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Question

imessage and facetime are not activating after porting the number

  • January 16, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 17 views
K
New Contributor
  • KBO
  • New Contributor

I recently ported my number from O2 to iD Mobile. After ID mobile go on live (with eSIM), I can’t iMessage and FaceTime activated.

Under “Sign-in &Security” in iPhone setting, I see error message “You must have a SIM associated with an Apple device for +44 xxxx to be used for iMessage and FaceTime.”

The issue seems to be network related as I could activate iMessage and FaceTime within a minute when I tested with another SIM card from Vodafone.

I can confirm bellows. 

  • My number is correctly set in iPhone settings (Phone > My Number).
  • SMS and calls working well
  • Tried all standard troubleshooting steps (incl. resetting network settings and reactivating iMessage/FaceTime) following all the steps in 

https://community.idmobile.co.uk/switching-to-id-pac-stac-132/how-do-i-fix-calls-imessage-or-facetime-issues-on-my-iphone-57840

 

Also, I replaced eSIM several times but didn’t fix the issue. 

 

In another post, I saw you someone had very similar issue and he suspected wrong CLI or SMS routing. 

Can you please investigate to fix the issues?

I have already checked the below and it did not help: 

https://community.idmobile.co.uk/switching-to-id-pac-stac-132/how-do-i-fix-calls-imessage-or-facetime-issues-on-my-iphone-57840

    1 reply

    Lamiya C
    iD Mobile Employee
    Forum|alt.badge.img+9
    • Lamiya C
    • iD Mobile Employee
    • January 30, 2026

    Hi ​@KBO ,

     

    Thank you for your message, and I’m sorry you’re experiencing issues with iMessage and FaceTime after porting your number to iD Mobile. I completely understand how frustrating this must be.

    Based on your description, this seems to be network-related, likely due to incorrect CLI or SMS routing, as your number works with calls and SMS but not for iMessage/FaceTime activation.

    Try the steps below:

    Check eSIM Activation: Ensure your iD Mobile eSIM is active and set as the default line for messages and data:

    Go to Settings > Cellular > iD Mobile eSIM.

    Ensure it’s selected as your default line for calls, SMS, and data.
     

    Reset Network Settings:

    Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

    Reboot the phone after this.
     

    Sign Out and Back Into Apple ID:

    Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Sign Out.

    Sign back in, then try activating iMessage/FaceTime.
     

    Toggle iMessage & FaceTime Off/On:

    Go to Settings > Messages > iMessage and turn it off, then on again.

    Go to Settings > FaceTime and do the same.
     

    Wait for SMS Activation:

    Ensure your iD Mobile SIM can receive international SMS, as Apple sends a verification SMS to activate iMessage/FaceTime.

    Lamiya

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