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Apple this week provided troubleshooting steps for iPhone owners who are unable to activate iMessage with a phone number in iOS 26.

iOS-26-Messages-Feature-2-1.jpg

According to Apple, some customers might not be able to activate iMessage with a phone number if there is an inactive SIM or eSIM with the same phone number as an active SIM on the iPhone.

Customers who are experiencing this problem will see a "Not Delivered" alert for sent iMessages, and iMessages won't be able to be received. Messages will be sent and received via RCS or SMS, and will have green bubbles instead of blue bubbles. Alternatively, iMessages might be sent using an email address instead of a phone number.

To get iMessage to work in that situation, users should remove the inactive SIM and attempt to reactivate iMessage. Deleting a SIM that's not in use can be done by going to the Cellular section of the Settings app, and deleting the inactive SIM if there are two displayed with the same phone number.

If the inactive SIM is a physical SIM, it should be removed from the iPhone. If the inactive SIM is an eSIM, it can be deleted from the Cellular interface. After the inactive SIM has been removed, iMessage can be activated by going to Messages, tapping on Send and Receive, and tapping on the displayed phone number.

Article Link: Apple Provides Fix for iMessage Activation Bug in iOS 26
 
No other choice for those using the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 series but to wait for bug fixes to iOS 26 if the steps listed still did not help. The same goes for those who did not downgrade or was about to downgrade to iOS 18 but was already too late.
 
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I wrote comments saying it would be better to wait until iOS 26.2 in February. That way, Apple can first iron out all the bugs that they had to ignore due to the overly short “beta phase”.
I think I got over 50 thumbs down from the “community” and half a dozen comments saying I am a hater.

...
iOS 26 was released with WiFi and Bluetooth issues. iOS 26.01 still has problems with iMessage.
And who knows how many serious bugs there are that the major media outlets would rather not make headlines. Worldview, fan service... you know.
 
This is the kind of bug that makes me wonder why did it break in the first place, especially if it has been working fine for several years prior?
 
I wrote comments saying it would be better to wait until iOS 26.2 in February. That way, Apple can first iron out all the bugs that they had to ignore due to the overly short “beta phase”.
I think I got over 50 thumbs down from the “community” and half a dozen comments saying I am a hater.

...
iOS 26 was released with WiFi and Bluetooth issues. iOS 26.01 still has problems with iMessage.
And who knows how many serious bugs there are that the major media outlets would rather not make headlines. Worldview, fan service... you know.
Agreed. I value stability more nowadays so I wait for July to upgrade to the next major release if I can/want to upgrade.
 
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