iMessage Not Working – 5 Ways to Fix this Issue

Have you ever been confronted with iMessage not working issue? The following guide will show you how to resolve this iMessage issue on iPhone 7/7 Plus or devices running on iOS 10.

Updated Jan 04,2017 | by Niko

Have you ever been confronted with iMessage not working issue? The following guide will show you how to resolve this iMessage issue on iPhone 7/7 Plus or devices running on iOS 10.

Before we begin discussing iMessage not working issue, we need to figure out what is iMessage. Simply put, iMessage is an instant and free messaging service allowing you to send and receive texts, photos, videos, personalized effects and etc. between iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch and Mac over Internet connection.

With the release of iOS 10, iMessage becomes increasingly user-friendly and interesting. However, you may face the issue and have no idea how to fix it. Here, we are going to take you through this article and find out how to fix iMessage not working especially on iPhone 7/7 Plus and iOS 10.

How to Fix iPhone iMessage Not Working Problem

1. Check Out iMessage Settings

When you face this iMessage issue, check and see if iMessage is set correctly. Of course, go to Settings > Messages and make sure iMessage feature is activated firstly. Then, open Send and Receive, where lists the phone number and email addresses configured to send and receive iMessage on your iPhone. Make sure there is a checkmark next to your phone number, and you enter your email address correctly.

2. Check Out iPhone Network Connection

iMessage works only when the cellular data or Wi-Fi network is connected. If you find iMessage not working, then check out your iPhone network connection immediately and make sure your iPhone has proper and correct cellular data or Wi-Fi connection.

Always turn on cellular data or Wi-Fi connection if you want to send and receive iMessage correctly.

3. Restart iPhone and Re-enable iMessage

Sometimes, restart your iPhone or re-enable iMessage feature will help resolve the iMessage issue effectively. Disable iMessage feature > hold the power button, and slide across “Slide to Power Off” to turn off your iPhone > turn iPhone back on > reactivate iMessage on iPhone.

4. Update iOS to the Latest

iOS update usually comes with some new features and bug fixes, so we always recommend you to keep your iOS updated. Update iOS to the latest may quickly solve the iMessage not working issue. How to update iOS to the latest? Go to Settings > General > Software Update, and see is there any iOS update available for your iPhone.

5. Restore iPhone

If you tired all above solutions and the iMessage not working issue still exist, then you may consider resetting your iPhone to factory settings and restore iPhone from backup (how to restore iPhone from backup – iTunes backup and iCloud backup). Generally, restore iPhone will resolve most software problems of iPhone, including this one.

On a few rare occasions, these solutions do not play any part in the issue, you’d better contact official Apple support and engineers and get your issue be solved in no time.

Related readings:

How to Send Animated Text Messages in iPhone 7/iOS 10

How to Recover Deleted iMessages with/without Backup

How to Delete Multiple/All Messages on iPhone