iMessage has wrong phone number how do I change it

Problem here too. I recently switched providers from O2 to EE, and that meant I put a new sim in the phone with a temporary number, then ported my old number via a PAC code.

Problem is, iMessage is showing that temporary number on everything and no way to attach my real number which I've had for 20+ years. It was working fine before the new sim and now people are complaining that they don't recognise me when I message them!

Hi..i also need help please...I got a new iphone5..Now, my phone number is showing as "Unknown" in settings>phone>my number...

Also, i can not send any outgoing sms...it is beacuse (as i think) that iMessage has a number saved which is not my number and can not be changed...same is happening with Facetime as well..

I read ur post and I removed my apple id from send & receive and then turned off imessage...now, my imessage is stuck on waiting for activation...even after restart

please help....

Thank you so much! I had the _exact_ same problem! It seems the temporary number got put in the phone settings just like for you, and now a month later messages to friends started appearing from the temporary number (that doesn't even exist anymore).

I simply went into settings>phone and tapped on my number at top and changed it to my ported number from temporary one. I then switched iMessage off then on and voila. iMessage has reverted back to my original number.

Try this on both you and your daughters iPhones:

1. go to settings>messages>send and receive

2. tap on the Apple ID and sign out

3. turn iMessage off and wait 10 seconds

4. turn iMessage on

5. this should activate iMessage with the iPhones own numbers

6. now only you sign into the Apple ID for iMessage

This should revert back to only your number and email showing as the contact info for iMessage and you both should not receive eachothers messages. Your daughter will still be able to iMessage but only with her number unless she creates another Apple ID just for iMessage.

Note: Only do steps 1-4 for the iPad

Hi this might help if i message is displaying the wrong number.

To fix this problem, try turning off iMessage (Settings > Messages), then restart your phone (by pressing and holding the on/off button), tap Settings > Phone > My Number and confirm that it is correct. If it is not correct, please enter the correct number), then turn iMessage back to On (Settings > Messages) and go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and see if the correct number is displayed under “Start new conversations from:”.

i use your step but it still not my correct number. please help me

I tried all the below and FINALLY got iMessage to work correctly:

Sign out of Apple ID in iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime.

Turn off iMessage and FaceTime.

For GSM phones, remove your SIM card and reinsert it. (Use a safety pin or paperclip to open the SIM tray)

Reset the network settibgs. (General > Reset > Reset Network Settings)

Turn on iMessage and FaceTime.

After all of the above, the correct number displayed with a checkmark to the left.

Hi All,

I also need help. i recently got an iphone6 and the number (contactA) that i got from my service provider receives a lot of messages from the previous owner so i had my number changed (contactB). it was after that when i realized that my imessage's registered number is my previous number (contactA).

i cant deregister using the apple web tool because it will still send the verification number to my old number (contactA).

i tried signing out my apple id and turning off imessage for a minute but in settings>messages>send & receive contactA is still number I can see not contactB.

how do i fix it. 😟

Hi Richard / everyone,

Did you ever get this sorted? I find myself in the same situation you described on your post. Went from O2 to EE and now neither iMessage nor FaceTime will activate correctly. I've updated the phone number by hand but still no dice.

Any advice?

Thanks | APCJ

I have a similar problem.

I got a new iPhone, but kept my old one as a spare and got a new number for it. Any iMessages I send from it are sent from the "new" number, which is not the one people recognise as me.

The explanation works until I sign back in on the new phone using my Apple ID, when it goes back to the "new" number.

Does that make sense?

Any ideas?

I had this same problem just now. I was trying to setup Messages on my Mac so I can send/receive messages (both iMessage and SMS) without having to pick up the phone to reply to them. After several tries, I got it working.

Here's what I did:

Changed the phone number listed in the Payments Info of my Apple ID to the number that I'm using on the iPhone. This might not have anything to do with it, but, it was worth changing in my case.

Signed out of Apple ID in Settings > Messages > Send and Receive

Disabled iMessage

Logged out of iCloud in Settings > iCloud

MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR DEVICE

In Settings > General > Reset, choose Reset All Settings. This will not remove data.

After reboot, enable iMessage FIRST.

It worked after that. I then proceeded to enable iCloud on the same device and everything works fine now.

I hope this helps.

Well done and zillions of thanks for the clear explanation. None of the other wheezes worked for me! It figgered that iTunes would need to be invoked and sure enough...

The only way I can this to work (i.e. give the correct number on the new iPhone) is NOT to sign in using my Apple ID. What are the implications of this, if any?

Thanks.