Perhaps you’ve seen the “This Person Is Unavailable On Messenger” error and are wondering what it means. In 2022, everybody uses social media platforms like Facebook and Messenger. These platforms allow you to engage with friends and family. And if you do that regularly, you might have seen the error message “This Person Is Unavailable On Messenger.”
This error often shows on the Messenger app for many users. It could be that you’ve been blocked by the other user. Or their account may have been deactivated. Check to see whether the person has blocked you or vice versa. If not, determine whether their account has been deactivated. As last resort, switching to Facebook Lite may resolve the issue.
Whenever a user is unable to send a message to somebody on Messenger, this error message appears. There is, however, no precise reason to explain why this notice pops up. We’ve included a few possible causes for this problem and techniques for fixing it.
Reasons for “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger” Error
The message “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger” may display in your Messenger for various reasons. Below are some of the primary reasons a user might see this message and be unable to send a message.
#1. You Are Blocked By the User
When the person you’re texting has blocked you on Messenger or Facebook, it’s one of the most prevalent causes. This is similar to if you accidentally blocked the user on your side. As a result, you will be unable to send any messages. And you will receive the error message “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger”.
#2. You Are Messaging a Blocked or Deactivated Account
If the person you’re sending messages to has disabled their Messenger and Facebook account, you won’t be able to communicate with them. Until they reactivate their account, you will continuously see the message “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger”.
#3. Facebook Blocked the Account Permanently
Perhaps the user’s Facebook account has been terminated by Facebook. In this instance, you will not be able to communicate with them on Messenger.
#4. Temporarily Disabled Account
Facebook might have temporarily blocked the account of the user you are sending messages to because of a policy violation.
The user can’t send or receive messages when their account is temporarily blocked. In this case, the user is temporarily banned, but they will still appear in your list of friends.
Now that you know why you won’t be able to message your friend, you can use the following methods to fix the issue.
Fixing the “This Person Is Unavailable On Messenger” Error
You can try the following methods to resolve this error message:
#1. Checking to See If Someone Has Blocked You
The first step is to determine whether or not the user has blocked you. If the user has blocked you, you will receive a message that says, “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger“. To determine whether you are blocked or not, follow the steps below:
- To begin with, go to Facebook and use the search option to find the profile of the person you’re trying to message.
- If you’re having trouble seeing the user’s profile, try searching from a different Facebook account. You can also check by using a friend’s account.
- If the account appears on a friend’s account, it indicates the person has blocked you on Facebook and Messenger.
#2. Checking to See If You Blocked The User
If you have blocked a user, they would not be able to send messages to you or see you in their Messenger account. In the same way, you will not be able to send messages to them either.
So if you blocked them, you’d need to unblock them via your Facebook friend list. You can do that by navigating to the blocked list and clicking on “unblock” from the menu.
- Open Messenger and go to the chat where you see the message: “This Person is Unavailable on Messenger.”
- To see different options for the chat, tap and hold on to the chat. If you see the “Block” option, it means the user hasn’t been blocked.
- If you see the “Unblock” button in the menu, it means you’ve blocked the user and should unblock them before messaging them. Simply click the “Unblock” button to resume messaging without problems.
#3. Checking If a User’s Facebook Account Has Been Deactivated
Another cause could be that the user’s Facebook and Messenger accounts have been deactivated or deleted. But you wouldn’t have been notified if the account was deleted or disabled.
Therefore, you’ll need to double-check this by searching for their account in the various ways listed below:
- In the Facebook app, look for the account of the person you’re trying to contact.
- If you can’t find the user, try using a friend’s account to look for them. If the account can’t be discovered using any other ID, it signifies the user’s account has been deactivated or banned from Facebook.
- You can also make sure by checking the account with several different IDs. Try checking from any of their friends or friends of friends’ accounts.
- Only friends or friends of friends will be able to see the account if it is hidden from public search.
#4. Try Using Facebook Lite
The Facebook Lite app usually has no issue working with the Messenger app. This is because the app operates as a website and not as an app.
Facebook Lite doesn’t come with all the Messenger app features, like video calls. But if you want to use Facebook Lite, you can simply download it from the Google Play Store. However, it is not available for Apple users yet, but there are some alternatives they can use.
Conclusion
Seeing an error message when trying to contact someone via Facebook Messenger can be frustrating. However, with the above solutions, you should be able to fix the “This Person Is Unavailable On Messenger” error relatively easily.
FAQ
What Should I Do If the “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger” Error shows, but the user is not blocked?
If the message appears on Facebook Messenger, but you are sure that person isn’t blocked and they’re still on your friend’s list, you can try reinstalling the Messenger app or logging out and then back in.
If neither of these methods works, then there may be a bug that Facebook will likely fix itself eventually. You can report the issue to the Facebook help center.
What Should I Do If the “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger” Error shows, but can I see the user’s profile picture?
When you want to block someone, Facebook provides you with two options. You can either block the person only on Messenger or block them on the whole Facebook platform.
When you can see their profile picture, it means they blocked you just on Messenger, not on the whole Facebook platform. That’s why you can see the profile picture.