What Does “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger” Mean?
After years of not talking to a friend, you decide to write to them just to find the following message: This person is unavailable on messenger.
Whenever this error message appears, it only means one thing: that person is unavailable.
But why? It may be due to a number of issues with their Facebook page or their user account.
Maybe they deleted Facebook, blocked you on Messenger, or simply that there might be an issue within the app.
But don’t worry, most of the issues have an easy solution to them.
If you don’t see someone on messenger anymore, here’s what you need to know:
- What does “this person is unavailable on messenger” mean?
- How to fix the error message: “this person is unavailable on messenger”?
What Does “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger” Mean?
The “This person is unavailable on messenger” message literally means that the user’s account is unavailable on messenger.
The real question is why is that Facebook message error appearing? Well, there is some good news and bad news ahead.
For starters, you may have to deal with some drama from your friends.
1. The User Blocked You.
A person blocked you, is that simple. Whatever was their reason for blocking you is up to that user.
When any user decides to block someone on Messenger it’s because they don’t want to receive any more messages from the recipient’s account.
It might be better to simply let that user alone and use the Messenger delete option to forget about that conversation.
If it’s essential to contact them, e-mailed them instead and ask them directly.
If you don’t think that’s the case, there are ways to find out.
2. You Blocked Them By Mistake.
While rare, it can happen. In such cases, you must unblock the other person.
You can do so from the Messenger app or the Facebook app in Account Settings.
And don’t worry, the previous chat won’t be deleted when blocking and un-blocking.
As a note, verified users have more options than blocking, you can mute an account to not receive notifications from it.
3. The User Deleted Their Facebook or Messenger Account.
It may also mean that your friend simply deleted their account for security reasons.
If that’s the case, the person’s account will forever be unavailable on Messenger, meaning that you’ll likely never contact them again through this chat.
This happens all the time, as Facebook doesn’t really have a history of being a secure website.
Pro Tip: Want to make your account more secure? You can make yourself unavailable from contact if you make your Facebook private.
You can learn more by clicking the information icon on the Facebook app or by reading our previous article.
4. The Account is Temporarily Unavailable
A friend’s account may also have been banned or given a timeout by Facebook.
A user’s deactivated account won’t be able to start any conversation nor receive a message anymore.
A temporarily banned user will still be your friend, but a permanently banned one will no longer exist.
How To Fix The Error Message: “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger”?
To fix “this person is unavailable” Facebook Messenger error, simply try the following fixes.
If after trying these fixes you still see the “unavailable error”, Facebook might not be working.
Either way, here are the best solutions so any user can get in touch with another person through Messenger.
They are presented from most likely to least likely to work.
1. Check Your Facebook Memories
By doing so, you’ll be able to see past interactions with other users that could have potentially blocked you.
You can access your memories by going into the upper right corner of your screen (mobile) and scrolling through settings.
There, you’ll need to scroll until you see a memory or comment of the Facebook profile that potentially blocked you.
If you can click the name or profile picture, you aren’t blocked.
If that’s not the case, the person no longer wants to start a chat with you.
Don’t be afraid to try to fix the issue.
If a person blocked you, it might be a good idea to contact them directly.
If you both comment on the issues, you are sure to work things out.
2. Unblock them
Blocked people won’t be able to send a new message to you nor see you.
But it works in both ways, meaning that you won’t be able to send messages as well.
To unblock someone from Messenger, you’ll need to unblock them from Facebook.
You can do so by going into your blocked list and clicking the unblock button.
Note: Your message will appear in the message request bin unless you add their Facebook account as friends.
Adding someone on Facebook is really easy and won’t take more than 3 minutes of your time.
3. Try Facebook Lite
This app bypasses any issues with the Messenger app, as it works as the site and not a separate app.
However, it lacks basic Messenger features like a video call.
Just go to the app store and type FB Lite on the search bar.
However, it’s not available for Apple users.
Whenever you experience a Messenger issue, just try the alternative.
4. Simply Check Your Connection
You can’t send messages if you can’t open Facebook or Messenger!
With no connection, other’s posts and recent comments won’t load.
By restarting your modem or switching to mobile data, you might be able to Fix “this person unavailable” message.
FAQ About Facebook Messenger
How Do I Know If Someone Blocked My Facebook Account On The Messenger App?
By checking your memories.
However, if a user deletes another one from Facebook, you’ll still see the person on the app, and will be able to send a friend request, but it is likely they won’t accept and will the request as a pending option.
Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter at Hypegrowth. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.