Apple Intelligence now features Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools enhancements, seamless support for ChatGPT, and visual intelligence.

Apple Intelligence has also begun language expansion with localized English support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. Learn more >

You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

đź“° Newsroom Update

Voice Memos update brings Layered Recordings to iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Learn more >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iPhone keeps saying "waiting for activation"

When I sign in and out of my Apple ID, from both phones, my 6S is fine but the 11 won’t connect to the phone number. It only says “Waiting for activation...” with the little spinning loading wheel. I don’t know what to do.




[Re-Titled by Moderator]


iPhone 11

Posted on Jul 10, 2020 9:30 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 11, 2020 1:42 AM

To use iMessage or FaceTime, you need to activate them on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If you see an error message during activation, follow these steps.


When activating iMessage or FaceTime, you might see one of these messages:

  • Waiting for activation
  • Activation unsuccessful
  • An error occurred during activation
  • Could not sign in, please check your network connection
  • Unable to contact the iMessage server. Try again.


Check your device settings

  1. Make sure that you’re connected to a cellular data or Wi-Fi network. If you're using an iPhone, you need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime. Depending on your carrier, you might be charged for this SMS.
  2. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure that your time zone is set correctly.



4 Step Process --> Turn off and restart iMessage and FaceTime (The order / sequence is very important)

  1. Go to Settings > Messages and turn off iMessage.
  2. Go to Settings > FaceTime and turn off FaceTime.
  3. Restart your device.
  4. Turn iMessage and FaceTime back on. (Watch the GIF below)



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 11, 2020 1:42 AM in response to Alphabet0910

To use iMessage or FaceTime, you need to activate them on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If you see an error message during activation, follow these steps.


When activating iMessage or FaceTime, you might see one of these messages:

  • Waiting for activation
  • Activation unsuccessful
  • An error occurred during activation
  • Could not sign in, please check your network connection
  • Unable to contact the iMessage server. Try again.


Check your device settings

  1. Make sure that you’re connected to a cellular data or Wi-Fi network. If you're using an iPhone, you need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime. Depending on your carrier, you might be charged for this SMS.
  2. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure that your time zone is set correctly.



4 Step Process --> Turn off and restart iMessage and FaceTime (The order / sequence is very important)

  1. Go to Settings > Messages and turn off iMessage.
  2. Go to Settings > FaceTime and turn off FaceTime.
  3. Restart your device.
  4. Turn iMessage and FaceTime back on. (Watch the GIF below)



iPhone keeps saying "waiting for activation"

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.