If you have an iPhone, you probably use iMessage as your primary messaging app. This is especially true if you also have other Apple devices, such as Macs and iPads. Normally, iMessage should work without much effort on your part.
But sometimes you may encounter problem with iMessage, be it just Apple’s servers are down or even getting some activation errors. While you can’t control whether Apple’s servers are working or not, there is a fix if you happen to get some activation errors.
Here are some quick fixes, whether you have an older iPhone or a newer one like the iPhone 15.
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What is iMessage activation error?
To begin with, what is an iMessage activation error? It’s a popup that simply says “An error occurred during activation. Try again.” Pretty vague, right?
When you get that error, you’ll only be able to send plain text messages (green bubbles) instead of iMessages with other Apple users. You may also notice some other things happening:
- You cannot send or receive messages at all.
- You can send and receive messages, but your bubbles are green instead of blue.
- iMessage tells you that the message could not be delivered.
There could be several reasons why you’re getting an activation error in the first place, but identifying the root of the problem can be difficult. However, you can find the source of the problem by solving the problems in a certain order.
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How to fix iMessage activation errors
There are a few things you can do to fix any iMessage activation errors you encounter. Here’s what you should do and don’t forget to try them out to find out the cause.
Step 1: Make sure iMessage is turned on. This may seem like a silly solution, but iMessage won’t work if it’s not turned on. It’s easy to check if you go to Settings > Messages and make sure the switch is green. If it’s greyed out, select it to turn it on.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Step 2: Restart your iPhone. Most issues can be fixed with a good old reboot, including iMessage ones. How to restart your phone depends on the model, but this is always an easy fix for most problems you have with any device.
Step 3: Check Apple’s server status page. If the previous two fixes didn’t fix the problem, make sure it’s a problem on your end and not Apple’s. All you have to do is check the status on all Apple services on this website. This page will tell you if something is down or under maintenance and if it’s ongoing. If the iMessage servers are down, all you can do is wait and maybe restart your phone when it’s up and running again.
Step 4: Make sure your iPhone has a working internet connection. All iMessages are encrypted and sent over a data connection, unlike SMS messages which are sent to the Short Message Service Center (SMSC) which processes all SMS messages. If you’re getting activation errors, make sure the data connection you’re using is currently working by checking your Wi-Fi connection, or check if your carrier is experiencing an outage or other problem.
Step 5: Refresh your iMessage connection. If you’ve been using iMessage and now it’s not working, you may just need to restart the connection by turning it off, restarting, and turning it back on. This can be done by going to Settings > Messagesturning the iMessage switch off, restarting the phone, and then turning the iMessage switch back on.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Step 6: Sign out of your Apple ID and sign in again. If the previous step wasn’t enough, you may need to sign out of your entire Apple ID and sign in again, as this will force iMessage to reconnect when you sign in again. To do this, go to Settings > Apple ID (your name at the top) > Sign out. Restart your phone and then sign in again by going through the previous process.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Step 7: Double check your date and time settings. For some reason, if the date and time are incorrect on your iPhone, it can affect the activation of iMessage or make it not work properly. To correct the date and time, go to Settings > General > Date & Time. Make sure the switch is on Set automatically is included.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Step 8: Update your iPhone. If you’re using a version of iOS that’s too old, it might affect iMessage. It is important to ensure that your operating system is always up to date. To check for updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Step 9: Restore iPhone to factory settings. If nothing else worked and you gave it 24 hours (iMessage activation errors can take up to 24 hours to fix), then you may need to factory reset your iPhone. This means that all your data will be deleted, so definitely give it a try everything else before resorting to this method. And if you need to reset, make sure you have a backup of your data first.
Step 10: If you’ve done everything, including a factory reset, and iMessage still isn’t working, you should contact Apple Support or your carrier for more help, especially if you can’t send text messages at all.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn