If you see an alert “Cannot Send Message. iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message”, don’t worry, check this guide to fix the message not sending issue quickly.
Cannot send message iMessage needs to be enabled to send
What does it mean when iMessage needs to be enabled? Why is my iPhone not letting me send Messages? Trying to send a message but getting 'iMessage needs to be enabled' error. How do I fix this? Using iPhone 15.
- Question from Apple Community
With the iMessage, the instant messaging service developed by Apple company, you can send messages between iPhone/iPad/iPod touch/Mac, pictures, videos, documents, and location data and stickers. The end-to-end encryption in only the sender and recipient is praised among iOS/macOS users.
However, sometimes when you send an iMessage, a pop-up window comes across, saying that Cannot Send Message iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message. Maybe you will try to restart your iPhone to fix it, but the notice still appears. It would be annoying for you. So in this tutorial, we will show you this issue.
After you know what does iMessage needs to be enabled mean, here we conclude 6 useful solutions for you. You can try them one by one to fix the message issue.
The first thing to fix "iPhone cannot send message iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message error" is to enable your iMessage on iPhone. You can refer to the steps to make it.
Step 1. Open the Settings on iPhone > Tap on Messages.
Step 2. Switch to Turn on iMessage (If you have enabled it before the issue happens, just disable it and then enable it again.)
Because cellular data or Wi-Fi connection is needed for sending the message, the problem about cannot send message iMessage needs to be enabled to send may be caused by cellular data not working or unstable Wi-Fi connection. Refer to the guide below to check and reset the network connections.
Checking the cellular network:
Step 1. Verify that your SIM is activated and unlocked.
Step 2. Go to Settings > Tap Cellular > Make sure that Cellular Data is turned on.
To check whether the Wi-Fi connection is good or not. You can open Safari on your iPhone to view a webpage for verifying. If you can open and browse the webpage normally, it means the connected Wi-Fi works well. If not, please choose other Wi-Fi to connect.
After checking Network Connection is good, you can follow the below to reset network connection to fix the issue.
Step 1. Open Settings app > Tap on General.
Step 2. Go to the Reset option > Click Reset Network Settings.
Sometimes, resetting iMessage settings may repair the issue about how do I fix iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message. You can follow the below to try.
Step 1. Open Settings and tap on Messages > Choose Send & Receive option.
Step 2. Uncheck the email address and phone number in the section of YOU CAN RECEIVE IMESSAGES TO AND REPLY FROM.
Step 3. Tap your Apple ID and choose Remove.
Step 4. Restart the iPhone, activate iMessage from the Settings, and sign in to your Apple ID again.
Another tip for the issue about cannot send message iMessage needs to be enabled is checking the iMessage server. If the server is available, you can send messages normally. To check if it works or not, please go to Apple System Status.
Sometimes, if you have many iMessages on a conversation, It may get stuck and cause the failure of sending a new iMessage. Delete that specific message and try to start again. If you get the error again, try to remove the conversation and start a new one. This method may work when you get an error on sending iMessages to specific contacts only.
Before you try to delete the specific message, please make sure that you have a copy or backup for saving.
If the above methods don’t work for you, you can reset all the settings for your iOS device. Keep in mind that you will lose all of your data after this operation. Therefore make sure to back up all of the data.
Step 1. Go to Settings > General.
Step 2. Tap Reset > Choose the Erase All Content and Settings.
Step 3. Then set it up on your iPhone, to check whether the issue cannot send message iMessage needs to be enabled is fixed or not.
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We have talked about these five methods in detail in the post, you are free to try any of them. As well as we hope this guide will assist you in fixing the “Cannot Send Message iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message” in iPhone problem. If you found one of these tips useful, share your experience with us in the comments section below.
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