Anyone having issues with iMessage?

Cassady

Cassady

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Running iOS 15.4.1 – and suddenly received a pop-up saying there was an issue with my iMessages setup – something to the effect that I needed to sign in again. This after an unusual spike in my data usage this morning (as in, in excess of a GB).

Now, switching iMessage and FaceTime on and off, leaves a "Activation unsuccessful. Turn on iMessage to try again" message underneath the toggle, inside Settings/Messages. And a flurry of popups on my Mac, saying I've signed in on an iPhone, "new" Apple Watch etc. – and that I can ignore if this was me signing in...

Anyone else seeing issues?
 
Sigh. Thanks. Support docs etc. have the usual "turn off, restart phone, turn on" and a "might take 24 hours otherwise contact Apple support" suggestion.

Will see how things go by this evening. Maybe getting it onto wifi, will do something. iCloud Backup also hasn't happened since 14 April, despite phone being plugged in each evening – so will try and get that done as well (might somehow be all related).
 
Not recently. Had a similar issue a few updates ago and it seems to have just gone away by itself, I assumed it was a bug that had been fixed.
 
Changed package recently? Almost sounds like it can’t send the international SMS to confirm the number.
 
Same problem here, I had a red exclamation mark on my messages icon, I opened the app and it required me to deactivate my iMessages and reactivate it again. Everything seems to be sorted now.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Changed package recently? Almost sounds like it can’t send the international SMS to confirm the number.
Click to expand...
Nope. Nothing different, apart from introducing a new MBP into the family of devices.
Something odd going on though – Apple's "System Services" blew through just short of another 1GB between yesterday late afternoon and the school run this morning (keeping in mind I have fibre at home), which is unusual given my normal usage.

Will see how things behave today – and will then decide on if I need to call Apple.
 
Cassady said:
Nope. Nothing different, apart from introducing a new MBP into the family of devices.
Something odd going on though – Apple's "System Services" blew through just short of another 1GB between yesterday late afternoon and the school run this morning (keeping in mind I have fibre at home), which is unusual given my normal usage.

Will see how things behave today – and will then decide on if I need to call Apple.
Click to expand...
Possibly trying to load the latest update and not completing and then re-downloading it.
 
So, messages been received – but still no joy on my actual number. Phoned Apple today – they said I needed to contact Vodacom and confirm with them, that there is no issue with the number/sim etc.
Didn't even bother trying to contact Vodacom on a public holiday, but will try tomorrow.

Still not "activated", and blue ticks next to all of my associated email addresses, but nothing next to the number. And when tapping on it, a flurry of messages that rotate between warning me that "I can be charged for using messages by my provider", and "activation failed".
 
I’m still betting your unable to send the international SMS to verify the number.

Have seen this many times before and the issue is indeed then at Vodacom.

Activation failed message is almost always because of this.

And in my experience this is almost always a Vodacom only issue.
 
Cassady said:
Running iOS 15.4.1 – and suddenly received a pop-up saying there was an issue with my iMessages setup – something to the effect that I needed to sign in again. This after an unusual spike in my data usage this morning (as in, in excess of a GB).

Now, switching iMessage and FaceTime on and off, leaves a "Activation unsuccessful. Turn on iMessage to try again" message underneath the toggle, inside Settings/Messages. And a flurry of popups on my Mac, saying I've signed in on an iPhone, "new" Apple Watch etc. – and that I can ignore if this was me signing in...

Anyone else seeing issues?
Click to expand...
I'm experiencing something very similar.

In my case I've had this issue since I got my new iPhone at the end of March. This is my first iPhone and my number has never been registered with iMessage/Facetime before. Also running iOS 15.4.1. The issue was also present on 15.4.

I've also experienced the excessive data usage - very weird. When I first set up my iPhone I got the usual message warning your carrier may charge for the activation messages. I tapped 'OK' and almost immediately I started getting messages from Vodacom that my data bundle is being depleted. Even though I was on WiFi at the time.

I'm getting the exact same "activation unsuccessful" message. I've contacted Apple support multiple times now and together with them we tried pretty much every single thing they could think of. Everyone I have spoken to at the senior support desk is stumped by this issue. My support advisor even got my case escalated so that the engineers could take a look. They came back and said there were some issues on my account that they cleared and that my stuff should be sorted within 48 hours. Still not working.

Apple now insists that I need to get a case opened with my carrier so I can provide them with a case/reference number to take the issue further.

I should also mention that when this issue started I was on Vodacom. After about two weeks of struggling I decided to port my number to Cell C hoping that might fix the problem. I've been meaning to port to them anyway since they changed over to MTN infrastructure in my area and the network is great now. That hasn't solved the problem either. I am at my wits end with this.

I saw on another Mybb thread from last year someone was able to get things working by doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. Person was very specific about having to buy the airtime from a store and not online or via banking app. Don't know why that would make a difference.

Before I begin the struggle that is trying to escalate with Cell C support I am going to try doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. I will post an update later.

I would also like to mention that it looks like I am being charged for each failed activation attempt. Apple support told me that if I am on a supported carrier I shouldn't be charged. Maybe just another sign that something has gone wrong in the back end...

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. If anyone manages to sort this out please let us know!
 
plutobirds said:
I'm experiencing something very similar.

In my case I've had this issue since I got my new iPhone at the end of March. This is my first iPhone and my number has never been registered with iMessage/Facetime before. Also running iOS 15.4.1. The issue was also present on 15.4.

I've also experienced the excessive data usage - very weird. When I first set up my iPhone I got the usual message warning your carrier may charge for the activation messages. I tapped 'OK' and almost immediately I started getting messages from Vodacom that my data bundle is being depleted. Even though I was on WiFi at the time.

I'm getting the exact same "activation unsuccessful" message. I've contacted Apple support multiple times now and together with them we tried pretty much every single thing they could think of. Everyone I have spoken to at the senior support desk is stumped by this issue. My support advisor even got my case escalated so that the engineers could take a look. They came back and said there were some issues on my account that they cleared and that my stuff should be sorted within 48 hours. Still not working.

Apple now insists that I need to get a case opened with my carrier so I can provide them with a case/reference number to take the issue further.

I should also mention that when this issue started I was on Vodacom. After about two weeks of struggling I decided to port my number to Cell C hoping that might fix the problem. I've been meaning to port to them anyway since they changed over to MTN infrastructure in my area and the network is great now. That hasn't solved the problem either. I am at my wits end with this.

I saw on another Mybb thread from last year someone was able to get things working by doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. Person was very specific about having to buy the airtime from a store and not online or via banking app. Don't know why that would make a difference.

Before I begin the struggle that is trying to escalate with Cell C support I am going to try doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. I will post an update later.

I would also like to mention that it looks like I am being charged for each failed activation attempt. Apple support told me that if I am on a supported carrier I shouldn't be charged. Maybe just another sign that something has gone wrong in the back end...

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. If anyone manages to sort this out please let us know!
Click to expand...
Good grief, what a stuff up.

Spoke to Vodacom this morning – said they noticed my option to "sms to international" was not switched on, which they duly did. Seemed to be in agreement that this might be the issue. Was told it should start working after an hour, and requires a restart of the device – but could take up to 24 hours.

Well, unsurprisingly, nothing working as of yet. Will see what happens by tomorrow. But at least the data use seems to have normalised (just reset statistics now, to check tomorrow).

But yes, seems something strange is happening – and appears to be falling between Vodacom and Apple, with neither being able to resolve, presently.

Will be sure to update here is anything changes.
 
plutobirds said:
I'm experiencing something very similar.

In my case I've had this issue since I got my new iPhone at the end of March. This is my first iPhone and my number has never been registered with iMessage/Facetime before. Also running iOS 15.4.1. The issue was also present on 15.4.

I've also experienced the excessive data usage - very weird. When I first set up my iPhone I got the usual message warning your carrier may charge for the activation messages. I tapped 'OK' and almost immediately I started getting messages from Vodacom that my data bundle is being depleted. Even though I was on WiFi at the time.

I'm getting the exact same "activation unsuccessful" message. I've contacted Apple support multiple times now and together with them we tried pretty much every single thing they could think of. Everyone I have spoken to at the senior support desk is stumped by this issue. My support advisor even got my case escalated so that the engineers could take a look. They came back and said there were some issues on my account that they cleared and that my stuff should be sorted within 48 hours. Still not working.

Apple now insists that I need to get a case opened with my carrier so I can provide them with a case/reference number to take the issue further.

I should also mention that when this issue started I was on Vodacom. After about two weeks of struggling I decided to port my number to Cell C hoping that might fix the problem. I've been meaning to port to them anyway since they changed over to MTN infrastructure in my area and the network is great now. That hasn't solved the problem either. I am at my wits end with this.

I saw on another Mybb thread from last year someone was able to get things working by doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. Person was very specific about having to buy the airtime from a store and not online or via banking app. Don't know why that would make a difference.

Before I begin the struggle that is trying to escalate with Cell C support I am going to try doing a SIM swap and then loading airtime bought from a store. I will post an update later.

I would also like to mention that it looks like I am being charged for each failed activation attempt. Apple support told me that if I am on a supported carrier I shouldn't be charged. Maybe just another sign that something has gone wrong in the back end...

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. If anyone manages to sort this out please let us know!
Click to expand...
I was the person who had to do a sim swap, note the SP was MTN. Another good test is if you have a family member/friend overseas, try sending them a text message and see if they receive it.

Edit* I used internet banking to load airtime and this worked just fine.

I hope you come right ASAP
 
kbgvirus said:
I was the person who had to do a sim swap, note the SP was MTN. Another good test is if you have a family member/friend overseas, try sending them a text message and see if they receive it.

Edit* I used internet banking to load airtime and this worked just fine.

I hope you come right ASAP
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update. So before I went ahead with the SIM swap I did speak to Apple as my support advisor recommended I speak to them before I do anything major. They advised that I should rather try to open a case with Cell C first and send the case number to them before I do a SIM swap. Luckily the person I got through to when I phoned Cell C opened a case after I explained the situation and insisted on a case number. After I sent the case number through to Apple my advisor ended up phoning me and they did some more in-depth diagnostics and collected a lot of logs to be sent through to the engineers. They advised that my case is now with the engineers and I should receive some feedback after a few days. Hoping I will get some feedback this week, possibly today...

Edit: I would also just like to mention something I find puzzling and I'm wondering if this is the same for anyone else - my phone number links to my Apple ID and my iCloud account no problem. I'm able to receive OTPs from Apple as well. Just iMessage/Facetime that seems to be problematic. Very weird....
 
Last edited:
I literally have the same issue after porting my number from Telkom to MTN recently, I’m able to send and receive sms, but keep being charged for attempted activation sms’ for iMessage and Facetime, several times a day. Was anyone able to find a resolution for this issue yet?
 
Some1Curious said:
I literally have the same issue after porting my number from Telkom to MTN recently, I’m able to send and receive sms, but keep being charged for attempted activation sms’ for iMessage and Facetime, several times a day. Was anyone able to find a resolution for this issue yet?
Click to expand...
I ported from MTN to Telkom a few years back, and I remember I had the same problem but it only lasted 2 or 3 days. How long has it been since you've ported?
 
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