iPhone users can use iMessage instead of MMS / SMS in the messaging app. However, there are cases where even if you try to activate by turning on the switch of iMessage in the settings; it will not be completed while it is still activating. You may also see the error “An error occurred during activation. Please try again.”
It can take up to 24 hours to activate iMessage, but something may be wrong if you can’t activate it no matter how long you wait. This article will look at what to do if iMessage is still active on your iPhone.
Method 1: Switch airplane mode on/off
It’s possible that iMessage is still active and doesn’t complete because of a problem with your iPhone’s network connection.
So, turn airplane mode on and off, reconnect to the network, and then try activating iMessage. The specific procedure is as follows.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to Off.
- Tap “Settings” in the upper left to return to the first screen of the Settings app.
- Tap “FaceTime“.
- Toggle the “FaceTime” switch to “Off“.
- Tap “Settings” in the upper left to return to the first screen of the Settings app.
- Set the “Airplane mode” switch to “On“.
- After leaving it for several tens of seconds, switch the “Airplane mode” to “Off” again.
- Follow the same procedure to switch the “iMessage” and “FaceTime” to “On“.
If you can switch the airplane mode and try activating iMessage again by following the above steps, check if it completes normally. If that doesn’t work, go to the next solution.
Method 2: Reboot and then re-enable iMessage
If iMessage activation doesn’t complete when you switch airplane modes, it’s possible that your iPhone has a temporary system problem.
Therefore, restart your iPhone and try activating iMessage again. The specific procedure is as follows.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to Off.
- Tap “Settings” in the upper left to return to the first screen of the Settings app.
- Tap “FaceTime” to switch the “FaceTime” to “Off“.
- Tap “Settings” in the upper left to return to the first screen of the Settings app.
- Restart your iPhone.
- For iPhone X and later: Press and hold “Side Button” and “Volume Adjustment Button” at the same time, and drag the power off slider. When the power is turned off, press and hold the “side button” to start it.
- For iPhone 8 and earlier: Press and hold the Side Button and drag the power off slider. When the power is turned off, press and hold the “side button” to start it.
- After restarting your iPhone, launch the “Settings” app.
- Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to On.
- Tap “Settings” in the upper left to return to the first screen of the Settings app.
- Tap “FaceTime” to toggle the “FaceTime” switch to “On“.
If you restart your iPhone and try to activate iMessage again, make sure it completes successfully. If it is still displayed during activation, proceed to the next action.
Method 3: Sign out of your Apple ID and sign in again
It’s possible that iMessage is still active and doesn’t complete because of a problem with iMessage’s Apple ID sign-in status.
Therefore, try signing out of your Apple ID and then signing in again. To try signing in again with your Apple ID, follow the steps below.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap “Message“.
- Tap “Send / Receive“.
- Tap “Apple ID (email address)” displayed at the bottom.
- Tap “Sign out“.
- Tap Use your Apple ID for iMessage.
- Enter your Apple ID email address and password to sign in again.
With the above steps, you can re-sign in to your Apple ID. After re-signing in, make sure iMessage activation is complete.
Method 4: Remove iMessage registration
It’s possible that iMessage is still active and doesn’t end because the phone number you’re using on your iPhone is tied to another Apple ID.
Therefore, removing the iMessage registration for your phone number may solve the problem.
To unregister and re-register your iMessage, follow the steps below.
- Open the “Settings” app. Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to Off.
- Go to the iMessage Registration and Removal–Apple page.
- Scroll down to the item “Do you have an iPhone with you?”.
- Enter your phone number in the Enter Phone Number text box and tap Send Code.
- In the “Enter verification code” text box, enter the “Approval code in the received message” and tap “Send“.
- Reopen the Settings app. Tap “Messages” to toggle the “iMessage” switch to “On“.
- It may take some time to register and unregister iMessage, so it’s a good idea to wait at least an hour before turning on iMessage.
With the above procedure, you can cancel the iMessage registration and re-register it. When the message “Activating” appears, check if it completes normally.
Method 5: Turn on sending by SMS
When you activate iMessage, an SMS message will be sent automatically and the approval process will be executed.
Depending on the carrier you’re using, iMessage may not be activated if the “Send by SMS” feature of the messaging app is turned off.
Therefore, please turn on the SMS sending function of the messaging app and try activating again. The specific procedure is as follows.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to Off.
- Toggle the “Send by SMS” switch to “On“.
- Toggle the “iMessage” switch to “On“.
With the above steps, you can turn on the SMS sending function and then try activating iMessage again. Please check if you can activate normally.
Method 6: Perform a software update
There are cases where iMessage is still active and does not end due to an old iOS version and a bug.
Therefore, running a software update to update iOS to the latest version may resolve the issue. To execute the software update, follow the procedure below.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap “General“>> “Software Update” to proceed.
- When you see the available updates, tap Download and Install.
- If the message “Your software is up to date” is displayed, you have already updated to the latest version.
- After performing the update, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install.
If you’ve updated your iOS to the latest version, try activating iMessage again using the same steps as in Method 2: Reboot and then re-enable iMessage.
Method 7: Update carrier settings/APN profile
In some cases, iMessage may not end with activation due to an outdated carrier setting or APN configuration profile.
Therefore, make sure that the carrier settings or APN configuration profile have been updated to the latest settings.
To update the carrier settings of docomo, au or Softbank, follow the procedure below.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap General>> Info>>Carrier.
- When the pop-up appears, tap Update.
If you have a MVNO (Cheap SIM) contract, check your carrier’s official page for a new APN configuration profile.
The procedure for updating the APN configuration profile differs depending on the carrier, so refer to the help page, etc.
Once you’ve updated your carrier settings / APN profile, try activating iMessage again using the same steps as in Method 2: Reboot and then re-enable iMessage.
Method 8: Reset the network settings
There are cases where iMessage is still active and does not end due to a problem with your iPhone’s network settings.
Therefore, resetting the network settings once may solve the problem. Please note that resetting the network settings will not erase the data, but will erase the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, APN and VPN settings.
To reset the network settings, follow the steps below,
- Launch the “Settings” app.
- Tap “General“.
- Tap “Reset“.
- Tap “Reset network settings“.
- Enter your iPhone / iPad passcode.
- When the confirmation pop-up appears, tap Reset network settings.
- Wait for the iPhone / iPad to restart.
After resetting the network settings, set Wi-Fi and APN as necessary.
Once you’ve set up your network, tap “Messages” from the “Settings” app and turn the “iMessage” switch “on” to see if you can activate it.
Method 9: Set the correct date and time
It has been reported that iMessage activation may not be completed if the date and time settings on the iPhone are different.
If you can’t activate iMessage, especially in an overseas environment, check if there is a problem with the date and time settings. To change the date and time settings, follow the procedure below.
- Launch the “Settings” app.
- Tap “General“.
- Tap “Date and time“.
- Toggle the “Auto Settings” switch to “On“.
- If the time is different when the automatic setting is on, set it manually by following the procedure below.
- Toggle the “Auto Settings” switch to “Off“.
- Tap Time Zone and select Correct Local City.
- If you can’t find the city name, tap Date and Time to set the correct date and time.
- If the time is different when the automatic setting is on, set it manually by following the procedure below.
If you can change it to the correct date and time, try activating iMessage again using the same procedure as in “Method 2: Reboot and then re-enable iMessage.”
Method 10: Initialize and restore iPhone
If you still can’t activate iMessage using these steps, consider initializing your iPhone.
Initializing your iPhone and then activating iMessage may fix the problem.
However, if you initialize the iPhone, all the data in the storage will be erased, so you need to make a backup with iTunes (Finder) or iCloud to take over the data.
To initialize your iPhone and activate iMessage, follow the steps below.
- Make a backup of your iPhone using iTunes (Finder) or iCloud.
- Please refer to the following Apple official page for the procedure to make a backup of iPhone.
reference:How to backup iPhone, iPad, iPod touch-Apple
- Please refer to the following Apple official page for the procedure to make a backup of iPhone.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Tap General>> Reset>> Erase All Content and Settings.
- Tap “Erase iPhone“.
- When the confirmation pop-up appears, tap Erase iPhone.
- If a pop-up confirming the deletion of the mobile communication plan is displayed, check how to set the mobile communication plan and then tap “Clear All”.
- Wait for a while as the initialization will be executed.
- When the initial setting screen is displayed, follow the instructions to proceed with the initial setting.
- On the App and Data (Restore Backup) screen, tap “Set as new iPhone“.
- After completing the initial settings, open the “Settings” app.
- Tap Messages and toggle the iMessage switch to On.
If you can initialize your iPhone and try activating iMessage again, wait until you can activate it.
If you can activate it, please restore the backup of your iPhone. For instructions on how to restore a backup, please refer to the official Apple page below.
If not resolved
If initializing your iPhone doesn’t resolve the issue of activating iMessage, check the following as well:
- It may take 24 hours to activate iMessage. If it hasn’t been long since you turned on iMessage, wait a day before taking the above actions.
- For MVNO (cheap SIM), make sure you have a plan that allows you to use SMS.
- For Rakuten Mobile, you need to activate iMessage within the area where you can use Rakuten lines. Please note that you cannot activate within the area of the partner line.
- If you can remove the SIM card, try removing the SIM card and then replacing it.
- If you suspect a problem with the SIM card itself, contact your carrier and ask them to replace the SIM card.
