[2024 Guide] Top 5 Fixes to Unable to Activate iPhone 14

Are you ready to set up new iPhone 14 with great joy, but only find that you are unable to activate iPhone 14? Your iPhone will show you errors like “an update is required”, “the activation server is temporarily unavailable”, and so on.

Without doubt, your iPhone 14 cannot be configured for proper use if it is not activating. Don’t be so frustrated because you’re not alone. This guide can help you fix this “Unable to activate new iPhone” problem with effective solutions. And methods in this post are also applied to the newest iPhone 15.

Why iPhone 14 is unable to activate?

Before trying any fixes, it is necessary to figure out the reason why iPhone 14 is unable to activate.

• The iPhone activation server is busy. The iPhone activation server may be temporarily unavailable if a large number of iPhone users are activating new iPhone at the same time.

• Network or Wi-Fi connection doesn’t work.

• The carrier you are on don’t allowed you to unlock that iPhone. Therefore, you may be unable to activate because no service on your iPhone.

Troubleshoots for unable to activate iPhone 14

How to fix iPhone 14 not activating? Below are some efficient solutions for you. Try them one after another until your trouble gets fixed.

Fix 1. Wait and retry

It's best to wait if your iPhone 14 is not activating because the activation service is down or can't be accessed. It's likely that Apple's servers are unavailable or overloaded, making it impossible for them to handle the request. You should give it some time before attempting again.

Fix 2. Check Apple System Status

You may need to do when you get troubles on iPhone is to check the Apple System Status. In this page, you can locate iOS Device Activation and check whether it is work properly.

If the signal is green, the server is operating normally. Please go to the fixes below. If it is not green, there is a problem with the activation server. You have to wait for Apple to find a solution.

Fix 3. Force restart your iPhone 14

The simplest way to troubleshoot iPhone 14 not activating caused by software bugs or glitches is to force restart iPhone 14.

Quickly press and release the Volume Up button > Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.

Finally, press and hold the Side button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

Fix 4. Check network connection

When the Internet is unstable, the iPhone 14 won't be able to be activated. Whether you are connecting to a Wi-Fi or cellular network, check that the signal is strong and dependable. But using Wi-Fi instead of cellular is more advised.

Fix 5. Reactivate iPhone 14 via iTunes

If you are still unable to activate iPhone 14, Apple offers you another way to activate iPhone with the help of iTunes. Tutorials are as follows.

Step 1. Get the latest version of iTunes on your computer > Connect your iPhone to computer with USB.

Step 2. Locate your iPhone in the upper-left corner of iTunes’s main screen > Wait until iTunes detects and activates your iPhone.

Step 3. When the “Activate your iPhone” window appear > Enter your Apple ID and password > Click Continue to start the activation.

If you see the alert, showing “Set up as New” or “Restore from Backup”, your iPhone is activated successfully.

Bonus: One-click to transfer data to new iPhone 14

After successfully activating iPhone 14, it’s time to switch data to new iPhone. Apple provides you with ways to restore iCloud/iTunes backup to new iPhone or transfer data as a whole.

However, you’re not allowed to transfer selective data or transfer data to new Apple ID on iPhone 14. You may need a more powerful iOS data transfer and backup tool to give you a hand. AOMEI FoneBackup is such a tool.

Free download AOMEI FoneBackup and transfer data to new iPhone 14 in the way you want.

Transfer everything to new iPhone 14
The iPhone to iPhone tool helps you transfer all data to new iPhone in one-click. If there is only one Lightning USB data cable to connect iPhone, it is suggested to try “Full Backup” and then “Restore” method.

Step 1. Connect old iPhone and new iPhone 14 to computer > Launch AOMEI FoneBackup.

Step 2. Click Phone Transfer > Mouse over to iPhone to iPhone and click Start Transfer.

Step 3. Make sure the two iPhones are at the right place > Click Start Transfer to begin the task.

Transfer selective data to iPhone 14
You can utilize other transfer tools in AOMEI FoneBackup to selectively transfer data to iPhone 14. It is also helpful if you need to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone after setup.

Step 1. Connect old iPhone to computer > Open AOMEI FoneBackup, click Phone Transfer > iPhone to PC and click Start Transfer.

Step 2. Choose the files you’d like to transfer > Click OK to confirm > Click Start Transfer to save files to computer.

Step 3. Unplug the old iPhone and plug the new iPhone into the computer > Choose PC to iPhone option in AOMEI FoneBackup.

Step 4. Click anywhere in the box to select the data you want to transfer > Click Start Transfer to import files to new iPhone 14.

Conclusion

Hope you can successfully get out of the issue - unable to activate iPhone 14 and can start the journey with your new iPhone 14. The above methods can also be applied to the latest iPhone 15.

If you are worried about the activation being interrupted again, you can shorten the activation duration to some degree, and transfer data from iPhone to iPhone after setup with the aid of AOMEI FoneBackup. For more queries or feedback, please feel free to contact us.