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iPhone: iMessage Stuck “Waiting for Activation”

iPhone: iMessage Stuck “Waiting for Activation”

By Mitch Bartlett 2 Comments

If you have a problem with iMessage getting stuck “Waiting for Activation” on your Apple iPhone, give these steps a try to fix the error.

Fix 1 – Toggle Airplane Mode

  1. Open “Settings” and set “Airplane Mode” to “On” (green).
  2. Wait about 10 seconds, then toggle “Airplane Mode” back to “Off“, wait a few minutes, then give iMessage another try.

Fix 2 – Toggle Several Settings

  1. Go to “Settings” > “Facetime” and switch it “Facetime” to “Off“.
  2. Go to “Settings” > “Messages” and switch “iMessage” to “Off“.
  3. Open “Settings” and set “Airplane Mode” to “On” (green).
  4. Go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi” and turn it “On“.
  5. Go to “Settings” > “Facetime” and switch it “Facetime” to “On“.
  6. Go to “Settings” > “Messages” and switch “iMessage” to “On“.
  7. Enter your Apple credentials if prompted.
  8. Open “Settings” and set “Airplane Mode” to “Off” (white).
  9. Wait a few minutes, then give iMessage another try.

If these steps do not work the first time, repeat them, but restart the iPhone after step 7.

Fix 3 – Check VPN Settings

  1. Open “Settings” > “General” > “VPN” (if it exists).
  2. Look for an option called “Profiles“.
  3. Clear anything you have listed in the “Profiles” section.
  4. Power down, then restart the phone.

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Comments

  1. Marcin Zastawny says

    I was battling with this for 3 days.
    I ended up calling apple support and they told me one thing that is not mentioned anywhere on the net, I dont know why.

    1. The activation SMSes that your iphone receives, they are PREMIUM SMSes, they are not normal SMS messages. So if you have Premium SMS services turned off, you will not receive the SMS. I turn these off for security reasons, so turn them back on (at carrier level) for the time that you need to activate your imessage.

    2. I flew back home from overseas and had to use a different sim card while overseas for business reasons (a local card with internet etc). When I came home, it took several hours for the imessage to activate (after I turned on the Premium SMSes). Once your phone is activatede, you can turn the imessage on and off all you want, and it wil ltake seconds to turn back on, but after a sim card change (I think especially after a change of carrier) it just takes hours. You have to wait it out. Have to reset network settings (which deletes all your known wifi networks unfortunately) and restarts and all kinds of stuff. Really tedious, I will never change the Sim card again, sooner will get another phone for this other sim card.

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