IPhone 5s activation failed what to do

Why iPhone Can’t Activate After iOS Update / Factory Reset

Before moving on to solutions on how to fix the failed activation of your iPhone, you need to understand why you received the error “iPhone activation failed” after updating to iOS 14/13.

  • The iPhone activation server is busy. IPhone activation server unavailable due to simultaneous activation of their iPhones by millions of users.
  • Your mobile operator does not allow you to unlock this iPhone.
  • Network or Wi-Fi connection is not working.
  • iPhone is not recognized and cannot be activated to work.
  • iTunes could not verify your device.
  • The iPhone you are trying to unlock is still locked by the previous user.

Check internet connection

If your network blocks gs.Apple.com on multiple ports, then such blocking will make it impossible for the iPhone to activate successfully. Connect to a different Wi-Fi source than the one you’re using now. Or, if you’re using a cellular data connection, try connecting to a reliable Wi-Fi source instead to fix iPhone 7 activation failure, just like other iPhone models.

Reactivate your iPhone via iTunes

If you still cannot activate your iPhone after updating, please try to reactivate it via iTunes by following the steps below.

Restart iPhone Connect your phone to iTunes Select your device and you will see “activate your iPhone” in iTunes Enter your Apple ID and password Click on the continue button to activate your iPhone.

Wait and try again

If your iPhone does not activate due to the iPhone activation service being unavailable or unable to connect to your smartphone, it’s better to wait. There is a possibility that Apple’s servers are down or busy and cannot respond to the request. You should wait a few minutes before repeating the procedure.

Use recovery mode to update / restore your iPad / iPhone

Do you need an update to activate your iPhone? Or iPhone / iPad activation is not possible? You need to install and update a software package that is different from the iOS update package and you will not be able to download and update through the iPhone settings. One easy way to get iPhone to install a service pack is to put it in recovery mode and update or restore it via iTunes.

Put iPhone into recovery mode first. We recommend the free Tenorshare ReiBoot software for this, which will help you launch recovery mode in one click.

  • After entering recovery mode, launch iTunes and it will recognize your device in recovery mode and ask you to update or restore it. Now restore and update your iPhone via iTunes.
  • In addition to entering recovery mode, Tenorshare ReiBoot can also help you fix iPhone stuck in recovery mode loop, DFU mode, flashing Apple logo on iPhone, loading wheel on black screen, white screen, endless reboot, and the like during / after update. iOS.

    How to fix iPhone activation failure after update

    How do I fix iPhone activation failure? Below are some effective ways to fix iOS 13 / iOS 14 activation error and achieve smooth iPhone activation.

    Part 1: Common Apple iPhone Activation Errors after iOS Update or Reset

    Here we have compiled some of the most common iPhone activation errors you may encounter when iPhone / iPad won’t activate after software update / factory reset.

      Activation failed, iPhone requires an update to activate

    iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.

    Activation request failed. contact technical support.

    Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.

    SIM is not supported. The SIM card currently installed on this iPhone belongs to a cellular carrier that is not supported by the activation server.

    iPhone failed to activate because it was unable to retrieve activation information from it.

    Sorry, you cannot continue to activate your device at this time.

    try another wifi network

    First of all, make sure you are connected to a working Wi-Fi, some, very few routers may be the culprit for this problem, as they block iPhone access to Apple servers. Therefore, in some cases, connecting to a normally functioning router solves this problem.

    use a working SIM

    If you have a different SIM card and are sure it works, try using it. When replacing the SIM card, you do not need to turn off the iPhone, just replace it, press the Home button and try activation again.

    Another important note: the balance of your SIM card must be positive, and the amount on the account is sufficient for one SMS abroad.

    This is not advertised anywhere, but this is how the problem with the activation of iMessage and Facetime is solved. We found that in order to confirm the activation of these services, the iPhone is apparently trying to send a technical hidden SMS to the Apple servers. A technical SMS is sent from your phone to a special number, so the balance on your SIM card must be positive and sufficient for such an operation.

    Confirmed! Activation actually sends SMS, which is charged as “SMS to other countries”.

    try again

    At first glance, it seems that the activation failed message is completely inactive, you do not see the control or retry buttons. However, if you click on the physical round iPhone button, a menu appears from which you can: call emergency services, start over, or change the Wi-Fi connection settings. Click “start over” to retry activation, if the second time it failed, you should try a few more times. Some users note that activation takes place normally on 5 attempts. Perhaps the reason for this is busy servers or other reasons and a little patience will help solve the problem.

    Four tips on what to do if you can’t activate your iPhone and see an activation error

    If you find yourself in a situation where you decided to reset your iPhone to factory settings, tried to set it up as a new device and saw the “activation failed” error, you try again, but it does not help, you again see a tablet with the text below what to do in such a situation?

    “Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try to connect iPhone to iTunes to activate, or try again in a few minutes.

    If the problem persists, contact Apple Support: Apple.com/us/support “.

    restore iPhone

    If none of the above helps, try turning off your iPhone, connect one end of the USB cable to the Mac, and do not insert the other into the iPhone yet, hold down the Home button and at this very moment insert the USB cable into the iPhone. If everything went well, iTunes will show the message “iTunes has found iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore your iPhone before using it with iTunes. ” Then click the Restore iPhone button and follow the instructions.

    SIM card check

    Before contacting the provider’s support, it is worth checking if the SIM is inserted correctly. If inserted in the wrong direction, put it in the correct slot, and also check the activity of the card.

    Activation via iTunes

    In cases where internet connection did not solve the problem. The firmware is being downloaded via iTunes, you should update to the latest version before starting. Steps:

    • run the program on a computer and connect a smartphone to it;
    • we pass authorization and choose a device from the proposed ones;
    • click on “Browse” and select “Update” in the block with the description of the device;
    • follow the instructions during the update and complete the action with activation;
    • disconnect the phone from the PC after the message about the successful unlocking.

    IPhone 4 / 4S / 5 / 5S / 6 / 6S / 7 / X activation error: what to do if an update is required after a factory reset

    In 2021, iPhones from Apple are gaining even more popularity. When trying to reinstall the firmware from an old version to a new one, an error may occur in the form of a failed activation of the iPhone 4 / 4s / 5 / 5s / 6 / 6s / 7 / X. We have prepared a detailed article telling about all the nuances of work.

    Reset

    Doubtful devices may stop working after resetting to factory settings. When making a purchase from an unauthorized dealer, there is a high risk of getting a gadget with fake parts and subsequently a non-working device. Devices on iOS 11 and higher are at risk. If iPhone activation fails after factory reset, the reasons are as follows:

    • repair with non-original spare parts;
    • when the server is turned on, the companies do not recognize the replaced parts and block the phone.

    In order to avoid troubles, it is worth making the purchase and repair in official services.

    IOS 11 and iOS 12 Activation Issue on Refurbished Phones

    Owners who bought Chinese counterfeits from AliExpress face difficulties. The assembly of the devices is a hodgepodge of various spare parts imitating the original ones. When disassembling such phones, it may turn out that the original board remains, but some modules can be replaced.

    iphone, activation, failed

    In the fight against counterfeiting, the company introduces radical methods. Upon activation, a signal is sent to the company’s servers, and all details are checked. If there is a mismatch in the serial number or Mac-address. it is impossible to activate.

    SIM card not supported

    • contact your provider for a new card;
    • try to activate with a different sim card;
    • check the official website for information on the phone;
    • contact the official representative.

    Cellular Activation Failure PDP Authentication Error on iPhone. What to Do?

    When establishing a connection to the servers via a mobile device, an authentication error may occur, which means the iPhone could not be activated because it was unable to obtain activation information from it. You can check and fix problems:

    • Leave a request for a hot line mowing service provider;
    • when confirming a fault on the mowing line. wait;
    • restore the connection manually through the “Settings” item;
    • go to the “Cellular” section, find “Data parameters”;
    • open the “Cellular data network” and scroll to the item “APN”;
    • we rewrite all data in advance. it will be needed for further input;
    • delete all data from “APN”, and reboot;
    • we try to establish a reconnection by going to the browser;
    • if unsuccessful, enter the old data into “APN”, and try again.

    If the problem has not been eliminated, then we require the operator to take action.

    Update

    In cases where programs fail and it is not possible to activate your account, an update will help. The process does not take much time and for a sufficiently stable Internet or computer.

    What is activation failure on iPhone 4, 5, 6, 7 and other models

    When the message “Unable to activate iPhone” is displayed, the owner of such a device faces a problem. The fact is that in this case it will not be possible to use the gadget to the fullest: make calls, send messages, there will be no possibility of data synchronization and OS updates.

    IPhone 4, 5, 6, 7 activation failed. what to do

    The key difference between smartphones from Apple from all similar ones is a close relationship with the manufacturer throughout the entire life of the gadget. All services provided by it are possible only with an activated device. However, the user may face a problem when the iPhone refuses to go through the activation procedure, making these functions unavailable.

    Checking your internet connection

    Activation occurs via the Internet, so you need to check if the smartphone sees the Network.

    As mentioned above, some Wi-Fi networks can block access to servers, so in this case, you should use a different connection.

    You can try another reliable Wi-Fi network

    Update

    You can try restoring your iPhone. To do this, the gadget itself is turned off and a USB cable is connected to it. Before connecting the device to the computer, the “Home” button is clamped (or the “Volume Down” button for later versions) and the cable is inserted into the USB port on the computer.

    Note! ITunes will find your phone and display a message that you need to restore your iPhone before using it. You need to boldly press the “Restore” button and wait for the results.

    • if the smartphone is locked, then you will have to change the cellular operator. You can find out which one it is for by IMEI. On the site for checks (they are called checkers) indicate this number and wait for the results of the check;
    • if the smartphone has a beta version of the firmware, then it is necessary to register the device so that it becomes possible to activate it;
    • you can find out if the problem is in the hardware by pressing the “i” button on the welcome screen. If the IMEI number is not displayed, this means that the modem is faulty. You can also indirectly detect this when you connect your iPhone to your computer. The lack of starting the activation process directly indicates problems with the hardware. There is only one way out. to contact the service center, fortunately, the cost of replacing the modem is incomparable with the price of a new iPhone.

    Reset

    iPhone may refuse to activate after a factory reset has been performed on the device. A similar problem is observed on iPhones with iOS 11 and higher, which have been repaired in an unofficial service. In such workshops, non-original components could be installed on the device.

    Another case. the smartphone was bought from hands, while its origin remains a mystery with seven seals. Assembled do not understand from what in a semi-handicraft way, such a device, after resetting the settings for activation by a new user, may not pass it and become completely inoperable.

    Internet connection problems

    Lack of Internet connection may cause iPhone activation to fail.

    Note! In addition to traditional networks, some wireless Wi-Fi are capable of blocking attempts by the gadget to activate.

    • some gadgets from Apple can only work with a SIM card of a certain cellular operator. Such devices are usually called contract or gilded. You can find out if this is so on specialized sites (for example, at IMEI.info);
    • some devices may display an “Activation Failed” message due to the fact that they could simply freeze;
    • a possible reason may also be the performed procedure of updating the firmware version to the latest version or restoring;
    • there are iPhones on which the beta version of the firmware is installed. Such a gadget cannot be activated because it is not registered with Apple.

    SIM card problems

    The most commonplace reason why an iPhone 4 activation error occurs is the incorrect operation of the installed SIM card. Perhaps it is simply not inserted correctly or is completely out of order and requires replacement.

    iphone, activation, failed

    IPhones use microSIM format

    How to protect yourself from a problem?

    You can check the serial number of your device on the Apple website. If during the check it says “This serial number corresponds to the product that was replaced” or the check displays information about another device that does not match your model, color or memory size, your iPhone may be prone to an activation error. If you own a refurbished iPhone, it is highly discouraged to erase device content or restore software on it via iTunes.

    Problems on Apple activation servers

    The most harmless option that may be associated with the fact that at a particular moment in time Apple’s activation server is really not available, as indicated in the error message. Check the status of Apple’s web services on a special page and, if the iOS Device Activation service is unavailable, then the solution in this case may be patience and an attempt to activate a little later.

    IPhone activation failed. What to do? [UPDATED. There is a solution!]

    Failure to activate iPhone on iOS 11. is a problem that many users of “Apple” phones are facing lately. It manifests itself in the inability to activate the iPhone after resetting content and settings or reinstalling iOS. When activating the phone via Wi-Fi, the user sees the message “iPhone activation failed. Your iPhone could not be activated because it could not contact the activation server.” When I try to activate via iTunes, I get an error message with the number 0xE8000013 or 4016 on my computer, or the message “iPhone could not be activated because we could not get activation information from it”.

    Why iPhone Activation Fails?

    There are three main reasons why the iPhone does not activate and displays an activation failure message:

    IPhone hardware issues

    Activation may fail due to hardware issues with the iPhone. So, for example, if the phone has problems with identifying the SIM card (constant search for the network, regardless of whether the SIM card is inserted or not), the iPhone will not activate. The solution to the problem if the phone does not activate, in such cases can be determined after diagnostics at the service center.

    IOS 11 Activation Issue on Refurbished Phones

    Most often, iPhone activation error occurs with owners of refurbished phones. At the same time, here we are not talking about officially restored iPhones, which are produced under the control of Apple, but about Chinese handicraft assembled devices. As a rule, such phones inside resemble a “Frankenstein’s monster”, assembled from different parts. Very often, of the original components on such iPhones, only the processor board remains and it may contain replaced components. Why on such phones most often there is a problem with the device activation error?

    The problem stems from the fact that in iOS 11 Apple changed the rules for the device activation system. When activated, the components are polled and technical information (UDID, Serial No, IMEI, MAC-Address, etc.) is compared with numbers in the official Apple databases. If, for some reason (and for not officially restored devices, there are about a dozen reasons) the information does not match, the device will not be activated.

    Is it possible to fix a refurbished iPhone with activation error?

    There is a solution. It consists in working with a memory microcircuit and making changes to its firmware. Such an operation can only be performed by the hands of an experienced craftsman in a service center with the availability of good specialized equipment. You can carry out such repairs in our service center. Information on the cost and approximate time of execution of works is presented in the table below.

    Name of works 3-5 working days

    However, the solution is not universal and is not suitable for every case. Since most of the owners of refurbished iPhones face this problem, it is possible to determine exactly whether we can help you only after inspection and diagnostics at the service center. We will be waiting for you and will be happy to help in solving problems with your iPhone!

    IPhone Activation Failed. Everything Is Very Bad

    Why does the title say that everything is very bad?

    Because, it is quite possible that the modem in the device “died”.

    Indirectly, this can be confirmed by the fact that by connecting the gadget to a computer and iTunes, absolutely nothing happens. no activation or something even remotely similar to it.

    There is another way to test this terrible guess.

    On the welcome screen, click on the “letter i in a circle” icon.

    After clicking, on a normal and working iPhone, the serial number of the device should appear. If IMEI does not appear, but only standards are written, etc. then I have bad news, the modem in your iPhone or iPad has ordered a long life. Naturally, with such a malfunction, the device cannot be activated. What to do?

    • Contact the service, the repair price is not very high (relative to the cost of the device), but they undertake such a repair of the unit and no one gives guarantees.
    • You can try to put it in the freezer (at your own peril and risk!), There is a possibility that the contacts will get “right” at least for a while, and it will turn out to activate it.
    • Warm up with a hairdryer (also at your own peril and risk!). the effect is similar to freezing (it may or may not appear).

    It should be understood that the last two points are, of course, a fierce “collective farm” and they should be carried out very carefully. But it helps some. By the way, updating the firmware on such gadgets is useless, during this operation you will get an error.

    All that is described above is not your case? Is IMEI displayed and is the modem OK? Moving on to the next item!

    iphone, activation, failed

    IPhone Activation Failed. Server Unavailable or Worse?

    Hey! It doesn’t matter what you did in order to get the activation failed error. We reset the content and settings, flashed it, performed an update, recovered. any of these actions leads to the fact that the device must be reactivated. Yes, yes, yes, you will have to go through exactly the same procedure again as when you first turned on the gadget. And here one very large and large ambush can await us.

    An iPhone or iPad can easily warn you that activation is impossible, because: “Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate, or try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, contact Apple Support: Apple.com/us/support “.

    It would seem that everything is very logical. The server is unavailable, Apple has problems, we wait until the failure passes and we swear at the company. However, not everything is so simple.

    And in general, if you are faced with such a message, then I will have two news for you, good and bad. And we’ll probably start with a bad one

    iPhone on iOS 11 and iOS 12 won’t activate after factory reset

    This text is an update to the article after the release of iOS 11.

    We have already discussed this situation in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев, but for those who are too lazy to read, here is a short excerpt from all this.

    Since the release of iOS 11, Apple has changed its policy regarding unofficial iPhone repairs. If non-original components were installed in the device, then after the procedure for resetting the settings and content, you can get a “brick”. it will be impossible to activate the phone.

    Who is at risk? Devices (running iOS 11 and iOS 12) that:

    • Have ever been repaired (with replacement of spare parts. Nand-memory, modem, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module) in unauthorized service centers.
    • They are the so-called “handicraft restored” iPhones (smartphones assembled by someone who and where). unscrupulous sellers very often sell them under the guise of new.

    During the power-on phase (after a factory reset and content reset or a firmware restore), the iPhone sends data about the components installed inside it to Apple servers. If this information does not match the base of the “apple” company, then the activation of the device is blocked.

    So, what exactly is this to do now??

    • If there is a guarantee. use it.
    • Some unofficial service centers may try to solve this problem with special equipment. But, as a rule, no one gives any guarantees. even if the activation failure can be “bypassed” now, then in the future everything can happen again.

    Here is such a sad story. However, it is not at all necessary that the error occurs precisely because of this

    iPhone failed to activate. the server is to blame or

    In fact, failure can occur for a variety of reasons. And the right decision would be to check everything in order, let’s go!

    • Check if the SIM card is inserted and is it working? The advice is of course very obvious, but everything can happen.
    • Make sure you have internet access again.
    • Apple servers are unavailable. how to check their status at the moment? This often happens on the days when new versions of iOS are released. Many people around the world are trying to get a new firmware as quickly as possible and the servers simply cannot withstand such an influx of people. In that case, you just need to wait
    • Use a different internet connection. Some Wi-Fi networks can be configured to block access to Apple servers.
    • Use iTunes to activate (be sure to update it to the latest version!)
    • Hard reset your iPhone or iPad. Hold down the Home and Power buttons. do not release them until the iPhone turns off.

    By the way, the reason for Activation Error may be the fact that a beta version of the firmware was installed on the iPhone, and the device was not registered in the developer program. In this case, the error text will be like this:

    This device is not registered as part of the iPhone Developer Program

    In this case, you need to go to the Apple developer portal (developer.Apple.com) and register the gadget.

    As you can see, the reason that the iPhone refuses to activate and crashes can be a variety of situations:

    • From commonplace. lack of Internet, unavailability of servers, “bugs” in iOS.
    • To very difficult ones. a breakdown of the modem and the newly minted “iOS 11 syndrome”.

    And if the first ones are solved quite simply (wait, change the SIM-card, etc.), then the second (“iron” problems) are corrected only with the participation of a competent service center specialist. But I, as usual, sincerely hope that this is not your case.