iPhone owners report of iMessage failures with iOS 7, simple procedure may be temporary fix

Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2014
According to multiple reports on Apple's Support Communities webpage, iPhone owners who recently upgraded to iOS 7 are experiencing issues with iMessage, though a simple software reset may resolve the problem, at least temporarily.

iMessage


A number of Apple's Support Communities users have reported an apparent iMessage bug that is causing messages to go unsent, unreceived or sent as a text on a variety of iPhones models running iOS 7. Others complain that iMessages are not being converted to SMS texts, as would be the case if Apple's servers were down, and are simply not being sent.

Some threads date back to Sept. 18, when Apple released the latest iOS to the public, though posts regarding the perceived issue have become increasingly frequent since the most recent iOS 7.0.2 update went live last week.

Support Communities forum members may have discovered a solution, however. Users are finding success with the following procedure: disable iMessage in Settings -> Messages, reset the iPhone's Network Settings under Settings -> General -> Reset, then reenable iMessage. The method was also reported to be successful by MacRumors on Monday.

There are variations on the method that include shutting down the handset for three to five minutes, though the technique has seen mixed results.

It is unclear how widespread the iMessage problem is, but one AppleInsider staff member can confirm their handset was affected by the issue. Employing the above network reset did work, however, and the iPhone remains stable as of this writing.

The purported iMessage troubles are the latest in a string of minor bugs users have reported following Apple's launch of iOS 7 less than two weeks ago. The company subsequently pushed out two updates, the first being a day-one patch that dealt with the iPhone 5s' Touch ID sensor, while the second squashed a lock screen passcode bypass bug.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    Go to Settings>Messages>Turn off iMessage then turn it back on>Restart Phone

    This is one way it was fixed in the one iPhone that had the problem.
  • Reply 2 of 40
    A simple reboot worked for me, my wife, and a coworker.
  • Reply 3 of 40
    Topical but off topic. I've NEVER had a problem in the past but since updating to iOS7 I cannot consistently connect my iPhone5 via wifi, and even when I do, there is a connection but no data throughput. I've tried all of the "try this" suggestions and I've even done a clean install to no avail. Any suggestions?
  • Reply 4 of 40
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member

    Siri has been very flaky since I updated. I use Siri quite a lot. I never used to get so many server error message or just being so unresponsive before. I don't get many iMessages as most of my texts are standard messages from devices other than iOS users so I am not sure if I am having any problems with that or not. 

  • Reply 5 of 40
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Topical but off topic. I've NEVER had a problem in the past but since updating to iOS7 I cannot consistently connect my iPhone5 via wifi, and even when I do, there is a connection but no data throughput. I've tried all of the "try this" suggestions and I've even done a clean install to no avail. Any suggestions?

    For this sort of trouble shooting I always try to get things work with the least 'amount of restrictions', meaning:

    Disable MAC address filtering
    Do not hide the SSID
    Enable DHCP, do not use a static IP
    Do not limit the DHCP lease time
    Turn off all other WiFi devices in the vicinity
    Hold iPhone in sight of AirPort, no concrete blocking of any kind
    Configure a new WiFi password (nothing fancy as in special characters), try WPA2 first, but if this list doesn't fix it try all the other security options
    Start AirPort from cold boot, wait for green light
    Start iPhone from cold boot, give it time to find the WiFi signal

    If that works one can add one security measure after the other, testing one by one. Add other WiFi devices. Test longer distances et cetera.
  • Reply 6 of 40
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    No problems at my end with iMessage, but video's shared through Photostream only work through a public sit with a browser, still no dice with a private share through iOS (iPad and iPhone display the first frame, but the video doesn't start playing) Yes yes, I left feedback on .com. And made an appointment with a Genius this week.
  • Reply 7 of 40
    I have the opposite problem, messages appear on my phone by not my other devices.

    grrrr.
  • Reply 8 of 40

    I get an error on my phone that the message wasnt sent.  I am not receiving the messages on my iPad.  The messages have started to appear on my MacBook Pro after not appearing right after upgrading both of my iOS devices.

  • Reply 9 of 40
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post





    For this sort of trouble shooting I always try to get things work with the least 'amount of restrictions', meaning:



    Disable MAC address filtering

    Do not hide the SSID

    Enable DHCP, do not use a static IP

    Do not limit the DHCP lease time

    Turn off all other WiFi devices in the vicinity

    Hold iPhone in sight of AirPort, no concrete blocking of any kind

    Configure a new WiFi password (nothing fancy as in special characters), try WPA2 first, but if this list doesn't fix it try all the other security options

    Start AirPort from cold boot, wait for green light

    Start iPhone from cold boot, give it time to find the WiFi signal



    If that works one can add one security measure after the other, testing one by one. Add other WiFi devices. Test longer distances et cetera.

     

    Thanks. What puzzles me is...in my house, another iP5 and 3 iP4s ...all upgraded...and didn't have a problem. Why this one?

  • Reply 10 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Masteric View Post



    A simple reboot worked for me, my wife, and a coworker.

     

    Careful. That's how Android users get by. Every. Hour.

  • Reply 11 of 40
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I wonder if the real fix needs to be on the server end.

    Happily, I can report: no iOS 7 problems here--with iMessages or anything else (knock on wood). Except:

    My iPad 2 was slow, stuttery, and even crashy for about an hour... and then it was fine. Go figure. I think some re-indexing or other memory-hoggage must happen for a while right after the update.

    No problems at all on iPhone 5.

    Wouldn't go back if I could!

    (I also wouldn't rush to put it on an iPhone 4.)
  • Reply 12 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dickprinter View Post



    Topical but off topic. I've NEVER had a problem in the past but since updating to iOS7 I cannot consistently connect my iPhone5 via wifi, and even when I do, there is a connection but no data throughput. I've tried all of the "try this" suggestions and I've even done a clean install to no avail. Any suggestions?

     

    Install iOS 6.1.4? /s

  • Reply 13 of 40
    @tiger@tiger Posts: 18member
    I c
    rokrad wrote: »
    Go to Settings>Messages>Turn off iMessage then turn it back on>Restart Phone

    This is one way it was fixed in the one iPhone that had the problem.

    I can confirm this fix solved the issue on my iPhone 5 running release version of iOS7 (no issues while using various beta versions). The problem surfaced 2 days ago and wouldn't go away. I was able to convert to SMS though. I re-activated the iMessage service, but had to reboot the iPhone to make any difference.
  • Reply 14 of 40
    Topical but off topic. I've NEVER had a problem in the past but since updating to iOS7 I cannot consistently connect my iPhone5 via wifi, and even when I do, there is a connection but no data throughput. I've tried all of the "try this" suggestions and I've even done a clean install to no avail. Any suggestions?
    I'm having the same issue on my iPhone 5. Never had this problem on my 4 before updating to the new os and new phone. Hopefully they fix it.
  • Reply 15 of 40
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    I notice that there's a (new?) setting

    Messages>Send as SMS

    which for me is off after the update. The description is, "Send as SMS when iMessage is unavailable".
  • Reply 16 of 40
    pabapaba Posts: 1member

    Have experienced a strange aside to this issue.  In recent days I got a string of iMessages and replies from a strange number in the UK - I am located in Ireland.  I decided just to delete them rather than reply in case they contained some form of malware (not sure if my iPhone could be "infected' in this way.  Anyway messages have ceased in last 48 hours.

  • Reply 17 of 40
    Settings>general>reset network. Viola!... iPhone 5 anyway... Courtesy of AT&T.
    My first issue ever with iPhone messaging since iPhone 3s.
    Of course I messaging is a recent addition
  • Reply 18 of 40
    Just do a hard reset holding down both the home button and the power button. That fixes it for a while until it happens again. I noticed other little things that's are going a little haywire. Returning to the home screen involuntarily whether your in an app or on the internet occurs infrequently. There are bugs that need to be addressed but I LOVE the the iOS anyway. It's so smooth and slick. Hope this helps.
  • Reply 19 of 40
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member
    masteric wrote: »
    A simple reboot worked for me, my wife, and a coworker.

    This worked for me as well.
  • Reply 20 of 40
    jpmiajpmia Posts: 63member
    i havent had any issues at all with the ios7,
    guess i lucky!
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