Why is my mobile number greyed out in iMessage?

Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
471
Reaction score
0
Points
16
I was experiencing difficulties in syncing iMessages across my MBP, iPad, and iPhone.

A friend sent me an iMessage which I did not receive on my MBP, so I followed the steps suggested in a previous thread:

Log into your AppleID on the Apple site and ensure you have your iPhone telephone number recorded.

Then go into Messages on your iPad and make sure you can see the number in the send/receive messages list. You may need to toggle iMessage off and on to refresh.

on my iPhone under iMessage settings the setting:
You can be reached by iMessage at:
Which has my cell phone and 3 email addresses (gmail, iCloud and me) shows the cell phone number check marked but greyed out.

On my iPad the settings are the same but the phone number is not greyed out

Just curious why that is.

Plus, on another note: if I send an iMessage from my iPhone to someone but they are not online should the message not revert to an SMS (I have the Send as SMS when iMessage is unavailable...)? A friend sent me an iMessage but I did not receive until I was back within wifi coverage. Would have liked to have gotten that message as an SMS.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
7,163
Reaction score
275
Points
83
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini i5 (2014 High Sierra), iPhone X, Apple Watch, iPad Pro 12.9, AppleTV (4)
The number on your iPhone should be greyed out because it's something you can't change. The iPad however, not being tied to a phone number doesn't display it this way.

To make sure that everything is in sync log into the apple website with your ID and ensure your telephone number is recorded in there.

Regarding your SMS query, that function will only work on an iPhone when sending. How your settings are regarding SMS are not relevant in this case. Whether you receive an SMS is down to how it was sent so it's down to how the sender has their settings and whether they sent the message from an SMS capable platform. I.e. if they sent you an iMessage from an iPad of Mac you will not get an SMS.

Another issue to consider is your data plan. If you have a data signal you should be able to send and receive iMessages, it's not dependant on wifi if you have 3g/4g.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
967
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Indiana
Your Mac's Specs
Main-11" Air, iPhone 6+, iPad Mini 3, Hi-Fi Extras- Too many to count
Try turning off imessage on the iPhone and turning it back on after you restart the phone. Then do the same on the mac and any other device that you are using iMessage for.
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2013
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I had similar issues, including not syncing iMessages across Mac und iOS devices, and nothing really helped. Then I removed all iMessage preference plists on the Mac and reset everything on iOS and set up a new password for the iCloud account. Now it finally seems to work! You might wanna give it a try!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top