Q: iMessage Activation Unsuccessful
Hello.
I recently bought an iPhone 6 16GB and am running on iOS 9.3.1, and am currently having trouble with iMessage.
I have tried countless times now to activate iMessage, however the "Waiting for activation message remains for about 3 hours every time, after which it reads "Activation unsuccessful".
I also have another issue: when I open the "Send & Receive" box in the "Messages" settings folder, I see only my email address in the "You can be reached by iMessage at" list. There isn't even a "Start new conversations from" list on the page. What I want is to be able to enter my phone number into that.
I have tried everything I could find on Google and various forums. I will try and recall as many troubleshooting steps that failed as I can:
Turning iMessage off and on again
Rebooting the phone
Resetting network settings
Restoring the phone
I have made sure my number is stored in the "Settings > Phone > My Number" box. I have tried starting the number with both "0" and "+44" (I live in the UK).
My number is active as I have been able to call it and call from it.
I have "Send as SMS" enabled in "Settings > Messages".
Restrictions are turned off.
I am logged in to a valid Apple ID.
My Mobile Data is turned on and 4G is set to Data Only.
I should note that this is also the case with FaceTime, however I do not plan on using FaceTime at all so I'm not too fussed about that.
I could really do with some guidance because I don't know what I can do from this point on except take it in to the shop and ask them about it.
Thanks in advance,
Jamie
iPhone 6, iOS 9.3.1, iMessage Activation
Posted on May 1, 2016 9:21 AM
If you send an SMS to someone, does it work?
Apple's recommended steps are here, some of which it sounds like you've already tried: If you get an error when trying to activate iMessage or FaceTime - Apple Support
Posted on May 1, 2016 9:31 AM