 10: Use Facebook/Messenger Lite

If Messenger not sending pictures on the app, you can use the Lite version app on your Android device.

The Lite app is a lightweight version of the Messenger app that was developed by Facebook. 

If your device doesn’t have enough storage for apps, and the RAM isn’t that great, you can use the Lite app.

With the app, you can use it even on a poor internet connection and you’ll be able to send pictures on Messenger.

To get started, download the Facebook or Messenger Lite app from the Google Play Store.

Fix 11: Wait For The Issue To Be Resolved

If Messenger is not sending pictures, this can be an app-wide problem, or just for a specific region.

And since it’s a technical problem, there’s nothing you can do to solve the problem. All you can do is just wait.

Conclusion

If Messenger is not sending photos on your Android, iPhone, or iPad device this could be a technical issue, the internet not working on the app, the picture having a large size, etc

Sometimes some users can’t send pictures on Messenger PC, but this is hardly the case.

If it happens to you, this may be a result of your browser cache, the internet problem, the media size problem, or the pictures don’t want to send because of a technical issue.

To fix the Messenger not sending pictures on your mobile device or PC; you can start by changing your phone network connection.

Uninstall the app from your device, restart the app, and then reinstall it from the App Store or Play Store.

You’ll also want to use another device and see if the photo is sent. Use another phone, sign in to your account, and send the pictures.

Apart from these, you can use the Facebook Lite app if the Messenger app is refusing to send photos. On your PC, clear the browser data and cookies.

And you can also check Messenger web, not from Facebook, but the Messenger website at messenger.com.

FAQs on How To Fix Facebook Messenger Not Sending Pictures

If someone sent you a photo and you're not receiving the picture, it means either your internet connection is poor, there's a bug on the app, or the server is down.

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By Timothy Iyekowa Technical Writer
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As a seasoned content writer with 4+ years of experience in consumer technology, Timothy has been a dedicated author and editor at Techvocast.com since its inception. Specializing in addressing user concerns, his articles offer effective solutions for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac-related issues. Timothy's expertise also extends to crafting content about social media and various applications. Through his daily articles, he consistently aids users in overcoming their technology challenges.
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