Since updating to iOS 26.5 on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, RCS Messaging has not been working. It is perpetually stuck on "Waiting for activation". I haven't been getting messages from my RCS group chats. I've contacted my carrier and they recommended contacting apple. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I've tried all of the troubleshooting tips short of completely resetting my phone which I don't think will fix the issue.
iPhone 17 Pro Max
ebrowe626 wrote:
I’ve spoken with my carrier. On their end everything looks good and they really tried everything they could think of. The fact this occurred following the update to 26.5 is what makes me think it is an issue with the update.
If there is a troubleshooting step for this, I have tried it. The only thing I haven’t tried is getting a new phone.
An answer from one of our users in a different post:
"Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN. However, VPN actually reduces your privacy, it does not enhance it."
ebrowe626 wrote:
I’ve spoken with my carrier. On their end everything looks good and they really tried everything they could think of. The fact this occurred following the update to 26.5 is what makes me think it is an issue with the update.
If there is a troubleshooting step for this, I have tried it. The only thing I haven’t tried is getting a new phone.
An answer from one of our users in a different post:
"Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN. However, VPN actually reduces your privacy, it does not enhance it."
After updating to iOS 26.5, some users report RCS messaging stuck on “Waiting for activation.”
Try these steps:
If it persists, contact your carrier since activation relies on their network.
Good Luck! 👋🏼😉
Smiliñ 😎 Brian
ebrowe626 wrote:
Since updating to iOS 26.5 on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, RCS Messaging has not been working. It is perpetually stuck on "Waiting for activation". I haven't been getting messages from my RCS group chats. I've contacted my carrier and they recommended contacting apple. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I've tried all of the troubleshooting tips short of completely resetting my phone which I don't think will fix the issue.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/3ea0b1bd-70e8-4184-98eb-7ecf86d26438
Escalate the issue with your phone carrier, RCS is their feature they need to fix it.
Have tried connecting to cellular data and see if it activates?
I’ve spoken with my carrier. On their end everything looks good and they really tried everything they could think of. The fact this occurred following the update to 26.5 is what makes me think it is an issue with the update.
If there is a troubleshooting step for this, I have tried it. The only thing I haven’t tried is getting a new phone.
Desperately going through threads to see if someone has a solution I haven’t already tried. I’ve spent over 5 hours on the phone w my service provider and it’s still saying waiting for activation. I don’t have a VPN. I’ve done all the things. Anyone have a solution anywhere???
I am having the same issue, it's been going on intermittently for a while but in ios26 it's been constant. How can I fix this without completely removing my ProtonVPN?
RCS messaging no longer working after iOS 26.5 update
