Is iMessage not working on your iPhone after iOS 17 update? You are not alone. In this article, I’ll explain why iPhone is not sending or receiving iMessages after iOS 17 update and show you how to fix the problem for good.
iMessage lets you send texts, photos, or videos to another iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac over Wi-Fi or cellular-data networks. These messages are always encrypted and appear in blue text bubbles. But if all of a sudden, iMessage is not working after iOS 17 update, messages are failing and showing red exclamation marks, and texts, photos, videos are not going through, here are the best solutions to fix these problems.
Please note: The solutions explain in this article apply to all iOS 17 supported devices including: iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max.
Why Is iMessage Not Working after iOS 17 update??
There are lots of reasons why iMessage can stop working on your iOS 17 device: it could be an issue with Apple’s iMessage server, a problem with the Messages app, your cellular network, your Wi-Fi connection, or your settings could need adjusting.
How to fix iPhone iMessage not working after iOS 17 update
1. Make sure iMessage is on and set up correctly
The first solution to fix the issue when your iPhone is not receiving iMessages after iOS 17 update is to ensure iMessage is switched on and is set correctly.
Check you’re set to send and receive iMessages by going to Settings > Messages and checking that iMessage is turned on.
If when you get to this page you see a message suggesting that iMessage is ”Waiting for activation” or ”Activation unsuccessful”, continue reading.
If iMessage is switched on and there is no message about activation, check that your phone is set up correctly to receive iMessages: Go to Settings > Messages and check the addresses and mobile number you have listed in Send & Receive.
- Turn off your mobile number or email address in the list of places where you can Send & Receive from. We suggest trying a process of elimination to see if iMessage works with just your mobile number or just an email address.
- Check there is a tick beside your phone number in the Start New Conversations From section.
2. Turn on/off Airplane Mode
The next fix that you should try is to turn on/ off Airplane mode. While it may sound funny, Airplane mode can help fix random network-related issues causing iMessage problem in iOS 17.
- On iPhone with Face ID: Swipe down from the top right corner of the screen to access Control Center. Next, tap on the Airplane mode button to turn it on.
- On iPhone with Touch ID: Swipe up from the bottom to access Control Center and then hit the Airplane mode button to activate it.
- Wait for some time and then disable Airplane mode. Now, check if iMessage is working properly.
3. Turn Off/On iMessage and Restart Your iOS 17 Device
If the above tricks did not help you resolve the iMessage problem on your iOS 17 device, then turn off iMessage and restart your phone. At times, simply** turning the iMessage toggle on and off** lets you sort out the issue.
First, head to ‘Settings > Messages’ and turn off the toggle next to iMessage. Then, follow the steps below to restart your iPhone.
- On iPhone XR, XS, 11, 12, 13, and 14: Press and hold either the volume down or up button and side button. Then, drag the power off slider to shut down your device. After that, press and hold the side button to restart your device.
- On iPhone SE 3: Press and hold the power button and then drag the power off slider to turn off your device. Next, press and hold the power button to turn on your device.
Once your device has restarted, go turn on the iMessage toggle. Now, check if you can send and receive iMessages on your iOS 17 device.
4. Check Apple’s System Status for iMessage
Whenever Apple’s system hits an outage, many of its essential services and features, including iMessage, come to a standstill. Therefore, make sure to check Apple’s system status for iMessage to determine whether or not it’s operating normally.
Head over to Apple’s system status page. If the circle next to iMessage is green, that means it’s up and running. However, if there is a red or yellow circle next to iMessage, it means the service is facing an outage. Now, all you can do to fix the problem (you guessed it!) is to wait for Apple to resolve it.
5. Unblock the person if you had blocked them
After you block a person, they cannot send messages, FaceTime, or make regular calls to you. Thus if you aren’t receiving iMessage on your iOS 17 device, take a few seconds to ensure you have not blocked someone accidentally.
- Open the Settings and tap Messages.
- Tap Blocked Contacts and ensure the person is not added here.
- If they are, swipe left on the name and tap Unblock.
6. Make sure you’ve got internet connection (and enough data)
iMessage needs a data connection to work, so you need to make sure you’ve got 3G or 4G (or 5G) available, or a good WiFi signal. Without WiFi or a cellular data connection your iMessage won’t send on iPhone.
Check you can access the web by performing a quick search in Safari. If you see no results you’ve identified the root of your problem.
7. Set correct iPhone date and time
Your iPhone needs to have the correct date and time for iMessage to work. To ensure this, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and enable Set Automatically. Now, restart your iPhone, and iMessage not working in iOS 17 should no longer bother you.
8. Update Your iPhone Software
If none of the tricks mentioned above help solves the iMessage problems in iOS 17, there is a high chance that the outdated software is the culprit. So, what’s the solution? Pretty simple, check for a software update.
With every software update, Apple silently releases several bug fixes and performance enhancements. So, hopefully, updating your iOS device to the latest version of iOS 17 could solve the issue.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Software Update. Next, do the needful to update the software on your iOS 17 device.
9. Reset Network Settings when iMessage is not working after iOS 17 update
If nothing works in fixing the iOS 17 iMessage problems, this one should.
Here’s how to reset your Network settings if iMessages aren’t sending in iOS 17.
- Open iPhone Settings and tap General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
Once this is done, there is almost a certainty that iMessage will start working.
10. Reset all Settings
If iMessage is still not working on your iOS 17 device after trying the above solutions, you may reset all settings. This step won’t delete personal data like apps, music, and photos. But settings you have ever changed or added like Wi-Fi, VPN, Bluetooth, Home Screen layout, and more will reset. Here’s how:
- Launch iPhone Settings and tap General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.
11. Get help from Apple
If you are still having problems then it’s probably time to get an appointment with a genius at the Apple Store, here’s how.
How to Fix iMessage Waiting for Activation after iOS 17 update
Setting up iMessage on an iPhone should be a simple process, but it can sometimes be problematic. In some case people are seeing an error message when they try to activate iMessage on their iPhone running iOS 17.
You may see one of the following error messages:
- Activation unsuccessful.
- An error occurred during activation.
- Waiting for activation.
- Could not sign in, please check your network connection.
- Unable to contact the iMessage server.
Here’s what to do when iMessage won’t activate on your iPhone running iOS 17
- Be patient and wait a full 24 hours before troubleshooting
- Call your mobile phone company in case there’s an issue on their side
- Check that your iPhone can send SMS (texts)
- Toggle iMessage off, wait 20-30 seconds, and toggle back on
- For pre-paid mobile plans, make sure you have a credit on your account
- Toggle Airplane Mode on and off
- Disable any restrictions on your device
- Reset your network settings
- Return all your iDevice’s settings to defaults.
Fixed iMessage not working after iOS 17 update
As someone who has dealt with this issue firsthand, it can be very frustrating. Thankfully these steps have resolved the issue for many people. Did our solutions fix the problem of iPhone iMessage not working after iOS 17 update? Did another solution work that we didn’t mention? Feel free to share it in the comments section below!