Why won't my iPhone let me delete photos to free up storage?

Hello jmps1234,

It sounds like you've been unable to delete some of your photos from your iPhone, and you're also unable to activate iMessage. We'd like to try and help you get this resolved.

Were and of those photos originally synced to your iPhone from iTunes? If so, you'll need to use iTunes to remove them from your iPhone. You can view steps on how to do this in the "Turn off iTunes syncing" section here: Keep your photos safely stored and up to date on all of your devices.

If they weren't synced from iCloud, try deleting those photos again, and then remove them from the Recently Deleted album as well:

"Delete photos permanently 

If you want to permanently delete your photos or videos within 30 days, you can remove them from the Recently Deleted album. When you delete a photo from this album, you can't get it back.

1. Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab.
2. Open the Recently Deleted album and tap Select.
3. Tap each photo or video that you want to permanently delete.
4. Tap Delete and confirm that you want to delete the photos."

Delete photos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

After that, restart your iPhone and see if the photos have now been erased. Here are steps to help with the issue you're experiencing with iMessage: If you get an error when trying to activate iMessage or FaceTime.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Take care.