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I'm not receiving text message without wifi or data after 14.1 update

I have a iphone se, after an update to14.1 i'm now not receiving text messages unless i'm connected to wifi. I normally keep data and wifi off unless i need it. Now i'm not getting text without wifi.


it seems the update caused this issue, this phone is a prepay phone and i try to keep my data usage to a minimum for $ reasons.

iPhone SE, iOS 14

Posted on Oct 28, 2020 4:31 PM

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Posted on Oct 29, 2020 10:01 AM

If you and your wife are both using iPhones, the only way for you to get SMS from each other is if you have iMessage disabled. iMessage service from Apple is a data only service and uses wi-fi or cellular data, it does not use the SMS/MMS standards. An SMS is a regular text message from a non-iOS device and uses the carrier's cellular to send/receive the message.


If you are unable to send/receive an iMessage, go to Settings>Messages>iMessage and make sure that it is turned on and activated. Also ensure that your Send/Receive have your phone number listed. There are no settings for SMS on the iPhone, that is controlled strictly by your carrier.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 29, 2020 10:01 AM in response to martije

If you and your wife are both using iPhones, the only way for you to get SMS from each other is if you have iMessage disabled. iMessage service from Apple is a data only service and uses wi-fi or cellular data, it does not use the SMS/MMS standards. An SMS is a regular text message from a non-iOS device and uses the carrier's cellular to send/receive the message.


If you are unable to send/receive an iMessage, go to Settings>Messages>iMessage and make sure that it is turned on and activated. Also ensure that your Send/Receive have your phone number listed. There are no settings for SMS on the iPhone, that is controlled strictly by your carrier.

Oct 29, 2020 9:45 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

Good morning Chris, your response is correct, but not the problem I was having. I did get in contact with apple support and as I researched into the problem, I'm seeing an issue with the way i-phone processes it messages. I found the articles tech support sent me on : About i messages and SMS/MMS along with : if you can't send or receive messages on your i-phone very helpful and I'm providing them to you as I truly appreciate your response. I am referring to SMS messages which is the way messages were transmitted before iMessage became available. In the past I would get text message without wifi or data through my phone service provider. Recently however, when i did connect to wifi, I got text messages from 1-2 hours prior making me wonder why i'm not getting my messages. Also, i found out that the problem might not be my iphone but the sender's iphone which is this case was my wife. There are setting on the iphone which need to be set or might of gotten changed with the update, i'm not sure, but even if the setting are set up correctly, there still a chance the iphone still won't send an SMS message, ( read another article on this). Although, i have our phone set up correctly I still may not get my text from other iphone users unless my data or wifi is turned on. one thing i heard about change is: you don't have to like it to accept it. Have a great day and stay safe. JM

Oct 29, 2020 4:16 PM in response to martije

The reason that you get SMS messages without wi-fi or data is because they do not use wi-fi or data. SMS are delivered through the cellular system and cannot be delivered via wi-fi. Cellular data is only required for MMS, which are SMS with media attached, such as a photo or other media. SMS will work without iMessage activated, so long as you have an SMS/MMS plan activated by your cellular carrier.


The requirement for wi-fi or cellular data refer to iMessages, and those are only possible between iPhones, iPads, and some Mac computers. iMessage is a proprietary system for Apple devices only, but it uses data to send and receive, similar to how an email would. An iMessage would appear in a blue bubble on your device, while an SMS would appear in a green bubble. Hopefully you have an understanding on how the two systems work, but maybe this will help. About iMessage and SMS/MMS - Apple Support

Oct 29, 2020 10:43 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

Chris, I'm not sure why, but we are able to get SMS text messages without wifi or data with the Imessage button enabled. I actually tried to disabling the imessage to see if that solved the problem before connecting tech support, disabling imessage had no effect.


The problem which was implemented by tech support lied in the send and receive tray under the imessage button. You have to place a check mark next to your phone and your apple id. I also enabled the send text as a SMS if imessage is unavailable, along with the MMS button as well. The articles referred to in my last response were very helpful.


Tech support did also suggest contacting carrier as well if i'm still having problem. As of right this moment the SMS text are going thru. I love my iphone and appreciate your support. Again thank you and have a great day. JM

I'm not receiving text message without wifi or data after 14.1 update

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