How To Turn Off iMessage On iPhone

If you are looking for ways in which you can turn off iMessage on iPhone then you are at the right place. We will outline the steps for you so that you can easily turn off iMessage. There can be quite a few reasons for you switching off this service. Whether it is switching to Android or not using a data plan with Apple, let us help you out to disable iMessage.

Since iMessage uses your email address and phone number and binds it to your Apple ID and Apple servers allowing you to send messages from just about any Apple device you own, it will be peremptory that you disable iMessage from other devices as well if you will not be using it any longer. This means that if you own an iPad or an Apple laptop or desktop, then you must go through the process of disabling iMessage on these devices first. Then you can proceed from your iPhone to make sure that iMessage is completely turned off.

It is important that you disable iMessage if you are moving to another platform because a lot of our readers have complained about messages getting lost when they try to deliver a message to an iPhone user who has moved to another platform. It means that the person sending the message thinks that the message has been delivered but the one receiving it does not have any idea that any message was sent at all. While Apple has worked on fixing such issues in its updates and iOS10 users have a smoother transition, it is always good to ensure that iMessage is disabled if you are moving to a different platform.

See Also: How to fix iPhone SE not syncing iMessage

Turn Off iMessage On Your iPad And Mac

If you own another Apple device like an iPad or Mac in addition to your iPhone then remember to begin with these devices when it comes to disabling iMessage.

Mac users

• Head into the Messages app on your Mac
• Open the menu bar and click on Messages
• Now choose preferences to proceed
• Here you will see a tab that says Accounts and click on it
• Choose your iMessage account that is connected to this device
• There will be a box next to the phone number. Uncheck the box to disable your phone number from the device
• Look for the option that says Enable this account and uncheck the box so that the account can be disabled

Note: If you didn’t already have an email address associated with your iMessage account then you will be required to add an email address before you can remove your phone number.

iPad users

• Go to the Settings menu of your iPad
• Look for Messages and tap on it
• You will notice that iMessage is right at the top of the next page
• Just change the slider to Off and iMessage will be disabled from your iPad as well.

Now that you have disabled iMessage from all other devices, let us turn off iMessage from your iPhone as well.

Turn Off iMessage On iPhone

Disabling iMesage on iPhone is pretty easy.

• Go to the Settings menu of your iPhone
• Choose Messages from the Settings menu
• And in the Messages menu, look for iMessages
• You will notice a slider next to it which allows you to turn it off. The slider will be green if it is on. Simply slide it off and it will turn grey to indicate that iMessage has been disabled from your iPhone.

After disabling iMessage, restart your device so that your iPhone incorporates the new changes. Once your device restarts, try to send a message and check if it goes through as an ordinary text message.

When your message is sent in a green bubble, it means that it is a regular text message while the ones sent in a blue bubble show that they are using iMessage. To make sure iMessage is disabled, try sending a text message to someone who is an iMessage user and check if your device sends the message as a regular text or not.

Using Apple’s Deregister Tool

Apple users who are trying to turn off iMessage because they lost their phone or because they switched to a different platform and forgot to turn off iMessage before they exchanged their iPhone can disable iMessage by using Apple’s deregister tool. It does not require an iPhone and it allows you to disable iMessage online. This will require you to have your phone number active with you at the time when you are turning off iMessage.

• Follow this link to access the deregister tool: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage
• Scroll down to the section that says No longer have your iPhone?
• Enter your phone number which was connected to iMessage on your iPhone
• After entering your number, click on Send Code and wait for the code to reach your phone
• Once you get a message with the confirmation code, enter the six-digit code to ensure that iMessage has been disabled
• A big green check mark on your screen will confirm that iMessage has been disabled for you.

These steps are useful for disabling iMessage if you are moving to another platform or if your device has been stolen and you choose to move to a smartphone running on a different platform. If you happen to be upgrading your iPhone then you don’t really have to go through the hassle of disabling iMessage because you can automatically use it on the new device.

Now that you know the steps for disabling iMessage, make sure you do this on all the devices that you are using. It will ensure that your messages come to your phone as a text without any problems. Since readers have talked about problems in receiving messages after they disable iMessage, most of the times it is because it may end up remaining active in one of the devices. If nothing works for you, then using Apple’s deregister tool is the most effective way.

See Also: How to fix iMessage waiting for activation/iMessage not working error on iPhone