you must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for imessage and facetime

It seems that my phone can't detect sim card, this message appears in appleid stating that the added phone number does not connect to the Apple device even though the sim card already exists and the same number has not changed anything, I contacted Apple support and did not solve the problem, I tried almost all the solutions, so that I made full configurations for the device and the settings, and it's no use… check photo.


[Edited by Moderator]

iPhone 14, iOS 17

Posted on Sep 22, 2023 2:43 AM

44 replies

Sep 30, 2023 10:41 PM in response to Community User

I think I figured it out.


Settings > Messages > send & receive


make sure the phone number you have is checked. It may need to verify, but doesn’t take very long at all.


now when you go to


settings > Apple ID, iCloud+, media & purchases > Name, Phone Numbers, Email


the phone number should appear. Without any issues. It may take a bit of time for it to register… but once I texted from another apple device over to the phone… everything was working fine.


hope it works for you too.

Oct 5, 2023 4:53 AM in response to Community User

Hello everyone, I had the same issue and SOLVED IT :) (iPhone XS) here's what I've done: First under Settings -> Apple ID -> Name, Phone Numbers, Email: below Name I clicked Edit and added the phone number. Than I went to iMessage and saw the phone number show up there with the SIM card error message. All it took after was to turn off my phone and turn it back on. Now my iMessages can be sent via phone number or email. It works. Hope this helps someone.

Oct 5, 2023 5:42 AM in response to zraineri

i swapped sims yesterday and it's telling that the sim is no associated with an apple device, it worked yesterday but i removed the number as i am now waiting for my SIM with my old number so i have now tried again - and nothing, same error message over and over, tried a new SIM and it worked but i want to make sure i can use my old number when that sim arrives tomorrow? Any ideas, it's driving me mad

Oct 6, 2023 4:34 PM in response to linaslim

I swapped to a new carrier last Friday, my number ported over Monday, I still have no iMessage or FaceTime, if I use a different sim it works so it’s not my device, if I put my sim in a different iPhone I get the same error so it’s definitely my sim, I have tried every guide I can find online … only thing I haven’t tried is a factory reset of my device but I can’t see what change that would make when it is the same result in other devices

Oct 8, 2023 2:49 AM in response to Community User

I had this exact problem as well. Just purchased a new phone as was setting it up. All it took was to turn the old phone off as of course that was using the same phone number for iMessages.

I struggled with this for half an hour and read through this whole post then it occurred to me that if the old phone is on and connected by wifi then iMessage would want to be sending to that device.

Oct 9, 2023 9:12 AM in response to Community User

Not sure if this will help anyone else, but I was having the same issue with my iPhone 14 Pro that I ported my number to. Would only show the temp number for iMessages and FaceTime, in addition to my Apple ID. I kept getting the SIM card association message in relation to my ported number - that it couldn’t be used as no SIM card in an Apple device associated with that number.


I read everything and tried all solutions. Nothing worked. I reset network settings, hard reset the phone, turned messages on and off. Spoke to support at both my carrier and Apple. Frustrated I got looking around settings and noticed one for Phone.


I looked at that. It listed “my number” and had the temp one there. But it let me edit it to my ported number. I did that and went back to messages, FaceTime, etc and presto, my ported number was showing as being available for iMessage and FaceTime.


Thought I’d share here in case it helps anyone else, as it’s not a step mentioned anywhere else.

Oct 15, 2023 1:17 PM in response to Community User

I followed these instructions: link, and they helped me immensely. It's simply signing out in 'Settings -> Messages' & 'Settings -> FaceTime' on all your devices and then signing in on your iPhone first. After that, the 'Send & Receive' section in 'Settings -> Messages' should display your new phone number above your email (previously, only the email was displayed). I hope this helps you as much as it helped me! 🤞

you must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for imessage and facetime

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