6 Best Fixes for Reactions Not Working in Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a good option to limit your conversations to just your Facebook friends. You can use it like any other internet messaging app to chats, send photos and videos, video calls, screen share, and more. Best of it, you can react to messages sent on Facebook Messenger besides responding to them.

Message Reactions save you the time of searching for the most common emojis to share your sentiments. But if you can’t react to messages, here are some troubleshooting methods to fix Reactions not working in Facebook Messenger. We will be covering steps for iPhone and Android users.

1. Check Privacy and Security Settings

You can first start by checking the account privacy settings in the Facebook Messenger app. You may have selected a preference that is leading to Messenger Reactions not working. Here’s how to check the same.

Step 1: Open Facebook Messenger on iPhone or Android.

Step 2: Tap the hamburger menu icon at the top-left corner and select the Settings icon next to your profile name.

Step 3: Select Privacy and Security and check all the settings for your account.

We suggest checking your Message Delivery settings and Restricted Accounts.

Step 4: After you make the changes, return to your chats to check if you can react to messages.

2. Reset Custom Emoji

Facebook Messenger lets you select your custom emoji for reacting to messages. You can reset your custom emoji and check if the problem gets solved.

Step 1: Open Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or Android.

Step 2: Open a chat with your friend and long-press on any message to access message reactions.

Step 3: Tap the Plus icon next to the emoji reactions.

Step 4: Tap on Customize and then tap on Reset at the top-left corner.

For Android, tap the Reset icon.

Step 5: After that, return to the chats to see if you can react to messages.

3. Login Again to Facebook Messenger

You can log in again to your account in Facebook Messenger if Reactions are still not working. This is a quick fix that helps in solving a lot of in-app issues like this one. You will have to use the Facebook app for the same.

Step 1: Open Facebook on your iPhone or Android.

Step 2: On iPhone, tap the Profile icon at the bottom-right corner. On Android, tap the hamburger menu icon at the top-right corner.

Step 3: Scroll down and tap on Log Out.

Step 4: Log in again to your Facebook account and then open Messenger to check if the problem is solved.

Check our post on how to log out of Facebook and Messenger from all devices.

4. Force Quit and Relaunch Facebook Messenger

You can force quit and relaunch the Messenger app. This is another simple yet effective solution that will give the app a fresh start.

On iPhone

Step 1: On the home screen, swipe up and hold to reveal the background app windows.

Step 2: Swipe right to look for Messenger and swipe to remove the app window.

Step 3: Relaunch Messenger and check if the problem is solved.

On Android

Step 1: Long-press the Messenger app icon and tap on App Info.

Step 2: Select Force Stop and tap on Ok to confirm.

Step 3: Close App Info and relaunch Messenger to check if the problem is solved.

5. Clear Facebook Messenger App Cache

You can clear the Facebook Messenger app cache that gets stored over some time to maximize your user experience. An outdated app cache can lead to such issues.

On iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on General.

Step 2: Tap on iPhone Storage and select Messenger.

Step 3: Select Offload App and tap on Offload App again to confirm.

Step 4: Close Settings and download the app again to check if the problem is solved.

On Android

Step 1: Long-press the Messenger app icon and tap on App Info.

Step 2: Select Storage and Cache and tap on Clear Cache.

Step 3: Close App Info and open Messenger to check if the problem is solved.

6. Update Facebook Messenger

If none of the troubleshooting steps have worked, we suggest installing an app update for Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or Android.

Update Facebook Messenger on iPhone

Update Facebook Messenger on Android

React to Messages

These solutions will help you fix the issue of Message Reactions not working in Facebook Messenger. The app also allows you to check Stories posted by your Facebook friends. But if that’s not the case, you can follow some troubleshooting methods to fix this issue.