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Posted By: artie505 Messaging from iPhone - 11/24/19 06:11 PM
My impression has been that I can use Messages on my iPhone 5 via wi-fi despite the fact that I haven't got cellular service, but every time I try to activate it with my Apple ID I get "An error occurred during activation/Try again."

I've followed Apple's instructions - If you get an error when trying to activate iMessage - but I"m confused by

Quote:
Make sure that you’re connected to a cellular data or Wi-Fi network. If you're using an iPhone, you need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime. Depending on your carrier, you might be charged for this SMS.

On my "Messages" screen I see "SMS," and the bubbles I see for failed messages are green, which I think suggests that I need cellular service.

Has anybody got any insights or suggestions?

(I've got no problems sending "blue bubble" messages to the same recipient from my MBP.)

Thanks.
Posted By: Ira L Re: Messaging from iPhone - 11/25/19 04:05 PM
Blue bubbles indicate the message is going to another iPhone (or Apple product); green text message bubbles indicate a non-iPhone. With a minor variation that joemikeb explained elsewhere, you need cellular to text from your iPhone to a non-iPhone. [This is just to clarify what the colors mean]

You say you can Message from your MBP to the same recipient as blue bubbles, which says to me the recipient is on an Apple product, so the problem may indeed lie with the activation on your iPhone. Your link says "you need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime." For SMS you need cellular. Catch 22? crazy You don't have cellular so you can't activate??
Posted By: artie505 Re: Messaging from iPhone - 11/30/19 08:48 AM
Finally got some definitive answers...

Originally Posted By: Ira L
Blue bubbles indicate the message is going to another iPhone (or Apple product); green text message bubbles indicate a non-iPhone. With a minor variation that joemikeb explained elsewhere, you need cellular to text from your iPhone to a non-iPhone. [This is just to clarify what the colors mean]

Additionally, undelivered messages misleadingly default to green (with a red text alert), which is what was happening in my instance.

Originally Posted By: Ira L
You say you can Message from your MBP to the same recipient as blue bubbles, which says to me the recipient is on an Apple product, so the problem may indeed lie with the activation on your iPhone. Your link says "you need SMS messaging to activate your phone number with iMessage and FaceTime." For SMS you need cellular. Catch 22? crazy You don't have cellular so you can't activate??

Yes, and no...the result of poor documentation, or, more precisely, a lousy (albeit understandable) assumption by Apple that every iPhone will be activated as a cell phone.

It turned out that as soon as I turned Messages "On" on my iPhone (And jumped through the associated hoops such as enabling two-factor authentication at iCloud.com, which is understandable, but why as respects Messages?) it was enabled as respects other Apple devices (which took me two and 1/2 days to figure out); "Activation" enables messaging to non-Apple devices and doesn't happen without a cell plan.

I'll guess that joemike's wife's iPhone, which she's using the same way I had hoped to use mine, had been activated as a cell phone at some point in its life, and that that activation carried over after its associated cell plan ended. (I'll note that the Apple specialist to whom I spoke mentioned that potentiality but wasn't sure it was a realistic one.)

Bottom line is that I can message only to Apple devices, which, at the moment, covers everyone I'm likely to ever want to message, and that my iPhone will say "Waiting for activation" forever.

An unrelated issue is that my iPhone was "blocked" from Messages at the outset, but the tech who figured it out and did an ominously labeled "one time unblock" neither explained it to me (I asked, but she refused to give me an explicit response.) nor left any useful notes, so even the specialist to whom I spoke wasn't able to tell me anything more than that there were several possible reasons.

More: New bottom line: Even if I can't message an iPhone by it's phone number (Because I've got a Verizon phone and it's an AT&T phone?), I can message to the recipient's email address, so all's not lost.
Posted By: joemikeb Re: Messaging from iPhone - 11/30/19 03:47 PM
Originally Posted By: artie505
I'll guess that joemike's wife's iPhone, which she's using the same way I had hoped to use mine, had been activated as a cell phone at some point in its life, and that that activation carried over after its associated cell plan ended. (I'll note that the Apple specialist to whom I spoke mentioned that potentiality but wasn't sure it was a realistic one.)

Spot on! That was exactly the case with my wife’s iPod (nee. iPhone)

Originally Posted By: artie505
Bottom line is that I can message only to Apple devices, which, at the moment, covers everyone I'm likely to ever want to message, and that my iPhone will say "Waiting for activation" forever.

I don’t have a way to verify this, but if you have another iPhone with a cellular account registered on the same Apple ID account and WiFi calling is activated you SHOULD be able to SMS text and at least receive telephone calls on the non-cellular iPhone, your Mac, non-cellular iPads, etc. All of the traffic will go through the internet to the cellular provider for your one device and from there into the cellular network. At least it works that way on my Mac and WiFi only iPad. I have nothing to offer about the “waiting for activation” message having never encountered it.

Originally Posted By: artie505
An unrelated issue is that my iPhone was "blocked" from Messages at the outset, but the tech who figured it out and did an ominously labeled "one time unblock" neither explained it to me (I asked, but she refused to give me an explicit response.) nor left any useful notes, so even the specialist to whom I spoke wasn't able to tell me anything more than that there were several possible reasons.

I can think of several possible reasons it might have been blocked, all related to potential illicit or at least suspect use of the iPhone at some point in its history. shocked grin
Posted By: artie505 Re: Messaging from iPhone - 12/01/19 08:59 AM
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
I'll guess that joemike's wife's iPhone, which she's using the same way I had hoped to use mine, had been activated as a cell phone at some point in its life, and that that activation carried over after its associated cell plan ended. (I'll note that the Apple specialist to whom I spoke mentioned that potentiality but wasn't sure it was a realistic one.)

Spot on! That was exactly the case with my wife’s iPod (nee. iPhone)

I guess that puts the specialist's skepticism to rest.

Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
Bottom line is that I can message only to Apple devices, which, at the moment, covers everyone I'm likely to ever want to message, and that my iPhone will say "Waiting for activation" forever.

I don’t have a way to verify this, but if you have another iPhone with a cellular account registered on the same Apple ID account and WiFi calling is activated you SHOULD be able to SMS text and at least receive telephone calls on the non-cellular iPhone, your Mac, non-cellular iPads, etc. All of the traffic will go through the internet to the cellular provider for your one device and from there into the cellular network. At least it works that way on my Mac and WiFi only iPad. I have nothing to offer about the “waiting for activation” message having never encountered it.

I don't quite follow that (What is Wi-Fi calling?), but it's academic, because I haven't got another cell phone. I'd have to somehow move my daughter's phone over to my Apple account, and that would be waaay more trouble than it would be worth. And who can even guess what the potential down the road issues might be?

I can message to the phone numbers of iPhones with Verizon service (My phone is Verizon locked.) and to email addresses associated with Verizon and non-Verizon iPhones, so I'll have to live without messaging my sister. smile (I see a little blue cloud next to available contacts.)

"Waiting for activation" means "waiting for cellular activation;" it's what your wife's "iPod" would be telling her had it not been a cell phone in its previous life.

Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
An unrelated issue is that my iPhone was "blocked" from Messages at the outset, but the tech who figured it out and did an ominously labeled "one time unblock" neither explained it to me (I asked, but she refused to give me an explicit response.) nor left any useful notes, so even the specialist to whom I spoke wasn't able to tell me anything more than that there were several possible reasons.

I can think of several possible reasons it might have been blocked, all related to potential illicit or at least suspect use of the iPhone at some point in its history. shocked grin

My phone was listed as new on eBay, but the proof of the pudding is that I was able to upload my purchase invoice to Apple and activate my warrantee, and by its model number it isn't refurbished. (I't's eligible for AppleCare+, but $99 to insure a $105 phone doesn't seem at all logical, particularly considering how infrequently it will even leave my home.)

In light of that, can you think of any reasons why I may have been blocked?
Posted By: joemikeb Re: Messaging from iPhone - 12/01/19 10:51 PM
WiFi Calling: is the ability to receive telephone calls and send or receive SMS messages on a device that does not have cellular capability. In essence it turns your Mac, iPad, iPod, etc into an additional receiver on a linked iPhone’s account and counts against any limits on the iPhone’s account. When someone calls the linked iPhone all of the linked devices ring and the incoming call can be taken on any of the devices. SMS messages are likewise received on all of the linked devices as well. It can be convenient or annoying. (Imagine the clamor in my office when someone calls my iPhone and the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and server all ring at the same time. I wish Apple would add a location feature to WiFi calling that would allow the user to select which WiFi calling enabled device would ring when two or more are in immediate proximity.)

As to the blocking, a question would be how a NEW iPhone that was discontinued five years ago got into the market? I can think of several semi-licit or outright illicit channels that could have resulted in your new iPhone being on a list of suspect devices. It is at least equally possible more likely perfectly legitimate and the blockage the result of a coincidental action.
Posted By: artie505 Re: Messaging from iPhone - 12/03/19 10:38 AM
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
As to the blocking, a question would be how a NEW iPhone that was discontinued five years ago got into the market? I can think of several semi-licit or outright illicit channels that could have resulted in your new iPhone being on a list of suspect devices. It is at least equally possible more likely perfectly legitimate and the blockage the result of a coincidental action.

Thanks for the explanation of WiFi calling.

I don't question the phone's having been listed eBay.

Pretty much as a rule (although Macs may be an exception), when a product is discontinued, there are leftovers that get job-lotted and wind up who knows where. And I'll guess that iPhones are particularly subject to that rule because of phone company leftovers.

As we've discussed, there aren't a whole lot of legitimate iPhone sellers, but when you filter out the bad ones, those remaining appear to be reputable.

I suppose you could postulate that someone bought my phone, used it for some off-the-wall purpose without ever activating its warrantee, repackaged it just like new, and sold it to me, but that's an awful long stretch.

I'm really annoyed that the first AppleCare tech to whom I spoke was so non-communicative and, in addition, left no notes for the next guy. mad
Posted By: joemikeb Re: Messaging from iPhone - 12/03/19 01:22 PM
Originally Posted By: artie505
[I'm really annoyed that the first AppleCare tech to whom I spoke was so non-communicative and, in addition, left no notes for the next guy. mad

Having worked in a large corporate tech support environment (Microsoft) I could speculate the uncommunicative tech knew or guessed what was going on and stretched a point of corporate policy to get you up and running. The lack of documentation could easily have a CYA maneuver. I’m not saying that’s what it was, but that kind of thing does go on in large corporate environments.
Posted By: artie505 Re: Messaging from iPhone - 12/04/19 11:38 AM
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
[I'm really annoyed that the first AppleCare tech to whom I spoke was so non-communicative and, in addition, left no notes for the next guy. mad

Having worked in a large corporate tech support environment (Microsoft) I could speculate the uncommunicative tech knew or guessed what was going on and stretched a point of corporate policy to get you up and running. The lack of documentation could easily have a CYA maneuver. I’m not saying that’s what it was, but that kind of thing does go on in large corporate environments.

Well, she did say "one time unlock," which suggested...something, but WHAT could possibly have been "going on" with a brand new, in the box phone?

The scenario I proposed earlier seems to be the only possibility, and it's so far fetched, I can't believe that it might be the reality for which I'm looking.

It's water under the bridge, so there's no use agonizing over it, but, dammit, I'm really curious.
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