HT202033: Get started with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

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Q: iPad can not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable - what fixes this.

iPad can not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable - what fixes this.

iPad Air, iOS 9.2

Posted on Jan 7, 2016 4:03 PM

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Q: iPad can not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable - what fixes this.

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  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Jan 7, 2016 4:09 PM in response to sor-jpg
    Level 5 (7,778 points)
    Notebooks
    Jan 7, 2016 4:09 PM in response to sor-jpg

    ...

    When trying to activate your iPhone, a message might say that your iPhone cannot be activated because the activation server is unavailable, the SIM card is unsupported, or activation couldn't be completed. Follow these steps.

    ...

    If you can't activate your iPhone - Apple Support

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jan 7, 2016 5:42 PM in response to sor-jpg
    Level 8 (37,982 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2016 5:42 PM in response to sor-jpg

      That message means one of the following:

    • It really is unavailable. Rare, but it happens. You can check its status here: http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/
    • Your antivirus or firewall is blocking access to gs.apple.com. Try disabling it.
    • Your router's firewall is blocking access to gs.apple.com or to a port that it requires (443).
    • Your phone is jailbroken, or it was at some time in the past.
    • Your computer was used to hack or jailbreak some iOS device in the past (not necessarily the device with the current problem), and its network database was corrupted. Hacking includes using some questionable apps such as recboot, reiboot, Tinyumbrella, redsn0w, etc.

     

    For the last possibility inspect your computer's hosts file. If there are any lines in the file that reference gs.apple.com that is the explanation. You will need to rebuild the hosts file.