While Facebook Messenger is undoubtedly one of the most popular messaging platforms worldwide, it has its fair share of drawbacks. For instance, it may display the prompt “This person is unavailable on Messenger” all of a sudden. The most plausible reason for this is that the account you want to contact has been either deleted or deactivated.
If this is not the case, you might have accidentally blocked someone instead. On Facebook, go to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “Blocking.” Click the “Edit” button for the Block users option, then select “See your blocked list.” Next, select the blocked account and click the “Unblock” button to finish.
In this article, we’ll answer questions like “What does it mean when someone is unavailable on Messenger?” and discuss the possible causes of this issue. We’ll also include the fixes for these scenarios, so keep reading to learn how to resolve them in your case.
What Does “This Person Is Unavailable on Messenger” Mean?
There’s really no one standard reason you’d see the prompt “This person is unavailable on Messenger.” But one thing’s for sure: you won’t be able to communicate with the said user on the platform.
You probably think that the user blocked you for some reason — maybe, they got angry with you, or you have some misunderstanding. This is indeed possible, but blocking isn’t the sole reason for this error. Here’s an overview of the reasons why you’d get this message:
- The person’s account no longer exists.
- Your friend blocked you.
- You blocked them.
- The person deactivated their Facebook account.
- Facebook suspended that person’s account.
- Facebook itself has bugs that aren’t fixed yet.
5 Reasons You Can’t Find Someone on Messenger
1. The Account You’re Trying to Message No Longer Exists
The concept here is simple: you can’t possibly send a message to a non-existent Facebook account. However, this might be difficult to detect under normal circumstances since no other person is notified of account deletion besides the owner. There are two ways you can check this.
Search for the Account’s Name on Facebook
If you can’t find a single search result that leads to their profile, it’s highly possible that you either have been blocked by the user or they’ve deleted their account.
Ask a Mutual Friend
If you think you’ve been blocked, you can also ask your mutual friends to send a message and see whether they too receive the “This person is unavailable on Messenger” message. If yes, it’s solid evidence your friend has deleted their account.
2. Your Friend Has Blocked You
It is unfortunate news to find out that one of your Facebook friends might have blocked you. Blocking is a feature that allows users to control who they interact with in their social spaces.
People can block you in two ways in the current version of Facebook:
- Block only on Messenger: You can’t send them a message, but you may still see their Facebook posts depending on their privacy settings (e.g., who can view, like, comment on, and share their posts).
- Block on Facebook: You can neither see their profile nor would you be able to send them a message. Unless you create a new Facebook account, you can’t interact with them once blocked.
How to Check If Someone Blocked You
There are multiple ways to verify whether a certain profile has blocked you on the platform. Here are a few methods to find out:
- Search for their Facebook profile.
- Try to send them an invitation to join a particular Facebook group.
- View their profile picture.
- Look for their name in your friend list.
If you can’t do any item from the list above, then it is likely that the person you’re trying to contact has blocked you. Alternatively, you can ask mutual friends to check the person’s profile — if your mutual friends can see them but you can’t, then it is likely they have blocked you.
You really can’t do anything to fix the problem if this is the scenario. The fix for this is already off the platform — you might need to talk to that friend of yours to reconnect with you personally, either through a call or message.
3. You Blocked the Person on Facebook or Messenger
You might have accidentally blocked someone on Facebook or Messenger. Or maybe, you forgot about blocking a certain profile before. Here are a few guides on unblocking profiles either on Facebook’s web-based version, mobile app, or on Messenger.
How to Unblock a Person on Facebook Web
If you’re quite sure you have blocked the person you’re trying to contact, here are the steps you can follow. In case you haven’t checked yet, keep in mind that the tutorial below is also a way to see your list of blocked users on Facebook.
Here’s what you can do:
- Launch your browser and head over to https://www.facebook.com/.
- Log in to your account.
- On the Home page, click on your profile picture located at the upper-right corner of the user interface.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” from the drop-down menu.
- Choose “Settings” from the options.
- On the sidebar at the left, click “Blocking.”
- Click the “Edit” button under the “Block users” option.
- From the Block users dialog box, choose “See your blocked list.”
- Find the account you want to unblock and click on its corresponding “Unblock” button.
- Click on “Confirm” from the dialog box that appears to save your changes.
How to Unblock Someone in the Facebook Mobile App
Using the mobile app version of the platform to unblock Facebook users is much easier to accomplish, given the shortened process. To get started, simply follow the steps below:
- Launch the Facebook app on your mobile phone.
- If you haven’t yet, log into your account.
- Tap on the three horizontal lines icon near the Home button.
- Expand the “Settings & Privacy” drop-down and select “Settings.”
- Scroll down to the “Audience and visibility” section and tap “Blocking.”
- Find the account from your blocked user list and tap “Unblock.”
- From the dialog box that appears, tap on “Unblock” to confirm your changes.
How to Unblock a User on Messenger Web
You might have blocked someone only on Messenger. Here are the steps to unblock them using the web-based version of the platform.
- Go to https://www.messenger.com/ and log into your account.
- Click on your profile picture at the bottom-left corner of the tab, then choose “Preferences.”
- On the Preferences window, click “Manage blocking,” which will redirect you to the Blocking section in your Facebook settings.
- Click on the “Edit” button under the “Block messages” option.
- Choose “See your blocked list” from the dialog box that appears.
- Select the profile you want to unblock and click the “Unblock” button.
How to Unblock a Profile on the Messenger Mobile App
- Launch the Messenger app (and log into your account if you haven’t yet).
- Tap on the three horizontal lines icon.
- Tap on the gear (settings) icon.
- Scroll down to the “Preferences” section, then tap “Privacy & Safety.”
- Choose “Blocked accounts” from the options.
- Tap on the profile you want to unblock, then select “Unblock messages and calls” on the next screen that appears.
- To confirm your changes, tap “Unblock.”
4. Your Friend Deactivated Their Account
Users on Facebook also have the autonomy to deactivate their accounts. If your friend didn’t give you a heads-up before doing so, you might see the “This person is unavailable on Messenger” message all of a sudden.
To check if this is indeed the case, you can simply type their name on Facebook’s search bar and see whether their profile appears. If not, your friend likely deactivated their account.
5. Facebook Suspended or Restricted Your Friend’s Account
Still seeing the message, “This person is unavailable on Messenger” but not blocked by your friend? What if their account was actually suspended? Facebook can restrict or suspend a certain user profile when specific conditions are met. For example, the user might be violating the Community Standards set by the platform, such as in cases of inappropriate content.
The only solution to this is to adopt a new communication channel while waiting for the account suspension to be lifted. Usually, this lasts up to thirty days, depending on why the account has been suspended and the severity of the suspension.
6. Facebook Is Experiencing Errors
There’s no such thing as perfection in the world — even Facebook has its shortcomings. The platform might suffer from downtimes and errors that might cause you to be unable to message your contacts on Messenger. Simply wait for the issues to be resolved by Facebook itself, and everything should function properly after.
Final Thoughts
Seeing the message “This person is unavailable on Messenger” can be daunting, especially at the thought that your friend might have blocked you for some reason. Aside from being blocked, this can also happen if their account got disabled, deactivated, or suspended. Or maybe, it was you who blocked them in the first place.
In any case, if you’re wanting to learn more about using Facebook, whether it is for advertising, social media, or managing campaigns, check out these online courses to improve your Facebook knowledge.
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Emma Collins is a tech writer for Productivity Spot. She's been writing tech tutorials & how-to guides on Windows, Android, iOS, Social Media, Data Recovery, Cybersecurity, Gaming, and more as a tech writer for over 6 years. You can find her work on many established tech websites, including Hackr.io, MakeUseOf, Help Desk Geek, Online Tech Tips, Switching To Mac, HandyRecovery, Cleverfiles, and more.
