With iMessage, you can send and receive text messages with multimedia content like photos and videos to/from another Apple device over cellular data or Wi-Fi network. The iMessages you receive appear in blue text bubbles. These messages are always encrypted. Sending and receiving iMessages can be accomplished easily for as long as the main requisites are met. Nonetheless, there are also certain factors that can trigger random errors that can hinder iMessage services from working on your device. Hence, various types of iMessage errors have been encountered by many Apple device owners. Tackled in this post is one of the common iMessage errors on the new iPhone 11, following the recent iOS update rollout. Read on to find out what to do if you encounter an iMessage not delivered error on your iPhone 11 after updating to iOS 13.2.3.
Troubleshooting an iMessage not delivered error on iPhone 11 after iOS update
The error message simply denotes that the imessage was not delivered or sent. Usually, errors like this occurs if your iPhone is enduring internet problem from slow browsing to internet connection. That said, ruling out internet connectivity issues should be among the first workarounds to try. And if that doesn’t work, eliminate software-related factors that might have ruined the iMessage sending system. And here are your options.
First solution: Restart your iPhone.
Restarting the phone is recommended after every software update installation. Doing so allows existing apps and services to refresh and be able to adapt the recent system changes. On an iPhone, a restart or soft reset can also fix various types of random issues including those inflicted by system updates. That said, this could be what your iPhone needs to get iMessage back up and working properly again. Just follow these steps to soft reset/restart your iPhone 11:
- Press and hold both the Side button and Volume Up button for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off bar appears.
- Swipe or drag the bar to turn your device off.
- After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button and then release when the Apple logo appears.
Wait for your iPhone to complete the boot sequence, reconnect to Wi-Fi network and get back online. Then launch the Message app and create a sample iMessage to send. If the iMessage not delivered error doesn’t show up, it means that the problem is fixed. Otherwise, you’ve got to try other means to eliminate other possible causes.
Second solution: Disable iMessage then re-enable it.
What you’re dealing with may be just a minor glitch transpiring on the Messages app or iMessage itself. To clear out minor system flaws like this, restarting iMessage can help. And here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Tap Messages.
- Scroll to iMessage then tap the switch next to it to turn iMessage off.
- While iMessage is turned off, restart your iPhone to clear cache.
- As soon as it’s finished rebooting, go back to Settings-> Messages menu then toggle the switch to turn iMessage back on.
After re-enabling iMessage, give your iPhone another restart to dump junk files. Then retry creating a sample iMessage to send and see if it goes through already.
Third solution: Refresh the internet connection to fix iMessage not delivered error on your iPhone 11.
Note that iMessage only works when your device has an internet connection either through Wi-Fi or cellular data network. If your iPhone is enduring some internet connectivity issues, then that’s what you need to deal with first in order to get iMessage to work on your iPhone as intended. To rule out random internet connectivity issues that might have hindered iMessage sending, refresh your iPhone’s internet connection. There are different ways to do so. You can use the Wi-Fi toggle, perform the Airplane Mode trick, or forget then re-add the Wi-Fi network on your device.
To refresh the internet using the Wi-Fi toggle, simply refer to these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Scroll to and select Wi-Fi.
- Toggle the Wi-Fi switch to turn the feature off.
- After a few seconds, toggle the switch to turn Wi-Fi back on again.
To refresh the internet using the Airplane Mode trick, follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on Airplane Mode.
- Toggle the Airplane Mode switch to turn the feature ON. Doing so disables your iPhone’s wireless radios and associated features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- While Airplane Mode is turned on, reboot or soft reset your iPhone to clear out network cache.
- After it reboots, go back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu.
- Then toggle the Airplane Mode switch to turn it OFF again.
If both methods failed to fix the problem, you can try forgetting and re-adding the Wi-Fi network. This is usually needed if a corrupted Wi-Fi network is the underlying cause of the problem. Just follow these steps to proceed:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Wi-Fi then make sure that the Wi-Fi switch is turned on.
- Scroll down to the list of available networks then find your Wi-Fi network.
- Tap to select the name of the Wi-Fi network that your iPhone is connected to then tap the information “i” icon next to it.
- Tap the option to Forget this Network.
- If prompted, enter your passcode to proceed.
- Then tap the option to confirm that you’d like to forget the network.
You can also delete any other saved Wi-Fi networks that are no longer needed. Doing so will prevent any of these networks from causing conflicts to the current network in use.
After deleting the Wi-Fi network, turn the Wi-Fi switch off then restart your iPhone. And when the phone is finished rebooting, turn Wi-Fi back on and connect to your Wi-Fi network like the first time you did. Here’s how:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu.
- Toggle the Wi-Fi switch to turn the feature ON. The list of available networks will then populate.
- Select your preferred Wi-Fi network then tap on it.
- Tap Join or Connect.
- Enter the Wi-Fi password if prompted to continue.
Wait for your phone to authenticate your network credentials and then connects to the Wi-Fi network. Once your iPhone is connected to the internet, you can go ahead and retry creating a sample iMessage to send then see if the problem is gone.
Fourth solution: Manage date, time, and network settings on your iPhone.
Date and time as well as network settings on your device are also among the things to consider looking into when dealing with iMessage errors. If the date and time settings are not correct, there’s a higher chance that iMessage won’t be able to work as intended. To ensure that your device is using the correct date and time information, follow these steps to use automatic date and time settings:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen, to get started.
- Tap on General.
- Scroll down and select Date & Time.
- Tap to enable the switch next to Set Automatically to use automatic date and time information based on your current location’s time zone.
To eliminate incorrect network settings including erratic network overrides from the recent update that might have caused conflicts to iMessage, try to reset network settings on your iPhone 11. Doing so will erase all your current network configuration along with any existing errors. This reset doesn’t affect any saved information on your iPhone storage, so there’s no need to back up files beforehand. Just refer to these steps if you wish to proceed and resort to a network settings reset on your iPhone:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Tap to select Reset network settings from the given options.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to continue.
- Tap on Reset network settings again to confirm action.
When the reset is finished, all network settings are restored to their default values. This means you’ll need to re-enable network-related features that are disabled by default. You also need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network in order to get back online.
Fifth solution: Sign out and back into iMessage.
Your existing logins might have been voided after the update and thus you may have to sign into iMessage again in order to use the service. That said, follow these steps to sign out and back into iMessage on your iPhone 11:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select Messages.
- Scroll down to the Send & Receive section then tap to select the correct Apple ID that’s associated with your iMessage account.
- Tap on your Apple ID then select the option to Sign Out.
- Stay on the same screen for about 30 seconds and then tap the option to Use your Apple ID for iMessages.
- Finally, tap to select the option to Sign In to your iMessage account.
Wait after you are successfully signed in then retry creating a sample iMessage to send. If the message was successfully sent, it will be tagged as delivered.
Last resort: Factory reset to fix iMessage not delivered error on your iPhone 11.
If the iMessage not delivered error continues after applying all prior methods, there’s a good chance that you’re dealing with a complex system error. In this case, your next option would be a factory reset. Doing so will wipe everything from your device including corrupted system files that caused iMessage to fail. But before you do, be sure to back up all your critical data from your iPhone 11 storage to iCloud or iTunes. Failure to do so will result in permanent data loss. Once you’ve secured your backups, follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone 11 through settings:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Erase all content and settings. This will erase everything from your iPhone system including all saved data on the internal memory.
- Enter your device passcode if prompted to continue.
- Then tap the option to confirm that you want to erase your iPhone and restore its factory default settings.
You can also use iTunes to manually erase and restore factory default settings or restore from a previous iOS backup on a computer.
Still getting an iMessage not delivered error on your iPhone 11?
If none of the given solutions helped and that you’re still prompted with the same iMessage not delivered error on your iPhone 11, contact your carrier or service provider for further assistance. Also verify with your carrier that iMessage services are supported in your account.
It is also imperative to report the problem to Apple Support, considering that the onset was when the new iOS update was installed on your device. Should this be confirmed to be an iOS bug affecting the iMessage system, Apple will be obliged to develop and push a follow-up update containing the required fix patch.
ALSO READ: Common calling and texting problems on iPhone 11 after iOS 13.2.3 update