Messenger Not Showing Last Active – Why & How To Fix

Your Quick Answer:

When Messenger is not showing the last active time, it means that you’re not connected to a stable internet or wifi connection. 

It’s also possible that the user has turned off the active status. 

When the user has unfriended you on Facebook, or you’re no longer friends with them, then you’ll not be able to check the active status or last active time. 

If the user has blocked you on Facebook, you won’t be able to check the last active time too. His display picture will vanish and you’ll not be allowed to send messages to him either. 

To fix the issue of not being able to check the last active time, check your internet connection. 

You can also clear the cache from the settings. Make sure the active status is turned on. 

But if nothing works, reinstall Messenger after uninstalling it. 

Why can’t I see when someone was last active on Messenger:

There might be these issues:

1. Your Internet Connection is not Working

When you’re not able to check the last active status of any Facebook friend on Messenger, there is a good chance that you have not turned on the data connection of your device.

When your device is not connected to an internet or wifi connection, the last active time won’t show up when you’ll open up the Messenger chat.

You’ll need to connect your device to a strong wifi connection or turn on the mobile data of your device so that it can load the last active time and show you when the user has last been active on Messenger.

It shows the hours of last active. Even after turning on the WiFi or internet, you’re not able to check the last active time, you’ll be able to know that it’s for some other reason. 

2. He Turned off Active Status

If the user has turned off the active status on his Messenger account there is no way you’ll be able to check the last active time to know when he was last active.

Users on Messenger often turn on the active status for privacy reasons, mostly when they don’t want others to know about their last active hour.

He Turned off Active Status

But some even turn it off to appear offline and hide the online tag. If that’s the case, you need to check if the user is active or not by sending a message and check if it gets seen by the user quickly or not.

If the message gets seen by the receiver quickly it means he’s online. You can also ask the user to turn on the active status only if you’re very close to him. 

3. No Longer your Friends

It’s also possible that you’re not friends with the user anymore which is why you’re not able to check the last active hour of his Messenger account.

On Messenger, you’ll be able to check the last active hour of those users only with whom you’re friends on Facebook or have previously chatted with by accepting message requests. But the user may have recently unfriended you on Facebook which is why you’re not able to check the last active time to know when he was last active. 

Click on Add Friend

You’ll be able to check if you’re still friends with the user or not by searching for the user on Facebook. If instead of the Friends tag, it shows the Add Friend button on the user’s profile, it means that person has unfriended you. 

4. He has Blocked you on Facebook

If you’re not able to check the last active time on Messenger, you need to check for the signs of blocking as when the user has blocked you, you won’t be able to check his last active time too.

He has Blocked you on Facebook

When you’re blocked, you will not be able to see the display picture of your Facebook account as it will appear blank and gray.

You won’t be able to send messages to the user as it will also be restricted and the text box to type messages will not appear when you’ll open the chat screen. 

How to fix Messenger not showing active status:

Try the following fixes:

1. Check the Internet Connection

You can check if your device is connected to a WiFi network or not. If the wifi network you’re connected to is not strong and stable you need to switch to a better wifi network to load the last active time.

However, if you’re using a mobile data connection you need to be sure that you’ve enough data left or that it’s working. If the data connection is slow and unstable then switch to a WiFi network connection instead to check the last active time. 

2. Clear Messenger Cache

When you’re unable to find the last active time of any Messenger chat after checking the internet connection, you need to know that often Messenger experiences glitches due to the accumulation of cache.

You need to clear the Messenger cache once in two weeks to avoid cache accumulation as it results in malfunctioning or some of its features may stop working properly. 

The cache data of the Messenger application can be cleared from the settings of your device. 

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Open the Settings app. 

go-to-your-‘settings

Step 2: Then you need to click on the Application and Permission

Step 3: Next, you need to click on the App Manager option. 

Application-manager

Step 4: You’ll need to scroll down to Messenger and then click on it. 

Click on Messenger

Step 5: Then you need to click on Internal storage. 

Click on storage

Step 6: Click on Clear Cache

Click on clear cache

3. Make sure Active Status is enabled

You can only check the last seen status of users on Messenger only when your active status is enabled on Messenger.

If you’ve turned off the active status button of your Messenger account to hide your last active time and online status from friends, you won’t be able to check the last active time and online status of others too.

Therefore, before you try to stalk others to check their last active time you need to be sure that the Active status button of your Messenger account is switched on. If it’s switched off, turn it on by following the steps below:

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Open the Messenger status. 

Step 2: Then click on the profile icon. 

Tab-on-profile-picture-icon

Step 3: Next, you need to click on the Active Status option. 

Step 4: Then turn on the switch next to Show when you’re active

Show-when-youre-active

4. Reinstall Messenger

Messenger often experiences glitches due to which it doesn’t work properly to show the last active time or the online status even when there is a proper internet connection. In that case, you need to consider reinstalling the Messenger app after uninstalling it.

You’ll be able to download the app from the Google Play Store or App Store. After reinstallation, connect your login to your Messenger account and check the last active time. You’ll be asked to view it 

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: From the app menu, you need to uninstall the Messenger app. 

Step 2: Open the Google Play Store. 

Step 3: Search for Messenger. 

Step 4: Then you need to install the Messenger app by clicking on the Install button next to the app. 

Messenger-2

Step 5: After installation, log in to your account by entering the login credentials correctly. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. My active status is on but I can’t see my friends that are active on my Facebook

If the active status of your Messenger account is turned on but you’re unable to see and find the active status of other friends, it means that they have turned off the active status.

They may have to choose to hide it so that others can’t know when they’re getting online or were last active. But whatever the reason, you won’t be able to find or see it until they turn on the active status again. 

2. Why can’t I see who is online on Facebook anymore?

If you’re able to check and see who’s online on Facebook, it means you’ve turned off the online status on Facebook.

You can only check the online status of your Facebook friends only when you will turn on the active status on Facebook. The active status is marked or shown with a green circle next to the user’s profile icon. 

3. Why does Messenger sometimes show the last seen and other times not?

If you’re unable to check the last active user on Messenger sometime, it means that they’ve disabled or turned off the “Active Status” of their Messenger. But at other times when you can see it, it means that the user has turned on the active status. On Messenger, you can turn on or turn off the active status anytime you want. 

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