IMessage and FaceTime use wrong (old) phone number

My wife and I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile (~$170/mo to $60! woo!). In the process of activating our SIM cards, I activated them backwards: she has an iPhone 5, I have a 4s. I contacted T-Mobile about the issue and they switched the numbers. Calls work, normal text messages work, but iMessage seems to "remember" the old numbers.
Here's what I have tried:
Completely erase and restore both devices after turning off iMessage and FaceTime
Turn off iM/FT and reset network settings
Turn off iM/FT, wait, and turn it back on
Create a new Apple ID for iM/FT and use that to login
The result of all has been the same: I receive iMessages intended for her, and when I send her an iMessage it just returns in the same conversation.
Is there another solution to this problem I've overlooked?

Hi CallItOff,
For troubleshooting iMessage and Facetime activation, I recommend this article:
iOS: Troubleshooting FaceTime and iMessage activation
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4268
There are a few relevant sections in the article so I would suggest just starting from the top.
I hope this helps!
- Ari

Similar Messages

IMessage and FaceTime not working with phone number.

Hi guys,
I've had this issue for days. My iMessage had been linked with my email. So I sign out of "my Apple ID" to enable me select my phone number as my preferred option for use. Unfortunately, I have my former phone number (which does not exist anymore) in grey and not my present phone number. So I'm stuck with my old contact and my email address for iMessage and FaceTime. I have tried toggling iMessage off and on, it keeps me on "waiting for activation" mode, deducts some airtime for SMS charge but still goes back to "iMessage unsuccessful".
Guys what can I do to link my active phone number to my iMessage and FaceTime.

Hello Walidou,
I've gone through the text, thanks. But it doesn't give me a solution still. It says if after waiting for activation for 24hours it doesn't still work, then contact apple support. You see it still brings me back here.
Infact, as I'm writing this my airtime is still being deducted as SMS is being automatically sent to some random number like "+447537410257"

IMessage and Facetime won't activate phone number

Hi guys.
Here's the story.
I had an Unlocked iPhone 4, bought in Brazil and using a brazilian carrier, till recently, and both iMessage and Facetime worked normally, using my apple ID or my phone number.
After I was robbed, I got an iPhone 4S, factory unlocked, bought in the United States, and started using it with my brazilian carrier sim.
I restored my iPhone 4 backup, to maintain all my notes, calendar, photos, etc.
But now I noticed that facetime and imessage are not working with my phone number. They just keep shoping the message "Waiting for activation" or something like that, with my phone status as "Verifying".
I tried removing and re-inserting the sim, rebooting the phone, activating and deactivating imessage and facetime, but they just won't verify my number...
Also, when I check my phone on iTunes, the "Phone Number" field states "N/A". With my former phone the number would show on the iTunes screen.
Can someone help me? I am running on iOS 5.0.1., no jailbreak and using my brazilian Apple ID.
Hope someone can help, I tried several online tutorials, such as the timezone one, or the DNS router, and none worked.
Regards,

I just activated a new iphone 4s and restored from a backup of my former iphone 3gs - had the same problem - Waiting for Activation on both facetime and imessage. I tried all the usual fixes, reset all, hard reset, turn facetime/imessage on and off, and on and on. 2 hours on phone with tech support to no avail.
I just found the fix on my own - no clue if it will work for everyone. But it's ridiculously easy and worth a shot so you don't waste hours and hours resetting/synching as I did.
All I did was go into settings>phone>my number - erase it by touching the ">". Then re-enter it making sure to input with the "+" and country code. For example in the US: +1(508) 569-9901
No hard reset necessary. I went into settings>facetime and imessage, immediately after inputting my phone number again and the dreaded "waiting for activation" message was gone. I tested sending a message - came thru to the other party fine and facetiming another device (my mom's ipad some distance away) and it rang thru with everything working properly i.e., video/audio.

Upgraded my phone now iMessage and facetime use the number on the sim not my number ?

Please help?

Got a new sim obviously it has a number which ee must update with mine when I text and call it uses my number but iMessage and facetime use the number that is printed on the sim

TS4268 I am being charged for international msgs which i haven't sent to a number of the UK.i tried to activate my iMessage and FaceTime using wifi but then it didn't connect. all settings have been turned off but my acc. is being charged.what to do?

I am being charged for international msgs which i haven't sent to a number of the UK.i tried to activate my iMessage and FaceTime using wifi but then it didn't connect. all settings have been turned off in my phone! i also have reset my phone with all the settings. but when i contacted my carrier, he said that the balance deduction is because of the international messages i have sent, but i have sent NONE! every time i switch on my phone, balance gets deducted. imessage and facetime are all disabled! but then the problem started since yesterday when i tried to activate them but had disabled them all at the next moment! but the charges are still being applicable for some international messages as per my mobile carrier. what to do? is there some problem with my phone or carrier?

I am being charged for international msgs which i haven't sent to a number of the UK.i tried to activate my iMessage and FaceTime using wifi but then it didn't connect. all settings have been turned off in my phone! i also have reset my phone with all the settings. but when i contacted my carrier, he said that the balance deduction is because of the international messages i have sent, but i have sent NONE! every time i switch on my phone, balance gets deducted. imessage and facetime are all disabled! but then the problem started since yesterday when i tried to activate them but had disabled them all at the next moment! but the charges are still being applicable for some international messages as per my mobile carrier. what to do? is there some problem with my phone or carrier?

My apple ID information has my new phone number but imessage uses my old phone number

My apple ID information has my new phone number but when i connect my new mac to iCloud and my apple ID it has my old phone number listed so when i use imessage on my mac it uses my old phone number instead of my new phone number. what can i do to use my imessage with my new phone number and not my old phone number

Open Messages on your Mac, then go to Messages>Preferences, select Accounts, select your iCloud account, then click Sign Out. Then sign back in with the ID your phone is using for iMessage.

I am unable to register in imessage and facetime using my ipad 3

I am unable to register in imessage and facetime using my ipad 3 and iphone 4s. The message pops up as user name or password is not correct, whereas i am **** sure that both are correct. I am located in uae.

Hi,
If the machine is brand new I don't see why the serial Number is missing (it is entered on to a special chip at the factory)
However if the machine is a return and has been refurbished then the Logic/mother board may have been changed and someone forgot to put the info back to the new board.
for the Points
7:44 pm Thursday; January 16, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

HT5538 Hi there. I have tried everything to make iMessage and FaceTime to work with my number but it won't let me do it. I am moreover concerned as I have another sim forum my same carrier and it works fine with iMessage and FaceTime. I I really need help

Hi I have tried all the tricks from the support to have iMessage and FaceTime running but it is impossible for me to activate these apps with my phone number. Problem is I have another sim from the same carrier and I am able to do it on that one.
I am desperate for a help!
Thanks a lot

Can you make phone calls on the phone that won't activate? Is it only iMessage and Facetime that isn't working? What about data - can you access the internet?
Your last statement didn't make much sense to me: " I still can have the apps working but only from an email"
Pls explain that clearly.

Why can't I use my imessage and facetime using my wifi at home?

I can't use my imessage and facetime over the wifi at my home?
At first I can't verify my account. It says that theres a connection problem.
But I tried using a wifi at mcdonalds it works just fine to verify my account.
Then I tried it back at my house wifi. Yet again it couldn't sent any messages or anything for that matter.

Whithout more information:
iOS: Troubleshooting Messages

IOS6 iMessage is integrating with my old phone number

so i recently did the IOS 6 update... and now my imessage on my macbook is integrating with a old pay as you go number i was using while traveling instead of my permanent phone number... i would like to remove the throw away number from my imessage account and set it to my current phone number to ensure continuity of messages.

I have a related question. When setting up Messages in 10.8, I clicked yes when it presented me with my cell number. Now I'm getting text messages showing up on my Mac and I don't really want that. I can't figure out how to stop it.

Why can't I activate iMessage and FaceTime with phone number?

Hi, I own an iPhone 4, recently I restored it and now I can't activate iMessage and FaceTime using my phone number.
I read and performed all the steps shown in apple troubleshooting article about activating iMessage and FaceTime and that didn't work either.
Before restoring the iPhone both iMessage and FaceTime were working just fine...
Why is that? What can I do?
Thanks,
Konrad

in settings where you have them turned on, does it say waiting for activation ?

My old phone number is stuck on my ipod touch and I am trying to put my new phone number in but it will give me no place to do it. I have looked up all support reset things made sure my new number was attached to my apple id and still

I have an IPOD Touch and it had my old phone number in it, I have tried absolutely everything listed on the community support that I could find, restoring factoro settings restarting phone logging out of facetime and imessage but it wont allow my to put in a new phone number even though on my apple id there is a phone number it will not correspond with the new number it doesn't give me even an option for a phone number now just email. Can someone please help me THANKS

Where is the phone number on the iPod?
If you have an iPhone with iOS and use the same ID for Messages and FaceTime as on the iPod the iPhone's phone number will be listed for Messages and FaceTime on the iPod.
If you changed phone numbers on the iPhone, sign out of Messages and FaceTime and then sing back in. Then do the same a little while later on the iPod.
For some info see:
iOS: About Messages

HT5538 How do I completely remove my old phone number from iMessage?

I haven't had service on my iPhone for over a year now, but a couple days ago I got a text through iMessage from someone thinking I am their friend "Mark". They're texting my old phone number and it is going to their friend Mark's phone (as he now has my old number) but some of them also go to me.
I've tried going to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and the phone number is disabled (greyed out). I can uncheck the emails linked to my account but I am unable to uncheck the phone number.
Here's a screenshot (number blocked to protect the privacy of the person that now has it):
I tried following the instructions under "How to unlink a phone number" in this Apple support article but the phone number still didn't go away from the iMessage "Send & Receive" list even after I signed out of my Apple ID.
This seems like a bug because why in the world would texts normally still come to my phone sometimes (via iMessage) when someone texts my old phone number if I haven't even paid in over a year.
BTW, when I had service, my carrier was AT&T.

1. Get hold of your old iPhone and switch iMessage off in Settings > Messages
2. Un-register your old device: https://supportprofile.apple.com
3. Change your current Apple ID password.
4. Switch OFF your iMessage and switch back ON after a few minutes.

Imessage and Facetime activation woes after ID change.

Hi all,
I had to change my Apple ID due to an email change. I then started the process of changing my Apple ID on my iPad 3 and my iPhone 3Gs.
iCloud is working fine and so is the app store (I can install new apps and update old apps). The problem comes with iMessage and Facetime. Whilst I have managed to input the new ID and password (using the 'put in the wrong password until it asks for the ID again' method) it will not verify or activate.
Once I have entered the new username and password on the Enter Apple ID page, I hit 'Sign In'; this then takes me to a page saying 'People will message you using your email address. What email address would you like to use?' Sometimes it then goes back to the Sign In page without any action from me and other times I get to hit 'Next' (the address is already filled in with my email which is the same as my Apple ID). It then goes through the verification process which fails, saying 'Unable to verify addres. An email with verification link has been sent to the above email address'.
The email address is verified if I check my Apple ID online and no email ever appears in my email; I have checked the Spam etc.
I have tried doing a 'Reset All' and also a 'Reset Network Settings' (although I have no network problems).
This problem occurs in the same way on both my iPhone and my iPad which makes me think it is an account problem and not a device problem. Do I need to go through the registration process with both devices using the new Apple ID or could there be another problem?
I have searched the forums but can't find exactly this problem being solved elsewhere.
Many thanks.

Hi Karl.
Thanks for the tips, but when I wrote earlier:
"Tried all that, but unfortunately nothing worked.
Both iMessage and FaceTime used to work properly always, and the problem started after updating to iOS8.
I followed all the steps you suggested, including the annoying reset, but things are just the same."
I was referring to a similar suggestion made by ManSinha where he said:
"Log out of iCloud
Reset the phone
Then Log back into iCloud
Then reactivate iMessage and FaceTime"
Also followed the steps suggested in the Apple support papers you mentioned, but things are still the same.
I think I'll have to wait for my next trip to USA or Europe where I can visit an Apple store and work out things there.
As a matter of fact, I'm about to receive my new iPhone 6 in these days (brought by a friend of mine from USA), and hopefully I'll be having my services back, but I'm still worried by this iPhone 5s issue because I'm passing it to my son.

For some reason i can't sign into imessage and facetime. PLEASE HELP???

For some reason i can't sign into imessage and facetime. PLEASE HELP???

Hey tcap8687,
After reviewing your post, I have located an article that can help with iMessage and FaceTime. It contains a number of troubleshooting steps and helpful advice for the issue you are experiencing:
If you have difficulty activating FaceTime or iMessage - Apple Support
If you see "Could not sign in, please check your network connection and try again" when signing in to your Apple ID
To resolve this issue, follow these steps.
Update to the latest version of iOS.
Verify that you have a data connection by going to www.apple.com in Safari. You can complete Apple ID activation using Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection. If you need help connecting to Wi-Fi, follow these steps.
If you're using Wi-Fi, make sure that your local Wi-Fi network is using the recommended Wi-Fi settings.
Sign in to your account and ensure that the primary email address and alternate e-mail addresses have been verified. If verification is pending, follow the instructions in the email Apple sent to that email address to complete verification. Or remove the e-mail addresses from the account.
If your Apple ID isn't an email address, you can change it. The Apple ID that you're using to activate FaceTime or iMessage must be an email address. Find more information on how to change your Apple ID.
Tap Settings > General > Date & Time. Make sure that your iPhone is set to the correct time zone. If Set Automatically is on but the wrong time zone appears, turn Set Automatically off and choose the correct time zone, date, and time.
Enable iMessage and FaceTime while connected to a different Wi-Fi network (in a different location) if a cellular data connection is not available.
You can see that you've activated FaceTime and iMessage with your Apple ID by following these steps.
Tap Settings > FaceTime > You can be reached by FaceTime at:
Tap Settings > Messages > Send & Receive > You can be reached by iMessage at:
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
BobbyD

IMessage and FaceTime use wrong (old) phone number

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for