MMS is a great way to send multimedia messages like images and video files from your Samsung Galaxy S21. However, MMS technology does not always work as expected for some people. A lot of people.

As an Android developer and a huge fan of Samsung products, when we went through the Samsung community, we saw a bunch of people have complained that the Samsung Galaxy S21 does not download MMS messages.

For some people, only group chat MMS messages were downloaded, while others didn’t receive or download any MMS messages at all. So we decided to give all of them a few solutions to fix the issue.

Is your Samsung S21 MMS not downloading too? This guide is for you.

Note: Solutions in this guide will also work on Samsung Galaxy S21+, S21FE, and S21 Ultra models.

Editor’s note: We created these instructions using a Samsung Galaxy S21 running Android 12. Depending on your device’s software version, some steps and menu positions may look slightly different.

Why is my Samsung S21 MMS not downloading/working?

MMS (Multi Media Messaging) is an alternative technology to SMS. But unlike SMS, MMS requires an active mobile data connection to send and receive MMS messages (photos, videos, etc.)

In addition to that, some carriers additionally charge for MMS messages only. In this case, you are required to have the balance on your account to send and download MMS messages.

To work correctly, there are some configurations you need to do on your Samsung S21. If not, MMS messages will be sent, but you won’t be able to download messages from others.

Therefore, if MMS does not work on a Samsung Galaxy S21, the possible reasons are issues with the mobile data connection, misconfigurations, problems with the carrier, and temporary glitches/bugs on the smartphone.

But no matter what causes the MMS not downloading issue, you will find the solution in this guide. Let’s get started.

Fix 01: Turn Off Wi-Fi

As we mentioned before, MMS usually does not work with WiFi. There are some ways that you can use a WiFi connection to send and receive MMS messages but it natively doesn’t support that.

Therefore, if your Galaxy S21 is connected to a WiFi network, disconnect it and turn on the mobile data. And try to download the messages to see if it works.

Also, you need to check the data balance of your connection. If there is not enough data balance to download the messages, it will fail in the process.

Fix 02: Disable Data Saver

Every Android device has a data-saving option that you can use to reduce data usage when connected to a mobile or WiFi network. The data saver feature does this by limiting internet access to apps that run in the background of the device.

Since MMS uses mobile data, enabling the data saver can prevent files from downloading. To fix this, you have to turn off or disable the data saver feature on your Samsung S21.

To do this;

1. Go to Settings > Connections.

2. Tap on “Data usage”.

3. Tap on “Data saver”.

4. Tap on the toggle button to turn it off.

5. Restart the device.

Fix 03: Turn Off Mobile Data For a Few Minutes

When you keep trying to download the MMS messages, the download request will be sent multiple times, and it can cause the messages not to download.

To ensure there is no glitch in the MMS, you can restart the device or turn off mobile data for a few minutes. 

1. Turn off mobile data (and WiFi if both are turned on).
2. Wait for 5 minutes.
3. Turn on the mobile data again.
4. Press and hold the power button and volume down button for a few seconds to restart your S21.

5. Once it is restarted, Check if the MMS messages download without any issues.

Fix 04: Reset All network settings

Misconfigured network settings and APN settings are other common reasons why you cannot download MMS messages. When this happens, what we usually do is look for each setting and correct them if necessary.

However, as a regular smartphone user, this can be a little difficult for you to do. Therefore, the easiest way to solve this is by resetting the network settings on your Galaxy S21.

Here is what you need to do;

1. Open Settings > General management.
2. Tap on “Reset”.

3. Tap on “Reset network settings”.

4. Confirm.
5. After it is completed, restart the device.

Fix 05: Contact Your Carrier

Up to now, if you follow the solutions above, you have done pretty much everything you need to do to solve this problem. If you are still unable to download MMS messages, you have to contact the carrier of the SIM card or your device.

Talk to their customer support or physically reach them and make sure there is no issue from their end. Also, you can request them to check the MMS settings on your device. If the settings are wrong, they will correct them or will send a configuration message to set it up by yourself.

Fix 06 – Try a Different SIM card

There are people on the Samsung community forum that have mentioned changing the SIM card fixed the MMS not downloading issue.

Since the network carriers provide the MMS service, it is a working solution to change the SIM card from a different provider.

Therefore, if you have a different SIM card or can buy a new one, it is worth giving a try.

Fix 07 – Send a Report Through Samsung Members

If even changing the SIM card did not work for you, there is a better way that you can get a solution from a specialist on Samsung.

As you may know, there is an app called “Samsung Members,” which you can use to send a report addressing the situation.  After that, the tech support on Samsung will assist you in fixing the issue.

So here is how you can send a report through Samsung Members;

1. Try to download an MMS message to reproduce the error and take a screenshot if possible.
2. Open the Samsung Members app.
3. On the bottom side, tap on “Support”.
4. Under Send feedback menu, tap on “Error reports”.
5. Select Call/Message.
6. Select the Frequency as “Often”.
7. Now describe the issue. If you took a screenshot, attach it to the report by taping the pin icon on top right corner.
8. Check the “Send system log data”.
9. Send the report.

Now you have to wait for 2-4 days until the support team gets back to you.

Wrapping Up

Anyone can get frustrated when the MMS messages do not download as they want. And that is why as a troubleshooting blog, we decided to give you solutions to fix the issue.

If you found this guide helpful in solving your problem. Support us by sharing this guide with your friends who face the same problem.  If you have questions regarding this guide, feel free to ask by using the comment section.

Have a nice day!