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I can't select my phone number for iMessage (-sigh- Yeah, this problem again)

Let me explain the whole scenario:

My iMessage and FaceTime worked perfectly fine this morning.
I turned off my iMessage to check if I would be able to get messages from other iPhones.

My observation is that when an iPhone has their iMessage turned off and someone else who sends an imessage to that phone, their message would automatically turn to "text" messages instead of imessages. (Whoa, that sounds a bit confusing).


Anyway, I turned my iMessage back on and what do you know, I can't click my phone number because it's grey

I'm only able to select my emails. So for "send and recieve" it says "No address" (Because i didn't select anything, I'm waiting for my phone number to 'magically' get selected)

I have tried so many things and it's irritating.


My Facetime worked well, I would turn it off and back on and my number would get selected instantly. And I messed around with it, turning it off and back on to see if it'll automatically choose my number and it did. But I turned it off and on again and now It doesn't choose anything, it just says "Waiting for Activation"


But now after so many attempts of trying to turn it off and back on just to fix this iMessage crap, I can't even sign in to my apple id anymore. It says that I can't sign in and that I need to check my network connection. (I'm using wi-fi. And it's working perfectly fine; My network connection is fine)


So now, I'm really screwed. my iMessage and Facetime don't work anymore.


I'm really looking for a solution to this annoying problem.


By the way, it's an iPhone 4s and my carrier is T-Mobile.

Posted on Nov 16, 2013 9:53 PM

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Posted on Jan 28, 2014 5:02 AM

I just did this method, and it seems to have worked. I noticed I wasn't receiving iMessages from my overseas buddies on my new phone, but they were coming through on my iPad. My number in grey wasn't ticked. I went through this method and now it is ticked. Thank you!

51 replies

Dec 17, 2016 7:31 AM in response to E.L.A.95

So these posts seem a few months, if not a few years old, but I have recently (just this morning) started experiencing the exact same issue. Please can someone help! Here is a list of symptoms and what I've tried:

-iMessage randomly starting sending from email

-I went to send and receive and unchecked email but it will not let me check my number.

-turned iMessage on then off and now my number is gray and it just shows the spinning loading thing but never does anything else.

-tried turning airplane mode on then off.

-tried turning off iMessage and FaceTime and restarting phone then turning them back on. Nothing.

-tried taking out my SIM card and putting it back in then restarting again. Nothing... nothing I seem to do is working and I didn't even touch the settings in the first place. I literally have done nothing different with my phone that I have so far in the few months I've owned it...

I can't select my phone number for iMessage (-sigh- Yeah, this problem again)

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