Why am I getting asked to sign in to my iMessage

Hi mckinlee49,

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities. Depending on the exact error message you're seeing in iMessage, this article has some steps that may help: If you can’t turn on or sign in to iMessage or FaceTime - Apple Support.

"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. 
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

4. 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."

Take care.