How to fix iMessage that is not working on your iPhone X after an iOS update [Troubleshooting Guide]

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Have you just updated your iPhone X to the latest version of iOS but ended up having trouble with iMessage? Whether it’s a problem on sending or receiving iMessage that you’re dealing with, the procedures I’ve mapped out below will likely help you out. Read on for more information.

Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit.

How to troubleshoot iPhone X with iMessage that’s not working

Before you start troubleshooting, check the iMessage service status and make sure it’s available. Apple provides an updated status page that shows the current status for iOS and Mac services. Users are therefore advised to check on this page whenever any of its key services (including iMessage) is down. To access this page, navigate to the Apple Support website (https://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/). If iMessage is down, the status indicator shows gray, otherwise, it’s green. Should the iMessage service is currently unavailable, then you can still send messages as normal texts. Also ensure that  iMessage is turned on and set up correctly on your iPhone X. Another thing to check on your iPhone is the time zone setting. Make sure that the date and time settings are correct for iMessage to work as intended. Most importantly, your iPhone must be connected to the Internet either through Wi-Fi or cellular data. Data connection is a key requisite for iMessage to work on your iPhone. If you’re relying on cellular data, make sure you have enough data allowance left in your account. A 3G or 4G network must also be available. Once you have all these checked and met, create a sample message to send as iMessage. If the problem persists, go ahead and troubleshoot your iPhone X with these subsequent procedures.

First solution: Restart your iPhone X (soft reset).

Apps or the operating system itself can go rogue when new platform changes are implemented. To prevent this from happening, restarting the device after installing new software update is highly recommended. Aside from dumping corrupt cache files and data, a restart also refreshes the internal memory and operating system. If you haven’t yet restarted your iPhone X, then you must do it now. Here’s how:

  1. Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume button for a few seconds.
  2. When you see the Slide to Power off command, release the buttons.
  3. Then, drag the Power off slider to the right. Give your iPhone several seconds to power off.
  4. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side/Power button again until the Apple logo appears, then release.

A restart or soft reset won’t affect any data you’ve stored on the internal memory of your device and so, creating backups won’t be necessary.

Second solution: Turn off iMessage then on again.

The iMessage feature might just have experienced some minor glitches and inconsistencies following the software changes, thereby it’s not working properly. A simple solution to this would be a restart on the iMessage function itself. This can be accomplished by turning iMessage off for a few seconds and then turn it back on. Here’s how:

  1. Navigate to Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap Messages.
  3. Scroll to and tap the iMessage switch to turn it off shortly and then tap the switch again to turn iMessage back on.

Afterwards, create a sample message to send as iMessage on your iPhone X. If you still can’t send or receive the message through iMessage, then try other applicable solutions.

Third solution: Delete old messages or conversations.

Deleting old messages and conversations not only clears up memory space on your iPhone but also dumps any corrupt messages including those embedded with some malware. To delete individual messages on your iPhone X, follow these steps:

  1. Open a message conversation.
  2. Touch and hold the message bubble that you want to delete.
  3. Tap More.
  4. Then tap the trash icon.
  5. Select the option to Delete Message.
  6. If you want to delete all messages in a thread, tap Delete All on the upper-left corner instead.
  7. To confirm deletion of selected message(s), tap Delete Conversation.
  8. Alternatively, you can swipe left over a conversation to delete a single conversation and then tap Delete twice to confirm action.

Also delete unnecessary messages or conversations with attachments. The attached files might have contained some bugs or any sort of malicious software that could trigger iMessage to go rogue or stop working. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open the conversation.
  2. Tap the blue “i” or information icon in the upper-right corner.
  3. Navigate to Images and Attachments section.
  4. Touch and hold the image or attachment to view options.
  5. Select the option to Delete.

Restart your iPhone when you’re done deleting messages to clear and refresh the internal memory then try and see if iMessage is already working properly. Otherwise, continue to the next method.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone X.

There are software updates that when implemented, changes the network settings on your device. And this could lead to either good or bad outcomes. If the new update automatically altered your network settings and that has resulted to some conflicts, then that could be the main reason why network-related services including iMessage aren’t working properly on your iPhone X. To rule this out, you can reset the network settings on your iPhone X then reconfigure necessary options individually based on your previous preferences. Here’s how:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Navigate to Settings-> General-> Reset menu.
  3. Tap Reset Network Settings from the given option.
  4. If prompted, enter the correct passcode for your device.
  5. Then tap Reset Network Settings again to confirm action.

After the reset, your iPhone will reboot automatically. Wait until it’s finished booting up, set up and reconnect to Wi-Fi or cellular data, and then see if iMessage is already working by then.

Fifth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone X.

You may have to reset all settings on your device to restore the original or default configurations. This is often needed to rule out any system errors caused by new firmware updates. Unlike a factory reset, this reset won’t delete any data and personal information saved on the iPhone’s internal storage hence, won’t result to data loss. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. From the Home screen, navigate to Settings-> General-> Reset menu.
  2. Tap Reset All Settings from the given option.
  3. If prompted, enter the correct passcode for your device.
  4. Then tap the option to confirm settings reset on your iPhone X.

After the system settings are reset to default, reboot your iPhone X then set up necessary features including Wi-Fi and cellular data to use them again on your device. If that failed to fix the problem and iMessage is still doesn’t work on your iPhone X, then it’s time to reach out to Apple Support.

Seek more help

If iMessage is still not working on your iPhone X after performing all applicable workarounds on your end, contact Apple Support to escalate the issue for further assistance in performing more advanced procedures. The new update to iOS might have some complex bugs that inflicted terminal errors to the iPhone X iMessage and in that case, a fix patch is often needed. If you’re seeing any error message or error code, read and review what it says. Error codes and warning prompts are primarily intended to give end-users some clues about the problem and likewise possible solutions. You can relay the error code or warning message to Apple Support so they can use the information as reference in determining a resolution.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 7 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 7. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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