topic Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage in Apple Devices

You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

opalescence — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 01:22:19 GMT

I recently took my EE sim out of my phone, when I reinserted it, iMessage stopped working and I received the following error message, 'You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage and FaceTime.' When I select my phone number in Settings > Messages > Send and Receive, it says, "Activation unsuccessful". I rang Apple and they took me through various steps to try to troubleshoot, but nothing worked. The steps I have tried are:

Reset network settings
Reset all settings
Waited 48 hours for iMessage to activate
Turned off iMessage and Facetime, restarted phone, turned on iMessage and Facetime
Signed out of Apple ID, then signed back In
Manually added phone number in Settings > Phone > My Number

Extra information:

My phone is using the latest iOS
Both Wi-Fi and mobile data are working fine
My phone is set to the correct date and time
I don’t use a VPN

I've searched online and tried every possible solution I can find. Nothing seems to work. Please can someone help me fix this issue.

Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

Chris_B — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 07:22:16 GMT

@opalescence The big clue there is Activation unsuccessful. Switch off iMessage and FaceTime restart the device but leave iMessage and FaceTime off. Do you have any other apple devices?.

Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

opalescence — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:27:12 GMT

I've tried to activate iMessage on my MacBook, but it doesn't work on there either.

Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

Linzi_H — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:20:59 GMT

Hi @opalescence

Thanks for letting us know the steps you've tried so far. I'm sorry to hear you're no further forward with things either. At this stage, as the issue seems to follow to other devices, we'd refer you back to speak with Apple.
Are you able to reach back out to them and let us know how it goes?

Linzi

Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

opalescence — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 17:07:48 GMT

Apple talked me through troubleshooting on both my iPhone and MacBook, but nothing worked, so they advised I contact EE. It's definitely an EE issue, as when I try SIM cards from other networks in my phone, iMessage and FaceTime work. I was sent a replacement EE SIM with the same number. I activated the new SIM online and waited 24 hours, but iMessage and FaceTime still don't work. I feel like I've tried everything at this point.

Re: You must have a sim associated with an apple device for to be used for iMessage

Linzi_H — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:45:49 GMT

Thanks for the update @opalescence

Have you explained to our technical support team that the replacement EE SIM hasn't worked?
What have they advised the next steps would be after this?

Linzi