iphone won't send texts
 

Suddenly, without warning, my iphone will not send new text messages. I can respond to texts that I have re’cd but not initiate new ones.

The error message reads:
“Cannot send Message. iMessage needs to be enabled to send this message.”

I’ve checked my settings: Bluetooth is “on”; Cellular is “on”; Cellular Roaming is “on”.

I don’t know what else to look at or what else should be “on” / “off”. Please suggest something. :shocked: TIA.

In Setting, find Messages and make sure it is turned in.

Have you tried rebooting your phone? That usually cures what ails my phone.

Things to try:

1. Open the messages app and do a "force stop". Do the same with the phone app.
2. Do a partial factory reset that does not delete your data.
3. Ask your provider to replace the SIM card.

There was an IOS update for newer phones recently that changed messaging from SMS to RCS which is supposed to be more (or less not sure) secure. This change however prevents iPhone users from sending texts to phones that do not have RCS. There was a lot about this in the news recently. One of my neighbors had this problem and had to call support for instructions on how to disable RCS. Hopefully they will work it out soon.

Go into settings… then Apps…. Then Messages….. there will be a box that says iMessage. Toggle it to the on position.

Try cold booting you phone first.

If that doesn't help:

To disable RCS messaging on an iPhone, you can do the following:
Open Settings
Tap Apps
Tap Messages
Tap RCS Messaging under Text Messaging
Tap the toggle next to RCS Messaging
If you don't see the RCS Messaging option, your carrier, zone, or country might not support it.

apple support helped
 

Thanks to all your suggestions. I had already made sure that my "iMessage" was "on" & already had done a reboot & tuned the phone off & on.

I did a search & found this site to be the answer Set up Messages on iPhone - Apple Support

Turns out that my phone # was not checked for some reason per the "Turn on iMessage" setting. So I checked it & sent the RCS message. :pepper2::pepper2:
Many thanks!

Where did you read about this? I want to know about these problems before I spend days trying EVERYTHING (except Apple support). I did a recent update but never heard that it affected sending texts to non-RCS phones. thanks

Last update on iPhones and my iPad is a pain. My grands could sent text but not receive. I could receive text but not send.

I'm always weary to get the updates on my Apple devices, even though I know it's usually to benefit our security. This discussion made me double down on not wanting them! Glad you found a fix.

I'm not questioning your proficiency but save yourself a headache and stop by your provider, I'm sure someone will take care of you within minutes.

Go on the Apple website and ask how to fix this problem - or call Apple and they will help you.1800APLCARE.

Hard Reset
 

Assuming it’s an iPhone X or newer, try a hard reset. To hard reset an iPhone, quickly press and release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button, and finally press and hold the Side button (Power) until the Apple logo appears. This process varies slightly for different iPhone model.

Have you tried shutting down and reboot phone sometimes that’s all it is

Ask GrokAI, now free to everyone.

xAI

In recent updates they added RCS messaging. This made it so I couldn’t send messages to those on android products. I cannot remember how I turned it off, but I’ll get back to you this afternoon. Gotta go get my haircut.

I have rarely had to do a hard reset (maybe 2x since iphone1).
You can try to do a reboot, sometimes it’s can clean things up. But normally, especially after an update, google your symptom and you will find many many responses to fix your issue. Apple support usually has a few posts in the search to see what the support people have encountered. If this doesn’t work, call 800 apple support, they will have you up in no time. Since the new iPhone and update 18.x, I get the rcs + text msg I some recipients threads, always has worked.
Don’t be afraid to call Apple support if Google doesn’t find you a fix.

Always update to the latest fix as soon as you can. Before upgrading to a major release like 18.x from an earlier iOS release, do your homework to see what will change and especially what new features are included. For example 18.x and the new iPhones will get you toward Apple intelligence, which is something you will want to use when things get rolled out.

iphone messages
 

Go to setting and select apps, go to the Messages app and turn on send as a text.

OP has resolved their problem. Closing thread.