iPhone 12 Pro Why is it whenever I swap SIM cards iMessage doesn’t work for like 20 minutes no matter how many times I restart it or turn it off/on?

[TH55]

I use a backup iPhone X as my river phone when I go kayaking. I take the SIM card out of my 12 Pro and put it in the X in a waterproof case so I don’t risk losing my good phone.

When I get off of the river and put the SIM card back in my 12 Pro, iMessage does not work for a solid 20 minutes. I have tried everything from toggling iMessage on and off, restarting my phone, etc nothing. Why does it do this and is there any fix?

 

[Spetsgruppa]

If im not mistaken iMessage needs time to reactivate everytime you swap sim cards.

 

[now i see it]

A 20 minute break from iMessage notifications can be a good thing

 

[RRC]

Because iMessage needs time to swap to the new number being used. Perfectly normal.