Resolved What is wrong with my iMessage? "Waiting for activation..."

[briantaylor619]

Long time lurker, first time poster because I have this recent problem with iMessage.

It doesn't work and everytime I try to activate it in the settings it gives me the "waiting for activation" text below the iMessage on/off switch and never changes or activates

To fix it I've tried toggling airplane mode, and rebooting my phone multiple times. Any ideas on what I should do?

 

[iceterminal]

Taken from Apple Toolbox

How to fix:

Try each step until you resolve your problem:

Ensure that you are using a valid Apple ID at myinfo.apple.com.
Make sure that you have a valid cellular or Wi-Fi data connection.
Make sure that your date, time, and time zone are set correctly.
Turn iMessage off and on in Settings > Messages.
Open iMessage, under the message settings, a popup message will appear saying your carrier may charge for SMS messages and select “cancel”. iMessage activates itself after you have clicked cancel. But this would not fully activate itself. Instead, you activated iMessage via e-mail, so you can only send messages with your e-mail address.
Try restarting your device. To do this simply, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the red “slide to power off” slider appears, and then slide the slider; and then Press and hold the Sleep/Wake to turn on.
Turn off iMessage and FaceTime. Go to Settings > Phone. Check if your number is reflected in My Number and restart your device.
Settings -> General -> Restrictions > Accounts and make sure that you selected “Allow Changes” and enable the FaceTime to work.
Reset your network settings: Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings
Settings->General->Reset->Erase All Content and Settings. But please note that this option will delete all your data and media.

 

[briantaylor619]

I don't think I should have to erase my phone every time Apple's software isn't working properly if it's on a consistent basis like this.

I've rebooted and turned airplane mode on/off, does anyone else have other ideas on how to fix this issue? Or has anyone actually dealt with this already?

 

[rdowns]

Are you running iMessage beta on your Mac?

 

[Rickity Rick]

My friend had the exact same problem. He tried to restore his iPhone 4 by himself on his computer, but it didn't work. He eventually took it to the Apple Store and they did a factory reset and iMessage started to work.

Hope this helps.

 

[CyBeRino]

iMessage (and FaceTime) activation, or more accurately verification of your phone number, is based on an SMS message. Depending on where you are, this SMS message may be sent to a foreign number (for instance, for Europe it's a British number even if you're from the Netherlands).

So if you have some sort of (maybe international) SMS block set-up with your carrier, the process will fail.

 

[Daveoc64]

Any ideas on what I should do?

Which carrier and type of plan are you using - prepaid?