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We have a bunch of old iPhones for kids, but we can’t setup iMessage on those phones without an active phone number. We can setup iMessage (email based) on iPad
by nytesky 4y ago
We have a bunch of old iPhones for kids, but we can’t setup iMessage on those phones without an active phone number. We can setup iMessage (email based) on iPad and iPod Touches, so this is frustrating. I want my kids to not be full on cellular internet, but I like that they can message relatively safely friends and family with iMessage.
- mstolpm 4y agoI'm using an old iPhone without a SIM card as a spare device and iMessage works on it WIFI-only. But I have to admit that initial setup of the Apple ID wasn't done on this phone. Perhaps you could setup your kids Apple IDs on another device and then use them on the old phones with iMessage as well?
- FactolSarin 4y agoWe use a cell service called Tello for my kids phones. For $5/mo you can get a plan with 100 minutes of voice calls, sms, and no data whatsoever. It's perfect for my kids, since I don't really want them to have mobile data anyway
- rsync 4y agoThank you! I have been looking for a cheaper, no-data SIM card to use with 2FA Mules - this is very helpful.
- lkxijlewlf 4y agoI thought you could set iMessage up to use an email address. I did that before but it's been a while.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoYou do not need a phone number for iMessage. You can make an apple account with an email address, and use the email address as your Apple ID.
- skinnymuch 4y agoI don’t believe this is true or something let’s me not need any [working] sim in my phones. I can log into an iCloud account and FT, iMessage accounts on non sim working phones too.
- piperswe 4y agoStrange, I have iMessage set up on an old iPhone XS with no SIM and no phone number tied to the Apple ID
- refracture 4y agoYou're missing something; I have a first gen SE that's got no SIM and it has email based iMessage setup and working. It's for my son to FaceTime with family.