Apple says the issue may stem from having an inactive SIM with the same number as your active SIM. To fix it, remove the inactive SIM and activate iMessage again.

If you're having trouble getting iMessage to work after upgrading to iOS 26, Apple is aware of the issue and has shared a fix on its support site.

Here's how to fix iOS 26 iMessage activation bug on phone number, with the fix coming straight from Apple in official capacity.

Though we don't know the scope of the users affected, we do know who might be affected. According to Apple, the issue might occur when updating to iOS 26 if you have an inactive SIM with the same ...

Since iOS 26 was released last month, some iPhone users have had problems using iMessage with their phone numbers.

With iOS 26, Apple has made a small yet excellent change to group chats: You can now see who's typing and when.

After updating to iOS 26, some iPhone users report Camera, FaceTime, and iMessage not working or crashing. Here’s how to fix app failures.

iPhone users on iOS 26, iMessage activation may be blocked by an inactive SIM — here's how to fix it. Some users are finding that they can't activate iMessage with their phone number. This results in ...

Apple this week provided troubleshooting steps for iPhone owners who are unable to activate iMessage with a phone number in iOS 26. According ...

If your iPhone is running iOS 26 — which it should be, given that it’s been several weeks since Apple rolled the software update — then you have access to (most of) the new iMessage features. And ...