eSim iMessage Not Working? – Here’s How to Fix

With eSIM iMessage not working, you won’t be able to send and receive texts, personal effects, photos, and more.

Luckily, we can help you communicate with your friends and family again. 

Since eSIMs are relatively new technology, there are a lot of bugs and glitches that can affect you.

What should you do when your eSIM iMessage isn’t working? Read on to find out. 

The first thing you should do is find out what’s causing the error. If you are dealing with temporary bugs and glitches, try restarting your phone. If this doesn’t work, toggle the iMessage setting off and on.

Before we discuss the solutions further, here is a list of the possible reasons your eSIM iMessage is not working.    

What to Consider With iMessage Not Working After eSIM

Apple’s iMessage has become a popular app, but it’s not perfect. Many users come across issues at one point.

If you have an eSIM not working with iMessage problem, it may be due to one of the following. 

Esim Is Not Activated

If you can’t turn on or sign in to iMessage, maybe your eSIM has not completed activation yet.

Either the activation process is still in progress or it was unsuccessful. An error may have occurred during activation.  

Imessage Settings Not Set Up for Esim

You didn’t set your eSIM plan to on, and you don’t have a signal for it.

Check your Apple ID email address if it is checked off too.

Another cause of iMessage not working is incorrect time and date. 

Using an Older Ios Version

Your phone’s previous software version may be causing issues with the functioning of your iMessage. Updating your device can help fix this. 

Temporary Software Issue

Glitches can cause your iMessage to crash or not respond. It may not open or work properly.

The first thing to do is restart your phone.

Now that you know the causes of iMessage not working, let us proceed to the troubleshooting steps.  

Quick Ways to Fix eSIM iMessage Not Working

Before moving on to more advanced solutions, let us start with the most effective method in resolving this issue and that’s restarting your phone.

When you restart your device, you are clearing its memory, apps, and conflicts that may be causing your eSIM iMessage not working problem.  

You also want to ensure that your phone is connected to the internet whether it’s WiFi or your carrier’s mobile data.

iMessage needs an internet connection for it to work, so you can continue to use it for communication.

Solution #1: Toggle the iMessage Setting Off and then On Again

If restarting your iPhone does not get your iMessage working again, it’s time to check out more advanced solutions that will help you resolve the issue.

A simple, but often overlooked solution is to toggle your iMessage off, then on again.

Doing this will allow you to turn off your iMessage service flushing out any temporary bugs or glitches in the process.

After switching it back on, your iMessage will reconnect with your network so you can start using it again.

Here are the steps on how to toggle iMessage properly:

1. Open your iPhone’s Settings.
2. Go to Messages.
3. Toggle the iMessage switch to Off.
4. Restart your device.
5. Turn on iMessage after your phone restarts.

Solution #2: Specify Your eSIM in Your iMessage Settings

Whenever iMessage does not work with your eSIM, there’s a good chance that you have not set it up on iMessage.

You can select which accounts your iMessage can use. You can use your email, phone number, or eSIM to work with iMessage.

Not setting it up will cause iMessage to not connect to your eSIM, and ultimately stop it from working altogether.

Here’s how to set your iMessage settings to use your eSIM:

1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings.
2. Select Messages.
3. Tap on Send and Receive.
4. Choose your eSIM profile from the list.

Note: You can add as many profiles here, make sure that your eSIM is also checked together with the other services linked to your iMessage.

Solution #3: Ensure the eSIM Plan on Your Phone is Switched On

Now that you’ve linked your eSIM to iMessage, you want to make sure that your phone is using the eSIM plan.

If it’s not, iMessage will not be able to detect it and will not send or receive messages.

This is also an option that you want to consider if you have a multiple SIM setup so your iMessage knows which number or plan to use.

Here’s how to turn on the eSIM plan on your phone:

1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings.
2. Select Cellular.
3. Choose the active eSIM plan on your phone.
4. Toggle it to the On position.

Note: If you have multiple eSIM plans, you want to activate the one that’s linked to your iMessage.

Solution #4: Set Your Device Time and Date Settings Correctly

eSIMs have this notorious reputation that they’re pretty finicky to work with.

It’s understandable since it’s a fairly new technology, and you can expect some growing pains.

However, there are certain particular settings that you need to consider if you’re using an eSIM for iMessage.

One of these is the time and date settings on your device. Not syncing it with the current time and date can cause issues with iMessage.

Here’s how to change the time and date settings on your iPhone:

1. Launch the Settings app on your phone.
2. Go to General.
3. Select the Date and Time option.
4. Switch Off the Set Automatically item.
5. Tap on Time Zone and enter your city.

Note: You can also set the time and date manually, then restart your phone if iMessage starts working.

Solution #5: Disable Your eSIM Plan and Enable it Again

If your iMessage is still not working on a phone with an active eSIM plan, you want to reset it so it can receive data from your carrier.

This can happen if you’ve already linked your eSIM to iMessage, then it doesn’t get any connection from your carrier.

It will disrupt everything with your phone, especially your messaging services.

To fix this, you’re going to need to disable your eSIM plan, essentially disconnecting it from the carrier.

You will then need to enable it again so it requests a brand new connection, allowing your phone to connect to your carrier.

Here are the steps on how to disable the eSIM plan on your phone:

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings.
2. Select Mobile Data.
3. Under Data Plans, look for your active eSIM plan.
4. Tap on it to turn it Off.
5. Reboot your phone, then turn it back On.

Solution #6: Update the Carrier Settings on Your iPhone

The connection between your current carrier and your phone can be disrupted at any time.

Whenever this happens, iMessage can be affected especially if you’re relying on Mobile Data for your internet connection.

eSIMs can also complicate the issues since most of its settings are controlled by software, and changes can happen even if you did not change them.

You want to make sure that your phone gets the latest carrier settings to maintain the connection to your network.

Here’s how to update the carrier settings on your iPhone:

1. Make sure that your phone is connected to a WiFi network.
2. Go to your phone’s Settings menu.
3. Select General.
4. Choose About.
5. Tap on the Install Carrier Settings button.

Note: This certain scenario is something to look out for with a newly-setup eSIM as it will usually require a carrier settings download.

That’s how you get your iMessage to work on an iPhone that uses an eSIM.

Now, there’s a known bug that disables iMessage on your phone if it detects an eSIM.

You want to make sure that your phone’s software is up to date so you don’t have to deal with this issue.

Bottom Line

Now that you know the top causes and fixes to your eSIM iMessage not working, you can follow these steps to fix it.

It’s not always plain sailing as there are other issues that might affect your phone and iMessage.

Whenever this happens, feel free to contact your carrier’s support via phone or chat for additional assistance.