imessage not working; cellular service did not work on 1st install of eSIM 2025 July 3

[Gipper]

I just transferred a friend to Public Mobile. The eSIM had to be re-installed to obtain cellular service after the message was received "Welcome to Public Mobile". All messages on the iphone were green and the message history was missing for up to a year [not consistent]. I searched the Community online and was directed to go to Settings and in the search bar added "messages". I went to messages and tapped it so a screen came up with imessage and toggled it to the "on" position [not sure why it changed to "off" in the after eSIM]. Below imessage on the screen is "Send & Receive". I opened this and the phone number was not checked. I checked this off and re-started my phone about 5 times. It took about 12 hours [the next morning] and imessage then worked. VERY glad there was helpful advice available online but it was not an easy transition.

[eddieO]

@GipperIt seems the delay is not on Public Mobile's side but actually on Apple's. Found this online:
 

"If your iMessage activation is taking an unusually long time, it could be due to a few reasons, but the most common is a temporary network issue or a problem with Apple's activation servers. It's recommended to wait up to 24 hours for activation. If it still doesn't activate, try restarting your iPhone, checking your internet connection, verifying date and time settings, or resetting network settings."

[Gipper]

Thanks very much. Is there a “fix” for this issue so it doesn’t happen?

[hTideGnow]

hi @Gipper 

esim usually cannot be re-installed.  Can you confirm if the esim is working, if you can make outbound calls and receive inbound calls?

and  if calls are working, then for iMessage, go to Settings, remove the phone number.  Wait 5 mins and reboot phone, and go back to settings and enter the phone number again for iMessage to re-register

[eddieO]

@Gipper, my son went on a trip to Europe back in January and purchased a travel eSIM and noticed his iMessage would only work the next day. Same thing happened when he returned back and turned is Public Mobile eSIM as Primary. Something worth noting incase you do any travelling outside of Canada (and the US or Mexico for those with the Canada-US-Mexico plans).