Q: Currently studying abroad and imessage stopped working on airplane mode with wifi

I have been in studying abroad in Europe for 3 months. Just realized iMessage with my phone number stopped working and says "waiting for activation". I have been on airplane mode with wifi the whole time. Would really like to get messages from friends and family back home. Is there anyway to fix this before going back to the US and without cellular service?

I have tried turning iMessage on and off and airplane mode on and off as well.

Thanks!

iPhone 6, iOS 9.1

Posted on Dec 2, 2015 5:43 AM

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Q: Currently studying abroad and imessage stopped working on airplane mode with wifi

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by braden85,

braden85 Dec 3, 2015 12:22 PM in response to act354
Community Specialists

Dec 3, 2015 12:22 PM in response to act354

Hey act354,

I see that you are having some issues with iMessage service. Here’s an article for you that explains some troubleshooting steps for this issue and may help you resolve it:

If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204065

Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
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by IdrisSeabright,

IdrisSeabright Dec 3, 2015 12:49 PM in response to act354
Level 9 (59,764 points)

iPhone

Dec 3, 2015 12:49 PM in response to act354

If iMessage has become deactivated, the phone will need to be able to send an SMS to reactivate it. Do you have cellular service on the phone? If so, you may need to take the phone off Airplane mode for long enough for iMessage to activate.
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by mdesignffm,

mdesignffm Dec 3, 2015 1:20 PM in response to act354
Level 2 (306 points)

Notebooks

Dec 3, 2015 1:20 PM in response to act354

i use imessage on my phone in different countries with different foreign sim cards. each time i exchange sim cards, imessage needs to be reactivated by an sms. this is annoying and stupid as well, since other services (eg whatsapp) work fine over different sim cards.

did you remove your sim card and replaced it with another one for some time? then this might be the reason for the deactivation.

so, as meg suggests, you need to reactivate your imessage by allowing your phone to send this sms (yes, this will cost you money). after, leave your sim in your phone.
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Q: Currently studying abroad and imessage stopped working on airplane mode with wifi

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by braden85,

by IdrisSeabright,

by mdesignffm,

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