Whether you’ve a new iPhone or you’ve just joined 48 and are using an iPhone you’ll want to set up iMessage and Facetime.
Below are some key points to help you get started and also some guides if you happen to have any difficulty getting set up.
Getting Set Up
- You’ll need to have an additional credit balance as a onetime per handset charge is required to activate iMessage. An activation SMS is sent to a UK +44 number and as this is an international SMS and is not covered under your membership.
- The charge is 8c and if you need to add additional credit to your account just Login My48>>Settings>> Payment details>>Add Credit.
- Make sure your connected to Wi-Fi on set up.
- Below to be checked also:
Settings -> Messages -> iMessage (Toggle switch to ON position)
Send & Receive (Set your mobile number here along with your email address)
These steps should be enough to get the iMessage setup on any iPhone.
Just a heads up: It can take upto 24hrs for iMessage & Facetime to activate.
If your still facing difficulty or receiving an error message then the below troubleshooting guide is your next steps. Source info courtesy of iDB 😊https://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/09/19/how-to-fix-waiting-for-activation-issue-in-imessage-and-fac...
Potential Error messages
There are several possible error messages that indicate an activation issue with FaceTime or iMessage, but the most frequent one is the Waiting for activation error that appears in the iMessage or FaceTime panels in the Settings app.
Other error messages you could encounter might say:
- Activation unsuccessful, or
- An error occurred during activation, or
- Could not sign in, please check your network connection.
Although the wording can differ, these are all pretty much the same issues: you can’t get FaceTime and iMessage to work.
Trouble shooting steps to be performed in descending order.
- Make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data.
If you don’t have mobile data or a Wi-Fi connection, iMessage and FaceTime won’t be able to check in with Apple’s servers to start the activation process. If you don’t have Wi-Fi connection, then it’s a good time to check your phone data settings. If your current settings are different then either delete the existing APN or edit and input, the correct settings. Once save check your data connection to ensure its working. To view your correct 48 APN settings just click here.
- Check your phone number
Go to Settings >Phone > My number. If your number isn’t displaying here, then enter your number. This can often happen especially when porting your number to a network. Go back to Facetime or iMessage and check send and receive and you should now see your phone number displayed along with your email ID’s etc. If it doesn’t work immediately then restart your phone and check again.
- Turn airplane mode on and off
Activation issue can sometimes be a hiccup in the system. Before going any further in the troubleshooting of your problem, turn off iMessage and Facetime and then turn Airplane Mode on, wait a few seconds, and then turn it off and reenable both Facetime and iMessage again.
- Check the time
When Apple tries to authenticate you for iMessage or FaceTime, the activation server will expect the time between them and your device to match. To avoid any issue, go to Settings > General > Date & Time, and set the time and date to Set Automatically. Additionally, make sure the time zone is the correct one.
- Turn off iMessage and FaceTime, then restart your device
According to iDM, this is a trick that helps many people. In Settings, go to Messages and turn off iMessage. Then, in Settings, go to FaceTime and turn off FaceTime. Finally, reboot your device and enable the two options again. Its like for like as the airplane mode option.
- Make sure your cell plan lets you receive SMS
This is not obvious at all, but if you are trying to activate FaceTime and iMessage on an iPhone, Apple might try to send you an SMS as part of the activation process. This SMS is typically invisible to the user as all happens in the background, but this is basically the equivalent of Apple sending an SMS to the phone to verify its status. If you can’t receive or send an SMS, then Apple might not be able to authorize the device to activate FaceTime and iMessage. In this case, double check you can receive and send standard SMS text messages and if you’re not get in touch with our Care Crew so they can help.
- Add credit to your account
This is directly related to the previous possible solution. As you’re on a prepay membership you’ll need to have enough credit to send a text message. Again, you might not actually receive a text message that you’ll be able to read, but the SMS protocol might be used to activate iMessage or FaceTime on your device.
- Reset network settings
If you’re having either Wi-Fi or cellular network issue, Apple won’t be able to activate your device over these two services. To rule out issues related to your connectivity, go to Settings > General > Reset Network Settings. Once the reset performed, you will have to enter your Wi-Fi password again, but at least you will be operating on a clean slate, as far as networking goes.
- Put your SIM card in a different phone, then reset that phone
This is to rule out a specific handset issue with your main iPhone. If you happen to have a spare iPhone then try your SIM in this and if iMessage happens to work in this then it’s the main iPhone handset issue and you may need to contact apple or alternatively see step 11.
- Wait 24 hour
Apple also suggested it might take up to 24 hours to activate iMessage and FaceTime.
- Update to the latest version of iOS
It’s also a good idea to update or ensure you’re on the latest version of iOS if you are having some issues. That’s especially true if you are still sporting a version of the operating system that is one year old or more. To update to the latest iOS version, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Reset all content and settings
The activation issue may actually be a device-specific issue, and unfortunately, you might have to reset the device and set it all up again, this will wipe all info from the handset may be a last resort. To do so, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Content and Settings. Again this will wipe out your device and will let you either set it up as new or set it up from a previous iCloud backup.
If you make any of the above changes its always worth rebooting your device and remember it may take up to 24hrs for any of the above changes to take effect.
