iMessage not working! HELP?!

Hi OohRachi,

Thank you for contributing to the Apple Support Communities.

It seems like you're trying to send iMessages to other iPhone users, but they're being sent as text messages instead.

It may be normal for your phone number to be grayed out under Settings > Messages > Send & Receive. Do you have a check mark next to your phone number, like in this screenshot?

If not, try following the steps from iOS and OS X: Link your phone number and Apple ID for use with FaceTime and iMessage.

If you do have a checkmark next to your phone number, try these steps from If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch next:

Sign out and back in to iMessage and FaceTime

1. Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive, tap your Apple ID, then tap Sign Out.
2. Go to Settings > FaceTime, tap your Apple ID, then tap Sign Out.
3. On your iPhone first, sign back in to iMessage and Facetime.
4. Sign back in to iMessage and Facetime on your other devices.

Reset your network settings

Tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Sincerely,

Jeremy

Hi OohRachi,

Thanks for your reply.

No worries. It's good to be sure of steps before going through them.

You shouldn't need to contact your carrier after using Reset Network Settings. Your carrier's default configuration will be put back automatically.

You will need to re-enter the passwords for Wi-Fi networks you connect to, though.

(For reference, the information above comes from If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network and iOS: About cellular data network settings (viewing or editing the APN).)

Regarding the steps in iOS and OS X: Link your phone number and Apple ID for use with FaceTime and iMessage and If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

If you use iMessage on any Mac computers or other iOS devices, sign out of iMessage on those computers/devices first. Then try the steps outlined in the articles on the iPhone you're having the issue with.

For more help with these steps or if they don't solve it, you can contact Apple Support using this link:

https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action

Best Regards,

Jeremy

Go to Settings > Messages and make sure that iMessage, Send as SMS, or MMS Messaging is turned on (whichever method you're trying to use).

Sounds as if Restrictions are disabled for these apps (iMessage and FaceTime.) If so, you will need to enter a passcode to enable them. If you are not able to rescind, create, or change the passcode, you will not be able to change the settings for these apps.

Restrictions have nothing to do with the issue the OP is reporting. The normal state of Restrictions is disabled. One only enables Restrictions when one wants to prevent other users of the device from accessing things or making changed, and there are no Restriction options for Messages at all.

So, not sure what you mean by "you will need to enter a passcode to enable them". If Restrictions are "disabled", then no passcode is required.

Are you confusing the App-specific password required for FaceTime and Messages when a person has Two-step Verification enabled? If so, that is an entirely different thing than Restrictions.

Cheers,

GB

The default setting for Restrictions is OFF. If you go to Settings> General and scroll down to Restrictions, you will see that the default setting for Restrictions is OFF. If it says ON, Restrictions was tapped to enable Restrictions to ON after entering a Passcode. Once the Passcode is entered, you can choose the apps or items that you want to restrict by tapping on them.

Again, the issue that the OP is reporting is not in any way controlled by Restrictions. I am fully aware of how they work, and that they are "Off" (or disabled, as I indicated), normally. However, there are no Restrictions for Messages....

The OP's issue is having iMessages change to text messages. Has zero to do with Restrictions.

Cheers,

GB

I stand by what I said previously:

First, go to Settings and check to see if Messages is turned on (Button is green) to indicate that it is turned on. If not, tap the button to turn Messages on. If the button does not turn green when you tap it, go to General> Restrictions and if, instead of the default OFF, Restrictions says ON, no doubt someone who knows the passcode for Restrictions has enabled them and likely checked "Don't allow Apps" after entering the Restrictions passcode. To turn these Restrictions OFF, you will first have to know and enter the passcode to enable Restrictions and then return to the Messages setting to turn it on.

If you still are unable to turn on Messages or send and receive text, I confess I don't have an alternative suggestion and you may want to consider contacting Apple's support staff for help with the matter.

I stand by what I said previously:

First, go to Settings and check to see if Messages and/or FaceBook are turned on (Button is green) to indicate that they are turned on. If not, tap the buttons to turn them on. If the buttons do not turn green when you tap them, go to General> Restrictions and if, instead of the default OFF, Restrictions says ON, no doubt someone who knows the passcode for Restrictions has enabled them (yes, ON means that they are enabled; OFF means that no restrictions have been activated) and likely checked "Don't allow Apps" after entering the Restrictions passcode. To turn these Restrictions OFF, you will first have to know and enter the passcode to enable Restrictions and then return to the Messages or FaceBook settings to turn them on.

If you still are unable send and receive text, you may have a hardware problem and may want to consider contacting Apple's support staff for help with the matter.

Where, exactly, is the Messages App in Restrictions? Yes, FaceTime is there, but if FaceTime was restricted, the icon wouldn't even show on the Home Screen, so that was certainly not related to the "FaceTime not going through" sidebar that the OP mentioned.

The TOU of this forum specify that you should always test solutions before you provide them. If you can provide a specific setting in Restrictions that will prevent you from turning OFF Messages or FaceTime in your Settings, then I will stand corrected. But I think you will be hard-pressed to even find an entry for FaceTime in the Settings list if you turn turn the Restrictions settings on for it.

And again, for Messages, there is no corresponding Restriction associated with Messages.

You specifically stated:

Sounds as if Restrictions are disabled for these apps (iMessage and FaceTime.) If Restrictions are disabled they are in no way interfering with anything on the phone. If so, you will need to enter a passcode to enable them. If you are not able to rescind, create, or change the passcode, you will not be able to change the settings for these apps.

So, you cannot even see a button to turn off if Restrictions is set for FaceTime, therefore: If the buttons do not turn green when you tap them, go to General> Restrictions and if, instead of the default OFF, Restrictions says ON, no doubt someone who knows the passcode for Restrictions has enabled them simply is not correct. Restrictions will not prevent you from turning Messages OFF and ON, and if FaceTime is Restricted, you won't even have an entry for the FaceTime buttons showing in Settings.

GB