Step By Step Guide on How to Activate iMessage with Your Phone Number

 iMessage is Apple’s exclusive messaging platform that enables you to send and receive messages, photos, videos, and more over Wi-Fi or cellular data connections. Apple developed this service and dedicated it solely to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. Except for the costs associated with data usage, messaging on iMessage is free.

However, to use the iMessage service without any hitches, you must activate it first. Several methods exist, including using your Apple ID, email address, and phone number. All these methods have the same goal: to verify your device and connect it with Apple’s messaging servers. Doing so is pretty straightforward.

This article will walk you through the steps of activating iMessage with your phone number. While we’ll focus more on the iOS platform, we’ll also provide instructions on activating iMessage with your phone number on your iPad.

Let’s get started!

Key Points

• iMessage is a text messaging platform built for Apple devices.
• The iMessage service requires cellular data or a Wi-Fi connection to send and receive messages.
• Activating iMessage with a phone number allows users to communicate easily and quickly across devices.
• You can also activate iMessage with your Apple ID or email address.
• You’ll need SMS credit to activate iMessage with a phone number.

What You Need Before Activating iMessage With Phone Number

Before you activate your iMessage account, there are a few things you need to make sure of:

• You need an activated SIM card. The iMessage must be associated with a phone number, and the SIM card should be installed in your iPhone.
• You need an active internet connection. You can use either Wi-Fi or your cellular data to access iMessage services. If you don’t have cellular data or Wi-Fi connectivity, you can tell a friend to hotspot their internet connection to your device.
• You need enough credit to send and receive SMS messages. Standard charges depending on carrier apply when iMessage sends SMS messages to Apple servers during the activation process.

Note that you’ll only need the credits during the activation process and not when you use iMessage. With that out of the way, you can now activate your iMessage account using your phone number.

7 Steps to Activate iMessage with a Phone Number on Your iPhone or iPad

Step 1: Open Settings

On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app. If you don’t have this app on your home screen, swipe left to access it from the App Library. It looks like a gear icon.

Step 2: Select Messages

On the Settings page, scroll down to the Messages option and tap on it. The messages icon is green with a white chat bubble.

How to Remove the Phone Number Used in iMessage Activation

Sometimes, you may need to remove the phone number used in your iMessage activation. This can happen if you switch mobile numbers or use only your Apple ID when sending and receiving messages. Not to worry, removing the phone number is easy.

Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive. From here, select your Apple ID and sign out. The number you used will instantly be removed from iMessage. You can then sign back in using your Apple ID and start sending and receiving messages without any phone number attached.

Suppose the number you want to disassociate with iMessage is on an iPhone, not in your possession. In that case, you’ll need to change your Apple ID password. Doing so will automatically remove the phone number from your iMessage account, and you won’t be able to receive or send messages from it

Can You Activate iMessage Without a Phone Number?

It is possible to activate iMessage using the email address that is registered with your Apple ID. However, you must still have a valid phone number registered as well. To activate it with your email address, Apple will send a verification email to the address and you will then need to follow the instructions on it to activate iMessage. Once complete, simply follow the instructions above from step 5 to select your phone number for sending and receiving iMessages.

Wrapping Up

Activating iMessage with your phone number is easy and takes just a few minutes. With the help of this article, you now have all it takes to activate iMessage on your iPhone and use it without any issues. And, if you encounter any challenges, you can always restart your iMessage app, check your system settings, or update your operating system