Q: Why doesn't my iMessage let me switch telephone number
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Nov 29, 2015 9:00 PMby ChrisJ4203,Turn iMessage off, then power the device off. The number information comes from the SIM and account info. You cannot manually change the phone number, that is done during the activation process. After powering the device back on again, turn iMessage back on. It should go through the activation process. After iMessage reports it is active, then go into Settings>Send & Receive and make sure the new number is there. If not, then turn it back off again, and do a reset on the device. Hold the sleep/wake and home buttons together until you see the Apple logo and release. After the phone reboots, go into Settings>General>Reset>Reset Network Settings. After that, go back to the directions I gave for turning iMessage back on and checking activation.
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Nov 29, 2015 9:11 PMby sberman,One possible addition to ChrisJ4203's solution:
If you have more than one Apple device using iMessage, you need to make sure you are logged off iMessage on all these devices when trying to make the phone number change in iMessage on your iPhone.
Link your iPhone number and Apple ID to use iMessage and FaceTime - Apple Support
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Nov 29, 2015 9:19 PMby ChrisJ4203,You will have to work through the activation issues. It will not reflect the new phone number until iMessage is activated with the new number. That will not be accomplished until you are able to deal with the activation error. As sberman said, if you have more than one device using iMessage, especially if you have a device that is using the phone to forward, such as an iPad, then that has to be removed as well. Until you get iMessage to successfully activate, then you will not see the new number. You may have to leave iMessage turned off for a little while before you can turn it back on and be successful in activation. Also, make sure your carrier supports the international SMS that is sent to the Apple server in the UK. That should not be a problem as long as your carrier is an Apple supported carrier. It should not be an issue since you are using the same carrier as before.
