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

[opalescence]

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. 

 

[Chris_B]

@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?. 

[opalescence]

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

[Linzi_H]

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 

[opalescence]

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. 

[Linzi_H]

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