Apple says it’s aware of iMessage issue and is working on a fix

iOS 7 (Messages 005)

Since the release of iOS 7 last month, users have been complaining of issues activating iMessage. What’s more, out of those who have been able to activate the service, some have been experiencing problems sending and receiving messages.

Well the good news is, Apple is aware of a glitch in the new firmware that is causing the disruption of iMessage activity and is working on it. The company tells The Wall Street Journal a fix will be available in an upcoming software update…

Here’s Apple’s statement to the Journal:

“We are aware of an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users, and we will have a fix available in an upcoming software update,” Apple said in a statement. “In the meantime, we encourage any users having problems to reference our troubleshooting documents or contact AppleCare to help resolve their issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes impacted users.”

In the meantime, a few temporary fixes:

– Turn off iMessage in Settings > Messages
– Reset networking settings in Settings > General > Reset
– Reenable iMessage in Settings > Messages

You can also try restarting your device.

iOS 7 has now been available to the public for two weeks, and has been installed on more than 200 million devices. Apple is calling the rollout one of the “fastest software upgrades in history,” and it reportedly caused a 112% spike in Internet traffic.

On September 20, Apple released iOS 7.0.1 for iPhone 5s and 5c handsets containing “bug fixes and improvements,” and last week it released 7.0.2 to fix a Lock screen vulnerability. And it’s expected to release iOS 7.0.3 in the next several days.