I changed my AppleID password and now iMessage doesn't work on my devices (3 iphones, 3 ipads)

Hi TonyB64,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. This article has some steps you can take to troubleshoot not being able to send iMessages:

iOS: Troubleshooting Messages

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2755

Issues with sending and receiving iMessages

You will need these to send and receive iMessages:

• An iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• iOS 5.0 or later.
• A cellular data connection or a Wi-Fi connection.
• A phone number or Apple ID registered with iMessage in Settings > Messages.

To resolve issues with sending and receiving iMessages, follow these steps first

1. Check iMessage system status for current service issues.
2. Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and make sure that you have registered iMessage with your phone number or Apple ID and that you have selected iMessage for use. Learn more about troubleshooting iMessage registration if the phone number or Apple ID isn't available for use.
3. Open Safari and navigate to www.apple.com to verify data connectivity. Learn more about troubleshootingcellular data or a Wi-Fi connection if a data connection isn't available.
4. iMessage over cellular data might not be available while on a call. Only 3G and faster GSM networks support simultaneous data and voice calls. Learn more about which network your phone supports. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and turn Wi-Fi on to use iMessage while on a call if your network doesn't support simultaneous data and voice calls.
5. Restart your device.
6. Tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings on your iPhone.

If you are still unable to send or receive an iMessage, follow these steps

1. Make sure that the contact trying to message you isn't blocked in Settings > Messages > Blocked.
2. Verify that the contact you are attempting to send a message to is registered with iMessage.
3. If the issue occurs with a specific contact or contacts, back up or forward important messages and delete your current messaging threads with the contact. Create a new message to the contact and try again.
4. If the issue occurs with a specific contact or contacts, delete and re-create the contact in the Contacts application. Create a new message to the newly created contact and try again.
5. Back up and restore your device as new.

Cheers,

- Ari

I don't know about everyone else, but I wasn't all that keen on wiping out message logs just because I changed my password, and with text messaging and other networking working just fine it was clear that this was not a network issue.

I found that going to Settings > iCloud and logging in with the new password, and then rebooting, got iMessage to work again.

Forcibly shutting down iMessage did not work. It required a reboot. Apparently there is some authorization related application state that survives app restart, but not reboot.

Hope that helps.

One more thing to try, that worked for me before I had to do anything major, like changing contacts, or deleting threads:

Log into iMessage using the Messages app on OS X.

Send iMessages to the offending iOS devices.

If the speech balloons are in blue, try sending/receiving iMessages via the iOS devices.

If they’re still in blue, it’s fixed.

Somehow the computer seems to be telling the iPhone/iPad/etc. to use iMessage again.

Jim Frost you are a message god - thanks sooooo much!!