Oliver Haslam·

Getting iPhone X Activation “Could Not Activate iPhone” Error? You’re Not Alone

If you are getting iPhone X activation “Could Not Activate iPhone” error, you are not alone. Here’s what you need to know.

During the early days of the iPhone, new launches were often marred by issues users experienced when trying to activate their new purchases. With iPhones being unusable until activation takes place, buyers often found that they were unable to use their new phone until both Apple and carriers’ servers began to cope with the huge load of new activations. Unfortunately it would appear that the iPhone X launch has fallen foul of similar issues, with AT&T customers bring impacted the most.

It is likely that the issue is simply down to the sheer number of iPhones being activated on the same day, with some users finding that repeated attempts to get through the activation process eventually yields results. As one of our own reader noted, you just have to keep trying until it goes through.

@kiwifoto @RedmondPie @1bluekoj Mine just went through 30 minutes ago after 3 hours of constant refresh

Of course, another thing you can always try is Apple or your own carrier’s support, which should help you get through the problem. Some have had more success by plugging the phone into computer and activating via iTunes as well.

While AT&T appears to be the worst hit, there have been reports of issues across other carriers in the United States. Whichever carrier you are a user of, the issues should begin to subside as the weekend wears on. That’s no consolation for anyone who has an iPhone X in-hand and cannot use it, but rest assured, if you keep trying over the next 24 hours you will more likely than not be setting up Face ID before you know it.

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