Imessage/facetime waiting for activation problem on a deactivated iphone 5

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Imessage/facetime waiting for activation problem on a deactivated iphone 5

Hello people(:

I was just wondering if anyone out there know how to fix the waiting for activation problem for iPhone 5 on 6.1.4

My iPhone 5 is deactivated so it has no service on it. It has a sim card but the sim card doesn't have service and I'm guessing thats the problem.

But i just wanna make sure that it is or if anyones got a solution.

Thanks(:

Need answers please

iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.4, Deactivated iphone (no service)

Posted on Jul 13, 2013 1:12 PM

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Answer 1

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gdgmacguy

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21,885 points

Jul 13, 2013 3:35 PM in response to Timmybm

That's the problem. The iPhone must be activated.

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Answer 2

Jul 13, 2013 3:38 PM in response to gdgmacguy

There is a way you could still use facetime, if you go into your settings you can set it so you recieve calls based on your appleid, not you phone number, obviously since the phone is deactivated even though its an iPhone 5 you would have to be using a Wi-Fi network

Settings>Facetime>Add Email

Settings>Messages>Recieve At>Add and Appleid

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Answer 3

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,371 points

Jul 13, 2013 3:40 PM in response to Timmybm

I believe this support document provides insight on using Facetime and iMessage on a deactivated phone. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4268

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Answer 4

Timmybm Author

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Jul 14, 2013 3:25 PM in response to gdgmacguy

But are you sure it needs to be activated?

Because i tried everything. With emails only and no phone number.

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Answer 5

Timmybm Author

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Jul 14, 2013 3:26 PM in response to tbarrack1022

I tried this with just my apple id and took out the phone number because its got my sim card.

But when i do it just keeps saying waiting for activation.

What i just want to use is imessage

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Answer 6

Timmybm Author

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Jul 14, 2013 3:27 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks and ill take it a look at it(:

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Answer 7

Timmybm Author

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Jul 16, 2013 10:57 AM in response to tbarrack1022

Has anyone found out yet?? Need answer please

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Answer 8

cheonweb

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Jul 16, 2013 11:02 AM in response to Timmybm

You have to able to send SMS to activate iMessage/FaceTime. You have no SIM so you can't send SMS.

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Answer 9

Timmybm Author

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Jul 16, 2013 11:18 AM in response to cheonweb

Like my phone does have a sim card the problem is. Its not activated so it has no service on that sim card

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Answer 10

gdgmacguy

Level 7

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Jul 16, 2013 11:26 AM in response to Timmybm

Then you can't activate your phone, which means you can't activate iMessage.

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Answer 11

Dec 27, 2014 4:35 PM in response to gdgmacguy

I just bought an iPhone 6 and as soon as the 6 became active, my old 5 lost its ability to use iMessage. I tried to enable the SMS on my 5 by swapping SIM cards but my 5 didn't recognize the SIM card of my 6. My next step will be to restore my 5 from an iCloud Backup of my 6 and see if that works. I'll post back later my results.

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Answer 12

Dec 27, 2014 5:00 PM in response to phkc070408

Well I did a restore of my iPhone 5 (deactivated) using my last iPhone 6 backup (activated) and iMessage still failed to activate. It's funny because this worked on my old iPhone 4. I don't know what else I did different.

Does anyone know why Apple does this? Why are they against us using iMessage on a deactivated iPhone?

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Answer 13

ManSinha

Level 6

12,171 points

Dec 27, 2014 5:08 PM in response to phkc070408

This is interesting - we have an iPhone 4S which is from our previous carrier - obviously it no longer has service but as long as it has WiFi - the iMessage aspect still works

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Answer 14

Dec 27, 2014 5:14 PM in response to Timmybm

You haven't activate the SIM doesn't mean you can't use iMessage and Facetime. You may need to read the guide: If you get an error when trying to activate iMessage or FaceTime - Apple Support

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Answer 15

Dec 27, 2014 5:20 PM in response to selenafromshenzhen

A quote fron that guide:

If you're using an iPhone, you'll need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime.

You need to have your iPhone activated to use the SMS messaging needed to activate it.

Unless someone knows something that I don't. What's weird is I can get it to activate on my old 4 but not my old 5.

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