iPhone iMessage Not Working? How to Fix it – The Ultimate Guide !

Are you unable to send iMessage from your iPhone? Many people face this problem, especially after performing an iOS software update. We have already found this issue with iOS 7, iOS 8 and iOS9 users.

So we have come up with a complete list of tips on how to fix your iPhone iMessage issues. Using below simple tweaks, you could get your iPhone iMessage working again.

Before we start, let’s get you informed a bit about how it all works.

What is iMessage?
iMessages allows you to send messages to and from iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs using the data instead of the traditional text messaging (SMS) and multimedia messaging (MMS). It has no data limits or text 160-character limit like the usual text SMS. However, it does have a drawback that works between Apple devices only.

Green Bubbles & Blue Bubbles

When you send text messages using the Message app, you’ll note that sometimes they are sent in a blue bubble while other times they are in a green. This is what it means:

• If it’s a blue bubble, then the text message was sent using iMessage.
• If it’s a green bubble, then it was sent using your cellular plan.

3 Things to Keep in Mind
The problem can happen because of any of the following reasons as well.

• Sometimes Apple’s servers might be the having the issue.
• Your recipient is not using iMessage or it’s not working for them.
• Your network settings are not configured properly

How To Fix iMessage on Your iPhone

1. Quick Fix: Turn iMessage Off & Reboot
   Go to Settings → Messages and turn off iMessages by tapping the button next to it. Next, turn off your iPhone or iPad and after a while turn it back on. Head over to Settings and turn iMessages on again.
2. Configure it Properly
   Tap on Settings → Messages → ‘Send & Receive’. This will list all phone numbers and email addresses that are configured to send and receive iMessages on your device. Look for the title ‘Start New Conversations From’, and check if your phone number is checked; if not tap to checkmark it.
3. Check Your Internet Connection
   You require a data connection to send these text, make sure you are properly connected to the internet. You can verify it by simply launching up any website on your safari browser. Try turning off your data connection and switching it on again. You might also have to look into your network apn settings if you are unable to connect to the internet.
4. Logout Of Apple ID and Login Again
   Tap on Settings → Messages → ‘Send & Receive’. Next, tap where it says ‘Apple ID: (your Apple ID)’ and choose ‘Sign Out’. Sign back in using your Apple ID and try sending a text message.
5. Check for iOS Updates
   Make sure you are having the latest updates on your iPhone or iPad. To get the updates go to Settings → General → Software Update and check to see if there are any new iOS updates.
6. Reset Network Settings
   Restoring your network settings back to factory defaults can sometimes resolve your network connectivity and texting issues. To reset your iPhone or iPad’s network settings, tap on Settings → General → Reset and choose ‘Reset Network Settings’. (This would erase all your stored WiFi passwords make sure you know your network passwords before proceeding)
7. Get Apple Support
   Sometimes you just have to make the call. You can check out getsupport.apple.com to register your issue or head over to the nearest Apple Store to get some help. If you planning to visit an Apple Store, you can skip the long queue by calling ahead and making an appointment.

3 Strange Ways to Fix iPhone iMessage Not Working Problem

1. Delete the old messages
   This was fix was shared by a user on the support forums. He found that by deleting some of the old texts he was able to get iMessages working again.
2. Set Date to Auto-updates
   This was shared by another user, You have to set the date to auto-updates. Go to Settings → General → Date & Time and toggle the switch on Set Automatically to ON. This has fixed the issues with iMessage and Facetime too.
3. Restore to factory settings
   One of the users has actually went so far that he did a complete factory restore and set up the iPhone as brand new and iMessage started working. (Note: restore will delete all your data)

We hope these bits of advice would have helped you resolve the issue you’ve been having the iPhone iMessage. We would love to hear your experiences and your tweaks for this. Share it with us in the comments below and don’t forget to share the articles for all your friends out there facing the same problem.