Using an old iPhone for imessage without a Sim card or phone number

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Level 1

5 points

Using an old iPhone for imessage without a Sim card or phone number

I have an old iPhone that I want to give to my son for games. It's been completely reset and i am using a new icloud account i made specifically for this phone. There is a certain game that you can only play through imessage. Is there anyway to use imessage without a Sim card and phone number? I thought you could connect using your icloud account and wifi. When I go to settings then messages, there is not option for me to toggle on i messages. It has me sign in the says there is an activation error. Imessage activation, an error occurred during activation. I'm connected to wifi, the phone is up to date and I tried turning it on and off. Any help would be much appreciated!

Posted on Jul 18, 2025 09:46 PM

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Answer 1

brbo

Level 8

38,107 points

Jul 23, 2025 12:55 AM in response to Kh4124

Re: "Using an old iPhone for imessage without a Sim card or phone number" "When I go to settings then messages, there is not option for me to toggle on i messages. :It has me sign in the says there is an activation error. Imessage activation, an error occurred during activation. "

Am no expert in this area, yet your request deserves some response:

If not already:

seems the old phone would need to be signed in to with the Apple Account you use for Messages

( a verification code may be needed if the old phone isn't already a device listed in your Apple Account.)

See : Sign in to your Apple Account on the web or in your device settings - Apple Support

and

How to: Get a verification code and sign in with two-factor authentication - Apple Support

Apple Support has articles online that may help )eg: has info. about activation issues):

If you can’t turn on or sign in to iMessage or FaceTime on your iPhone - Apple Support

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