Why doesn’t my iMessage work
So I transferred my iPad to the new phone but everything was there except my messages don’t work or deliver and all my contacts are gone and shared albums are Gone
iPhone 11, iOS 16
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User profile for user:
Eric_G1
User level:
Community Specialist
Hello renana128,
Be sure to check in Settings > Messages at the top near the iMessage button to see if it notes that it was unable to activate, or any other errors.
This page here can assist with providing steps that can help with getting iMessage to activate if it did have an issue with that process: If you can’t turn on or sign in to iMessage or FaceTime - Apple Support
Check your device settings
1. Make sure that you’re connected to a cellular data or Wi-Fi network.
2. 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.
3. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure that your time zone is set correctly.
Turn off and restart iMessage and FaceTime
1. Go to Settings > Messages and turn off iMessage.
2. Go to Settings > FaceTime and turn off FaceTime.
3. Restart your device:
• iPhone
• iPad
• iPod touch
7. Turn iMessage and FaceTime back on.
Still not activated after a day?
It might take up to 24 hours to activate iMessage and FaceTime. If the issue continues after 24 hours, follow these steps:
1. Make sure that your device has the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
2. If you're using an iPhone, contact your carrier to make sure that you can send and receive SMS messages.
3. Make sure you can send and receive SMS. If a prompt appears stating "Your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate FaceTime and iMessage", tap "OK" to allow possible SMS charges.
4. Contact Apple Support.
For the missing contacts if you had previously been using iCloud, check in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Contacts to see if this is enabled for the new device. If you had email accounts that the contacts were linked to on the other device, you may need to add those back as well in Settings > Contacts > Accounts, and check to see if they have the 'Contacts' option enabled there to help them sync back.
Cheers.