Last night, I tried texting my friend on his iMessage app, and the message failed to deliver. I became so mad because I was in immediate need of something super important. So, I blabbered, why on earth would someone turn their iMessage off? Isn’t that insane?
However, I kept myself cool and waited to ask him why he would do so out of nowhere. Alongside his explanation, I found some other reasons as well. So, if you are trying to find the absolute reasons, here you go:
- Reason-1: Verizon Creates A Fuss
- Reason-2: Data Also Creates The Text Delayed Delivery Issue
- Reason-3: The Message Notification Doesn’t Show Up
- Reason-4: Switching To An Android Device
If that doesn’t sound satisfactory, I don’t blame you. But an elaboration will change your perspective. So that’s what I am going forward to giving you!
Why Would Someone Turn Off iMessage? 4 Major Reasons
After talking to my friend, I investigated why someone would turn off their messages app. Here are the most prominent reasons why:
Reason-1: Verizon Creates A Fuss (It Makes Sense, Truly!)
When you are on a CDMA Verizon iPhone, it creates a weird problem while you are on your phone. While you are talking over the phone, Verizon doesn’t cooperate. As a result, you cannot text using your SMS messages app simultaneously.
My friend was taking a work call while texting with her girl. And it created a fight among them as it took too long for his girl’s text to deliver. Thankfully, she understood the issue and talked it through. Otherwise, it would be time for another break-up party that he wouldn’t like.
Back to being serious, I tried it myself too. And it legit took five whole minutes for the text to reach my iMessage app. So, it’s wise to turn it off!
Reason-2: Data Also Creates The Same Issue
A few days ago, my wife bought a data plan as she went outside. When I texted her in the messages app, the text took too long to deliver, and she had no clue.
Later we discovered that it only happens when you are on a data plan, not over Wi-Fi. So iMessage must be turned off in that case because you cannot always be in a Wi-Fi zone.
Reason-3: The Message Notification Doesn’t Show Up
Who has the time to unlock the phone over and over again to see if you are missing out on anything? Nobody!
Just imagine how sick it will be when you are talking to your crush and want to respond quickly, but the message notification isn’t showing on your iOS device lock display or even the notification center. So here comes another frustrating reason for turning the iMessage app off despite being an Apple user.
Reason-4: Switching To An Android Device
It’s obvious! When switching from an Apple user to an android user, you don’t want the SMS text messages to show up on the old Apple iPhone. Because if the messages still appear on the iOS device, you will be missing out on important information.
Also, they can get lost rather than be delivered to you in time. So, in such a case, disabling iMessage is the best decision to take.
How Can You Turn Off Your iMessage And Facetime?
So, if you don’t want any of the issues mentioned above to happen to you, you can disable iMessage. Here are the ways to do so:
First Way: Using The General Settings
- Insert the sim card to your Apple device
- Tap on Messages
- Go to the Settings
- Use the iMessage slider and turn it off
- Now return to the previous Settings
- Go to FaceTime
- Use the FaceTime Slider and turn it off
- Now you can exit the Settings because you have disabled iMessage.
Second Way: Using The Apple ID And Phone Number
- Go to Settings
- Choose Messages
- Click on “Send & Receive”
- Reach to the bottom of the page
- Once you reach Apple ID choose “Sign Out”
If you deactivate iMessage following either of the mentioned ways, you won’t be under the iMessage service anymore. However, you can change the settings anytime you want. And if you don’t have your Apple device, you can easily turn off iMessage using the Apple.com website.
Important: once you deactivate iMessage, it doesn’t mean you won’t get any more text messages. All the texts will still appear, but only if the sender sends that through regular text messages like Android users.
What Happens Once You Turn Off iMessage?
Once you turn off iMessage, you cannot use Apple’s network to send or receive messages through the default messaging app. So, your Apple buddies cannot text you using the messages app anymore.
Also, as iMessaging is free, it doesn’t require any carrier charge. But once you turn that off, you will be charged for sending or receiving SMS messages using your carrier’s SMS network.
However, turning the iMessages off won’t delete your message; it will just switch the messaging from iMessage to carrier message. Whereas, if you are using iCloud, you can still retrieve the old messages using your iCloud account and Apple ID.
Let’s Get More Information, Shall We?
Will I Receive Messages If I Turn Off iMessage?
Yes, you will receive messages only if the message is sent through the carrier. You won’t receive any iMessage if you disable your iMessage app.
Again, if you have multiple Apple devices that use the same Apple ID, you will receive the message on other devices except for the one where you have turned the messaging off. But the regular text messages will not be interrupted on that device.
How Do You Know When Someone Has Turned Their iMessage Off?
When someone turns off their iMessage, the messages they send from their iPhone will be green instead of blue in the message thread.
Additionally, any messages sent to them from an iPhone will also show as green, indicating that they are not receiving iMessages at the moment.
If the person has not turned off their iMessage but is having technical difficulties with the service, the messages may also show as green temporarily until the issue is resolved.
What Happens If I Turn Off iMessage On Icloud?
If you turn off iMessage on iCloud, your iMessages will no longer be synced across your Apple devices. This means that if you receive an iMessage on your iPhone, it will only show up on your iPhone and will not appear on your other Apple devices such as your iPad or Mac.
Additionally, if you delete an iMessage on one device, it will not be deleted from your other devices. You will also not be able to use iMessage on non-Apple devices such as Android phones or Windows computers.
Why Do I Need To Enable iMessage To Send A Text?
It’s not necessary to enable your iMessage to send a text unless you want to send a free text using your iOS device. iMessage is a free messaging service for iOS that lets you text through Wi-Fi or cellular data. But if you have disabled iMessage, you can send regular text messages, which will require carrier charges.
Does Turning iMessage Turn Facetime Off?
No, it doesn’t. People can still reach you using FaceTime, although you have turned your iMessages off. You have to turn FaceTime off individually if you want to disable that too.
It Doesn’t Sound Insane Anymore, Does It?
As I figured out some valid reasons why someone would turn off iMessage, I won’t blame them any longer. Who knows, maybe I am going to do the same thing! Stop freaking out when you are getting delayed texts; you can turn it off too.