Q: iOS 7 iMessage won't activate

I had this issue and called apple today as it was over 24 hours after I did the update. They told me to do a full restore on my phone

So I backed up to iTunes on my laptop, deleted all settings and data, restored from iTunes and everything has worked :) try it out people!

I have been having this problem since the 18th. No iMessage, No Facetime. I tried everything I could find about the issue online and nothing worked. Worked for everyone else, but not me.

Just got off the phone with Apple and let me see if I can recollect what they did to get it to work.

1. Backup your device to YOUR COMPUTER on iTunes 11.1. (I have the iPhone 5 thru Verizon)

2. Turn off iMessage (in Settings)

3. Turn off Facetime (in Settings)

4. Go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings

5. The phone will then reset itself and start back up to a welcome screen.

6. Start passing the menus by skipping through. You want to set it up as a new phone not from an existing backup. The point here is to not sign into iCloud or anything.

7. When you get to the home screen go turn iMessage and Facetime back on via Settings.

8. Send a test text to someone with an iPhone that uses iMessage. (Not yourself. That didn't work.)

9. If the text shows up blue then you're good to go!

10. Plug back into iTunes and restore from the backup you just did.

You then will have to go thru the motions of signing back into to various things but the problem should now be solved.

Good luck and godspeed.

I FINALLY fixed it!! I was having the network problem message. I tried all of the suggestions and possible fixes for this issue but I still couldn't get iMessage or FaceTime to work.

THEN... I went into my settings > wifi > clicked on my wifi network and changed the DNS to 8.8.8.8 and now my iMessage and FaceTime is working perfectly!!!

None of these have worked tried them all, I don't know what to do?!! Help please

Telstra have acknowledged there's an issue on Twitter and that they're looking into it - no ETA.

I did find out that because my iMessages aren't working, anyone with an iPhone that texts me and has their iMessages on actually sends the message assuming mine works and it gets lost on the Apple servers.  By turning off my iMessage button and the other person turning theirs off, I can receive text messages. Additionally, I can receive from non-iPhones.  I was told the iMessage and Facetime issue will resolve itself as less people crowd the servers.  Guess I'll wait it out...

I had the same problem. I backed up my iPhone 4S with ios7 to my laptop, and then restored the phone. iMessage is now working.

Sad that Apple was not better prepared for this. You shouldn't have to wait for the issue to resolve itself because they weren't prepared for their servers to be crowded!

Ok, just completed a little experiment: Swapped my O2 sim card for a Three sim that I had laying around, and imessage/facetime activated within a minute... As soon as I put back my O2 sim card, back to square one "awaiting activation" and a text message every half an hour with code...

It's definitely a carrier issue, in my case, O2 just being O2(rubish)...

Did a hard reset and imessage worked fine after I set it up as a new phone, now im trying to get the phone back to it's orginal state from the backup from itunes. 30 minutes, 15 minutes to go.

Hopefully it works when it's done.

fullspeed8989, thanks for the info!

I followed your instructions to the letter and iMessage finally worked... that is until my restore.

Now I am back to where I was at the begining, except now all my music and apps are gone and iMessage still does not work.

Apparently the idea of "it just works" followed Steve Jobs to the other side.

Thank you fullspeed8989 - worked a treat... iMessage back - and everything else seems to be working too...  Took half an hour or so but good to go!

ok, so i was having the same problem with iMessage and Facetime. These steps just worked for me.

back up your phone with itunes, then got settings/general/reset/Erase all content & settings.

Phone will reset from original. walk thru the steps of reactivation, you may have to connect back to your computer & itunes for completion.

That worked for me just now.

I had activation and adding email address issues when upgrading my iPhone 5 to iOS 7 - but none for my iPad. After speaking with Apple support, I received a vague answer - wait 24 hours - the reply suggests Apple has server demand problems.

After doing numerous network resets, I solved my phone number activation address problem by doing a home button/power button recycle. However, it would appear that any address additions will require time and lessened demand. In short, this is an Apple issue and has nothing to do with your service provider. While I expected nuisances with a V1.0 of a major update, I really like the new OS. Good luck!

I was previously able to use iMessage and Face Time on iPad without a voice/data plan (used wi-fi) and now I cannot sign in to either? Have reset my wi-fi connection and still getting could not sign in and to check my network connection? I can access iTunes and internet thru Safari. What's up with this?