imessage displays the wrong cell number

If I am understanding this correctly, you have a new phone number and are no longer using the old one? If you are using a new number then iMessage is going to display the current number. There is no way it is going to display an unused number on an iMessage. There is no way for you to tell the phone or iMessage to display an old number.

Try turning off iMessage in Settings>Messages, then restart your phone, go to Settings>Phone>My Number and confirm that it is correct (if not, type in the correct number), then turn iMessage back to On and go to Settings>Messages>Send & Receive and see if the correct number is displayed under "Start new conversations from" now.

You're welcome. Don't know what else to suggest.

Great. Glad it's working again.

I'm sorry. I didn't understand that from the initial post. However, I'm glad you got it working, since randers4 generally knows what he is talking about.

This happened to me at the weekend, and this loved my problem. Nice one!

Thank you very much randers!

I'll send your solution to my friends!

I meant solved! :-)

Yes if you change your number it will display an old number using an imessage I had this problem myself today you have to reset iMessage setting by going to your settings phone making sure your number is correct then goin to settings messages turn imessages off wait a few minutes then turn it back on go to send & receive & click your phone number it will then say waiting for activation you can exit out of settings and go back and check in a few minutes and it will work using your new number

Ok so my imessage and FaceTime both show different numbers (neither number is my number) I'm from UK and one number is from Thailand and the other is from Australia. I've turned the imessage and FaceTime off and on, signed in and out of my apple ID. Reset the phone, removed and replaced the SIM card. Tried 101 solutions touted on the web but still same problem. When I click imessage to on and sign into my apple ID, it has my correct email and mobile number. However, when I click done and the view the send and receive addresses, the greyed out number is a Thailand number and no longer the mobile number that my apple ID had identified. I have also contacted my service provider and there is no problem on their end and I rang apple support and they said they didn't know what to do and that they hadn't heard of this issue before. Any profound suggestions?

1) Turn off iMessage on your device

2) access manage you apple I'd on the web

3) change your phone number and save the changes

4) turn iMessage back on

Hi Jamie, did you ever get an answer to your problem? I have encountered the same thing. Yesterday I tried a Bell SIM card in my Telus Iphone 5 to verify that it was unlocked. Now I can't use imessage and my messages will only go out using my email address, not my cell phone number. The number that appears in imessage is some strange number, not my own. Thanks.

there is nowhere to change you phone number on apple id