iMessage and Facetime sign in activation error iPad ios8.1.2 - affecting many iPad owners
I have a 2 month old iPad Air, an iPhone 5S and an iMac.
Using my iPad on Saturday 18th suddenly couldn't see my imessages or use Facetime (I'd used FT half an hour before it all went); kept on getting Activation error on both Apps. BUT ONLY ON MY IPAD AIR?!
My iPhone and iMac work absolutely fine and I can continue to use both with imessage and Facetime.
I have so far done the following, as advised by Apple Support and my local Apple Genius Bar appointment today:
- Hard reset. Used home button and off button to reset. Didn't work
- Reset Network settings. Didn't work
- Reset All settings. Didn't work
- Backed up and Restored iPad. Tried to log in to iMessage and Facetime from as new setup before restoring backup. Didn't work
- Apple Genius bar performed a "deep restore". Didn't work
- Apple Genius bar performed a "set up as brand new iPad" process. Didn't work
- Logged out of Apple ID on iPhone then tried logging in to same Apple ID on iPad. Didn't work
- Apple confirmed my Apple ID is correctly verified on their system.
I have done these steps multiple times and now have a support case escalated with Apple. I hope they respond soon...
I have also posted on Apple's Support community pages and am getting hundreds of views and a lot of replies from other affected users. (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6789149).
Reasons seem to vary from Apple server problem, to a batch of faulty iPads to WiFi networks. Apple engineers are all being resourced to investigate by many iPad owners and theer seems to be no consistency of cause as yet.
I don't understand why Apple's system status page is not showing any issues because for quite a few people there are! http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/
I hope Apple resolve soon as I have an expensive iPad Air with loss of functionality.
Anyone with any other thoughts, ideas or comments please do let me know, thanks!
Comments
My sister is having the same problem with her iPad Air. Have done all the things you mentioned above but still cannot get it to work. I am pretty tech savvy and not sure what else to tell her.
gregcols
Unfortunately, looks like we have to wait.
I wish I could get more media coverage so that Apple would act quicker on this. It's been more than a week without iMessage and Facetime now, and my patience is wearing thin!
Wow, I'm so happy I'm not the only one with this problem. And here I thought I had done something wrong.
iPad Retina from Norway. Not sure what's wrong. My iPhone works all well with both iMessage and Facetime. Not my iPad...
I tried everything recommended by apple and apple users in numerous fora.
In the end, only a factory reset of the iPad (ios 8.1.3) worked, although I note that other users have done the factory reset and their problems were not resolved.
Considering I bought the iPad specifically for the Facetime feature and ease of use (to communicate with my computer illiterate mother-in-law in India), it's a major blow to have to go through 5+ hours of troubleshooting then have to resort to a factory reset
For the benefit of anyone suffering the same or similar tribulations, and in anticipation of the arrival of the iCar, I have taken the trouble to transpose the typical apple troubleshooting steps into iCar format, although you can probably use this approach for any apple product:
Assuming that the problem you are facing is that your iCar will not start, perform the following steps, in no particular order:
1. Check your iKeys to make sure you are using the right one, as there are 8 keys on an iRing and we are not sure which one works best.
If in doubt, try them all.
2. Turn the key clockwise and hold for about 3 seconds.
3. Try turning it anti-clockwise.
4. Remove the iDipstick* and wipe it on a clean cloth, then put it back in. Check again in 24 hours and repeat as often as necessary.
Note* Since the iCar does not use oil, the iDipstick is a purely cosmetic feature, without which the iCar will not function at all.
5. Jack up the iCar using the iJack*, remove all wheels and try starting the car. *Note: Use only the latest version of iJack. Older versions
will sometimes lower the car instead of raising it.
6. Re-install the rear wheels on the front and vice versa.
7. Swap the wheels from left to right.
8. Remove the engine & re-install it backwards with the dipstick unplugged but not fully removed.
9. Re-flash the engine management system with the previous known working IOS version (since it is impossible to actually remove the
IOS updates recently applied).
10. Check the luggage compartment and ensure that it has been correctly packed.
11. Make sure there is something in the glove compartment. Anything will do - try a pair of gloves if you have some.
12. In the EMS, enter a DNS server IP address of 8.8.8.8, or maybe 8.8.4.4 - we're not really sure which one is best, because mostly
this step doesn't actually work.
12. Reset the car to factory settings. Note that you must do a backup of your installed applications and data. You most likely will not
be able to restore from this backup, but do it anyway. For your convenience, you may back up to iCloud or iTunes. The advantage of
backing up to iCloud is that it enables apple, or any security agency or approved hacker group to download your trip information
and re-upload it with whatever modifications they deem appropriate.
13. If none of the above works, return the car to the iGenuis workshop, where an iGenius will do everything that you have done, with the
same result, and will offer you a full replacement iCar at a reduced cost of 90% of what you paid in the first place, even though it is
still under warranty.
I hope this helps! I know it helped me.