iMessage not available on mobile data iOS 14.4

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Level 1

8 points

iMessage not available on mobile data iOS 14.4

I've noticed today that I can't send iMessage when I go "outside".

When I wanted to disable iMessage which was originally enabled ...

it was not possible to turn it on again ... as it asks to enable iMessage in a mobile data access

but unfortunately, iMessage is not on the list of applications available on Mobile Data as it has been moved into "System Services" => "Messaging Services" - but over there there is no button to enable or disable the service at all.

I found a few similar posts from much older versions of iPhones and iOSes including this https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/243206/how-to-fix-imessage-unavailable-turn-on-cellular-data-or-use-wi-fi-to-set-up-i which didn't work.

Posted on Mar 7, 2021 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Krzysiaczek Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2021 5:59 AM in response to Jeff_W.

Thanks for all the feedback but I figure this out today.

Inside the Messages settings there is an option Send & Receive (second on the list) shows number of addresses used for iMessage. After going inside this area I found that both my mobile numbers have been deselected - only one remaining was associated with the email address. After enabling the mobile numbers everything was back to normal.

P.S.

There was no problems with sending usual green SMSes as far as I remember.

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Answer 2

karina184

Community Specialist

Mar 9, 2021 9:49 AM in response to Krzysiaczek

Hello Krzysiaczek,

It appears that your Messages application is not operating as you expect, and we're here to help.

Based on the error messages and behavior that you've described, a good first step is to ensure that Messages is set to allow access to cellular data. Our page Check the cellular data usage on your iPhone and iPad illustrates how to ensure that Messages is configured to allow access to cellular data in Settings > Cellular or Mobile Data > Messages.

If that service is not configured, it would be expected that you would only be able to send messages when connected to a Wi-Fi network.

We hope this helps!

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Answer 3

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Mar 10, 2021 3:45 PM in response to Krzysiaczek

Welcome back Krzysiaczek,

Thank you for clarifying, and we are happy to continue assessing available options. To better understand the nature of the concern, are you unable to send any messages while disconnected from Wi-Fi, or only to specific contacts? Are you able to receive any messages from any contacts at these times? Is it possible to enable the "Send as SMS" function shown in one of your screenshots and verify that service works as expected?

If you have not already, we recommend checking the steps at If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and ensuring all of those have been completed. If so, and the behavior persists, use Contact Apple Support to connect with an Advisor to continue.

Cheers!

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Answer 4

Krzysiaczek Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 10, 2021 10:34 AM in response to karina184

Thanks for looking into this but the problem is that Messages are not present any more under Settings > Mobile Data ....? no Messages in here only System Services > Messaging Services but both are not configurable!!! So there is nothing user can do about this

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iMessage not available on mobile data iOS 14.4

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