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iMessage Activation Unsuccessful Issue

T
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Hi everyone,

I have seen a number of questions relating to this similar issue and want to get it resolved asap please.

I have just upgraded from a iPhone 12 Pro to and iPhone 14 Pro, and after swapping my sim card (which worked perfectly fine in my 12) my iMessage & FaceTime are now defaulting to my email address opposed to my mobile number. When attempting to select my number as the default iMessage/FaceTime sender and receiver, I am greeted with the message that activation was unsuccessful. I can see that based on other people’s experiences as well as my own, this seems like an ID Mobile sim issue and not an Apple one however unsure how my sim can work on one device and not the other?

I have attempted all the suggested resolutions on other threads and can confirm that my number has been the same for years - my iD Mobile number only linked to my iPhone 14 device 

I have reset my network settings and the same number is still there however will not connect to my iMessage/FaceTime. I cannot send any messages when I turn iMessage off, my main contacts all use iMessage and I am unable to send anything to them. (I have checked and my SMS is set to on however will not send) 

PLEASE can someone from ID’s customer support assist with this ongoing issue and resolve it as it is increasingly frustrating to see how multiple people are suffering from the same issue with no resolution being put in place. 
 

Kind Regards,

Trishul (he/him)

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Best answer by WelshPaul 20 July 2023, 23:50

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WelshPaul
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Bioth iMessage and Facetime are Apple services and you should contact Apple for support regarding either.

T
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Bioth iMessage and Facetime are Apple services and you should contact Apple for support regarding either.

These features work perfectly fine when associated with my email address therefore I do not believe there is an issue with those services provided by Apple - as stated the issue is with the activation of my phone number which is an ID Mobile service 

WelshPaul
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I cannot send any messages when I turn iMessage off

Enable “Send as SMS”.

Settings > Messages > Send as SMS

 

If the above setting is enabled and you cannot send any SMS messages when iMessage is disabled, then you do indeed have an iD Mobile related issue.

T
Rank

I cannot send any messages when I turn iMessage off

Enable “Send as SMS”.

Settings > Messages > Send as SMS

 

If the above setting is enabled and you cannot send any SMS messages when iMessage is disabled, then you do indeed have an iD Mobile related issue.

Yes my SMS is enabled and my messages are still not sending. But also my mobile number should be the default number associated with iMessage as it was on my previous iPhone as no settings have been changed with the switch over to the new phone 

andewhite
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I cannot send any messages when I turn iMessage off

Enable “Send as SMS”.

Settings > Messages > Send as SMS

 

If the above setting is enabled and you cannot send any SMS messages when iMessage is disabled, then you do indeed have an iD Mobile related issue.

Yes my SMS is enabled and my messages are still not sending. But also my mobile number should be the default number associated with iMessage as it was on my previous iPhone as no settings have been changed with the switch over to the new phone 

The thing that’s changed here @Trish2112, is your iPhone.

Apple might still have your mobile number linked with the device ID of your previous iPhone, in which case iMessage isn’t going to work on your new iPhone.

That said, if you have Settings > Messages > Send as SMS turned ON on your new iPhone, then text messages will send as SMS when iMessage is unavailable.

  

P
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I recently changed network to ID from 3 and I can’t setup imessage or FaceTime it keeps appearing saying activation unsuccessful.I have tried everything  suggested on previous threads, My number switched over yesterday ,but it seems like it has only partly ported. I am about to cancel the contract if this is not resolved today.

andewhite
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I recently changed network to ID from 3 and I can’t setup imessage or FaceTime it keeps appearing saying activation unsuccessful.I have tried everything  suggested on previous threads, My number switched over yesterday ,but it seems like it has only partly ported. I am about to cancel the contract if this is not resolved today.

According to the Apple support article https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201422, it can take as long as 24-hours for iMessage & FaceTime activation to complete @Phil Dodds. 

Did you get a new iPhone when you changed to iD? 

P
Rank

My wife and I got our sims yesterday and we get the same. Network is poor at best, only a few texts get through not all, not all calls get thru either. iMessage, FaceTime doesn’t work. 
They’re new phones with the numbers ported from Vodafone, we’re definitely regretting the change. The online help is no good, it feels like a real substandard service so I think we’ll be cancelling and handing back the handsets. 

andewhite
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My wife and I got our sims yesterday and we get the same. Network is poor at best, only a few texts get through not all, not all calls get thru either. iMessage, FaceTime doesn’t work. 
They’re new phones with the numbers ported from Vodafone, we’re definitely regretting the change. The online help is no good, it feels like a real substandard service so I think we’ll be cancelling and handing back the handsets. 

Doesn’t sound good @Paul Murphy75.
If you decide to leave iD Mobile in your cooling OFF period, make sure you cancel your ORDER - don’t cancel your contract by mistake, which might result in an early termination fee. 

 

P
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Hi mate I got it sorted I eventually got through via Facebook messenger believe it or not , anyway I sent a message half hour later they replied I went through everything they asked with no luck then half hour later it started working 

good luck hope u get sorted u can also ring 0800 049 2376 vulnerable person line and the lady there said she would escalate the issue 

but the person on  facebook messenger was the most help 

mid already gave my old handset away or I would of just cancelled yesterday to be honest 

regards

phil

P
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Hi Phil, messenger is definitely faster and less frustrating than the website chat box as it takes around 45 minutes to get thru the 2 security questions. 
Messenger said it’s an Apple issue, called Apple they spent 45 screen sharing and said there’s no problem their end. I’m just tired of it now, I shouldn’t have to spend 2 days trying to change my phone details over. 

Im returning the phone and going back to Vodafone. Seems like it’s just less confusion.

P
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Don’t blame u mate 

as I say I would of done the same 

I tried everything they suggested and nothing was working , I put phone down in pure frustration and luckily half hour later it just st too work mate 

so I’ll just see how it goes I’m getting decent reception etc 

but when contract runs out I think I’ll go to a provider that actually has technical team u can ring in person 

Jason Tennant
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I am experiencing the exact same issues. I have taken a new contract out with ID four days ago. I ported my number from O2 which is up and running fine, everything working as it should. I can send and receive text messages but when I try and activate iMessage I get the same.

iMessage Activation

An error occurred during activation. Try again.

 

It’s the same for FaceTime. I’ve had iPhones since the iPhone 3G along with iPads etc so feel I am quite competent in their use along with iCloud etc. I have followed all the advice in the articles along with YouTube etc all with no result. 
 

I have reset the phone to factory settings and started from fresh… no joy. 
 

I have turned my phone off and on numerous times ….. no joy. 
 

I have turned off iMessage and face time. Reset network settings. Logged onto iCloud on the web and removed my number and device from my iCloud device. I have removed my number from my phone, re added it in various formats (with and without the +44)

 

iMessage and FaceTime work with my Apple ID, just not my number. 
 

On removing and re adding my number I get this message :

This Phone Number Cannot Be Used by iMessage and FaceTime You must have a SIM associated with an Apple device for ************ to be used for iMessage and FaceTime.

 

So, other than cancelling my contract with ID and going elsewhere (thankfully still in my 14 day period) I’m at a loss. 
 

and please before anyone says it’s an Apple issue, it’s not, it’s an ID issue. Please can anyone give me some tips on what to do other than everything else I’ve tried. 
 

thanks  

 

WelshPaul
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Sounds like you have tried everything there is to try. Short of speaking to a live chat agent, there is nothing else you can do. 

andewhite
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Just wondering about this, given iMessage and FaceTime are both 100% Apple services, which require a network connection to function - how does that translate into being an iD issue @Jason Tennant? 

P
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Userlevel 1

Hi mate I contacted them thru FB messenger 

I’ll paste and copy the last steps that eventually worked for me 

Thanks for confirming that. I can see that this has been escalated to the relevant team to be looked into. Can you please remove your SIM and turn the handset off for a few minutes. You can then reinsert the SIM and restart the handset and reset your network settings. Once this is done please try the below:

1)    Turn off iMessage (Settings > Messages)
2)    Restart your phone (by pressing and holding the on/off button)
3)    Tap Settings > Phone > My Number and confirm that it is correct. 
4)    If it is not correct, please enter the correct number
5)    Turn iMessage back to On (Settings > Messages)
6)    Finally, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and see if the correct number is displayed under “Start new conversations from:”. 

 

Can you also try this for me, this sometimes works.

Try all the above steps again, but with two added steps:

1) Do all of above, with the phone in flight mode
2) Do all of above, with SIM card outside the phone

After both, restart phone. Let us know how you get on.

- Tyler

P
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Initially this didn’t work but half hour later it started to work 

good luck 

WelshPaul
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FYI - My number is in the following format:
Settings > Phone > My Number
+44 7xxxxxxxxx

 

andewhite
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FYI - the format shown on my iPhone in Settings > Phone > My Number is +44 7xxx xxxxxx.

The same format is used in Settings > AppleID > Name, Phone Numbers, Email, within the “CONTACTABLE AT” section.

Jason Tennant
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Userlevel 1

Just wondering about this, given iMessage and FaceTime are both 100% Apple services, which require a network connection to function - how does that translate into being an iD issue @Jason Tennant? 

Because iMessage and FaceTime work with my Apple ID but not with my SIM card (which is ID). That’s the only solution I can come up with that it’s an ID issue as everything else works fine other than my number. 

andewhite
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Userlevel 8
Badge +9

Just wondering about this, given iMessage and FaceTime are both 100% Apple services, which require a network connection to function - how does that translate into being an iD issue @Jason Tennant? 

Because iMessage and FaceTime work with my Apple ID but not with my SIM card (which is ID). That’s the only solution I can come up with that it’s an ID issue as everything else works fine other than my number. 

Okay thanks @Jason Tennant - how did you get on with the solution suggested by @Phil Dodds?

WelshPaul
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Activation and deactivation of both iMessage and FaceTime is done via an invisible SMS to 447786205094. If this number is blocked or you have some form of SPAM filter in use on your device such as TrueCaller or Hiya, then activation will fail.

 

andewhite
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I guess once you’ve established you can send and receive an SMS on the given iPhone, there are only a few activation failure scenarios covered by Apple’s support articles.

That said, apparently not having the correct date & time selected, or not signing-in with the same AppleID on all your Apple devices, might also cause activation problems with Apple’s iMessage & FaceTime services on an iPhone.

 

Jason Tennant
Rank
Userlevel 1

Just wondering about this, given iMessage and FaceTime are both 100% Apple services, which require a network connection to function - how does that translate into being an iD issue @Jason Tennant? 

Because iMessage and FaceTime work with my Apple ID but not with my SIM card (which is ID). That’s the only solution I can come up with that it’s an ID issue as everything else works fine other than my number. 

Okay thanks @Jason Tennant - how did you get on with the solution suggested by @Phil Dodds?

 


it turned out to be a faulty sim. Went into Curry’s picked a new one activated it and iMessage and face time working first time 👍

Jason Tennant
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Userlevel 1

Got mine sorted in the end. Turned out to be a faulty SIM card. Went into Curry’s and picked up a free replacement one. Activated as per the instructions on the ID app and was up and running in ten minutes. iMessage and FaceTime all activated and working fine. 

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