Why is iMessage not working on your iPhone? This could be due to a couple of reasons. While there are tons of reasons why your iMessage is not working, I would only be discussing the most common problems and show you how to troubleshoot them. iMessage may be a very important feature to you as an iPhones user as it is a very good way to contact your friends also using an Apple device without the SMS charges. One of the signs that your iMessage isn’t working is when all your chat bubbles appear in green instead of blue.
Why is iMessage not Working?
While this article is based on “Why is iMessage not Working?” first, we have to discuss what iMessage is. Those who have been using Apple devices for some time may already know what iMessage is and its features. However, those new to the world of Apple don’t exactly know what it is yet. Well, after a few attempts, you’d eventually get to know everything about your newly acquired iOS device. With that being said, what is iMessage? iMessage is Apple’s solution to instant messaging.
It was first launched in 2011 and it only works on iOS devices at the moment. These OS devices are macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. iMessage allows you to send text messages, videos, images, and documents with the usual SMS charges. Like WhatsApp, it had an end to end encryption which means only the sender and the receiver can decipher the message. This makes it one of the secure messaging platforms you can find around. The iMessage application coms preinstalled on all OS devices.
Why Has Your iMessage Stopped Working?
If your iMessage was working before and has now stopped, it could be due to a couple of reasons like I stated at the beginning of this article. Since we cannot decipher what the exact problem is, we have to turn it over to our friend “troubleshooting”. The first and most basic thing to do whenever any of your devices or applications stops functioning properly is troubleshooting. Now, how do we begin troubleshooting? Most tech people already know some steps to begin troubleshooting but if you don’t know where to begin, stay tuned and pay attention to the next heading.
How to Troubleshoot iMessage not Working
Here are ten ways you can troubleshoot your iMessage application if it’s not working.
- Check if the iMessage server is down.
- Make sure you are connected to the internet.
- Check if iMessage is correctly set up.
- Turn off your iMessage, turn it back on and restart iMessage.
- Delete some files or messages.
- Check if your iOS is up to date.
- Check your time zone settings.
- Reset all your settings.
- Contact Apple Support.
These are the ten ways in which you could troubleshoot your iMessage. Let’s look at how we can carry out each of the troubleshooting steps.
Check If the iMessage Server Is Down
Why is iMessage not Working? The first and most unlikely scenario when your iMessage is not working is that the iMessage server is down. Why it’s very unlikely is because it barely happens but it does. If the server is down, it means you aren’t the only ones affected. In this case, iMessage would not be working for anyone trying to access it at that time.
To troubleshoot this, you have to check apple’s system status page and verify that the server is up and running. Even if this page suggests that the service is up, it could also be due to a local outage in your area. You can try the down detector to find out if there have been any outage reports in the past twenty-four hours. It would even show you the outage map to validate if you’re in the affected area.
Make Sure You Are Connected to The Internet
Why is iMessage not Working? Another common way to troubleshoot iMessage not working is checking if your internet connection is active. This can be done by testing out other messaging applications that require data usage like WhatsApp.
You can also try loading a web page. If the WhatsApp text didn’t go through or the webpage you loaded didn’t load up, then you have successfully identified the source of your problem. To fix this, you can easily buy a data plan or connect to Wi-Fi and things should be back to normal.
Check If iMessage Is Correctly Set Up
Why is iMessage not Working? Your iMessage texts and files won’t be sent if you didn’t properly set it up. You can check by going to the settings page, finding messages and checking that iMessage is currently turned on. If it isn’t turned on, then the page would be showing something like “Activation Unsuccessful” or “Waiting for Activation”.
If it is not an activation issue, then you can go to settings > Messages > Send & Receive. This would show you a list of all your email addresses and phone numbers that are configured with send and receive on that particular device. Find the button that says “Start New Conversations From” and make sure there’s a checkmark beside your email address or phone number. If there is no checkmark, click on the box to check it. That should enable iMessage. To fix activation issues, click here.
Turn Off Your iMessage, Turn It Back on And Restart iMessage
Why is iMessage not Working? For the scenario when you checked your internet connection and verified that your internet connection isn’t the cause of the issue, then you could try signing out of your Apple ID and signing back in. To sign out and sign back in, go to Settings > Messages > Send and Receive. After signing back in, you should try sending a message again and see if the problem has been fixed. If the issue persists, then move on to the next troubleshooting step.
Delete Some File or Messages
Why is iMessage not Working? Most of the time, it could be an issue that your iMessage is slow to send and receive files and texts. This could be to your iMessage server getting filled up and slowing down. To troubleshoot this, simply delete some files on your iMessage server. This could be large files, photos, and even documents. Try sending a text again and it should be fast and quick. If it still didn’t go through, then that wasn’t why iMessage is not working.
Check If You iOS Is Up to Date
Why is iMessage not working? Another common reason could be because your iOS is outdated. If you are running earlier versions of iOS, it could really affect some of your iOS services. To troubleshoot this, simply update your iOS to the latest version. Check for updates by going into Settings > General > Software Update. This would automatically search if there has been an upgrade on your iOS device and then download it. After downloading, it would be automatically installed on your device and iMessage should be working.
Reset All Your Settings
Why is iMessage not Working? This is the most extreme length you can go to troubleshoot your iMessage not working. I personally do not recommend this method except you’ve tried all other options and you know what a full reset is. Full reset means wiping all your data off your device. It would basically revert the phone back to when you just bought it from the store. This means you have to sign in and do all the other settings you’ve don’t on your iPhone before.
Contact Apple support
Why is iMessage not Working? Contacting apple support is the best way in my opinion but only do this if you’ve carried out the other troubleshooting steps. You could do this to find out the exact issue instead of having to reset your phone data. Contact iMessage support by following this link.
Conclusion
I hope these steps helped you to troubleshoot your iPhone. That you for reading “Why is iMessage not working?” and hope to see you again soon. If it helped you, I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to share it on your social media profiles using the link below.