3 Ways to Fix Facebook When the Message Button is Missing

Restore the message button and reach your friends quicker

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Key notes

  • The Facebook message button missing issue might be caused by a privacy setting activated by a friend.
  • Another known cause of this issue is the unintentional removal of the icon from the favorites section.
  • A quick and effective way to solve the message button missing problem is to enable it from the settings.
facebook message button missing

Facebook is one of the most used social media platforms. Thanks to its easy accessibility and excellent overall performance, it has a wide user base.

It has a mobile app and also a web page. Also, you have the option to use Facebook Messenger on your browser to make it easy to get across to your friends. 

However, people are complaining that the message button is missing on Facebook. This takes away important ease-of-use features.

While the issue can be frustrating, it is not the most difficult to fix. This guide will show you how to get the message button back effortlessly.

Why can’t I message my friend on Facebook?

If you can’t find the message button on your friends’ profile or your friends can’t find it on yours, it means you have recently changed your date of birth to a year below the acceptable by Facebook. Facebook does not allow minors or people under a specified age to receive messages.

But if you can’t find the message button on a friend’s profile before sending a request, the person might have removed it from the privacy settings.

Quick Tip:

The Facebook Messenger and other social media and messaging integrations for the Opera One browser make it simple to access anyone’s contact info while trying to fix the message button.

Is as simple as it sounds, Opera One has a lot of unique features such as VPN, Adblocker, built-in AI, workspaces, tab islands, and many more.

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Get a better user experience from a lighter browser with great built-in apps.

How do I get the message button back on Facebook?

1. Enable message requests

  1. Sign in to your Facebook account on your browser.
  2. Click on your profile picture and select Settings & privacy.
  3. Now, scroll down on the left and click on How people find and contact you, then scroll down on the right and click on each box listed in the How you get message requests section.
  4. Now, make sure that the box with Don’t receive requests is not checked.

If the messages button is missing from your Facebook page, you have either set your page as private or you have disabled the message requests from your settings.

The same applies if you can’t find the Message button on some of your friend’s page. With this fix, you can get it back and start messaging your friends easily again.

2. Change your date of birth

  1. Click your profile picture in the top right corner.
    profile picture facebook message button missing
  2. Click the Edit profile button under your cover photo.
    edit profile
  3. Scroll down and click the Edit your about info button.
    edit
  4. Select Contact and basic info on the left pane.
    contact and basic facebook message button missing
  5. Click on the pencil icon before your birth date and change it accordingly.
    pencil icon

Facebook does not let anyone 14 years and below receive messages. So, if the messages button is missing, it is likely because you have tampered with your date of birth or the friend you can’t message has done the same.

3. Check privacy settings

Facebook gives users the privilege to remove the message button from the profile. This makes it inaccessible to those not on their friends’ list.

Hence, if the message button or icon is missing on the profile of a friend you don’t have on your list on Facebook, the person might have removed it from the privacy settings.

In this case, you must send a friend request to the person before you can send messages.

Why is my Messenger icon not showing on Facebook?

If the Messenger icon is missing on your Facebook page on mobile devices, it might be due to an outdated app. In this case, you just need to update your Facebook app and relaunch it.

Also, it might be due to poor network connection. This causes the page to load incompletely if you use the web version on your PC.

The Facebook message button is not working, or missing issues can be frustrating, denying you quick access to your friends. Fortunately, it is not the most difficult issue to fix, as shown in this guide.

Besides, if you find that Facebook Dating is not showing up, updating the app will do the trick!

If you are facing issues like Facebook not working on Firefox, check our detailed guide to fix it quickly. 

Feel free to let us know if the solutions above helped you get the message button back in the comments below.

More about the topics: Facebook issues