iPhone X Error: iPhone Activation Server Temporarily Unavailable

iPhone X 10th Anniversary Edition

Users Cannot Activate the iPhone X: Server Temporarily Unavailable

Numerous reports indicate that customers that purchased the new iPhone X are having trouble activating their phones. MSN reports that this is affecting AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon users.

The error message that they are receiving is: "The activation server is temporarily unavailable."

There is an Apple discussion board for this issue. On there it states there a user that reported getting this message:

"Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate it, or try again in a couple of minutes. If this problem persists, contact Apple Support at: apple.com/support."

See the following message from @dasmart on Twitter:

Next is what Apple suggests if you are experiencing this issue on your iPhone X. Keep in mind this is a standard type of troubleshoot message, much like "rebooting your PC" or "power cycling your modem"

More importantly, the true solution to this problem (other than contacting Apple Support) is to wait. Once Apple is aware of the issue, they work hard to resolve the issue, and will eventually get the server up and running again. They do not want dissatisfied customers leaving bad feedback on social media.

Let's see what the other blogs are saying.

iGeeksBlog suggests doing the following:
1. Wait
2. Restart
3. Lock/Unlock SIM Status
4. Wifi/Network Issues
5. iTunes
6. Restore
7. Talk to your Carrier/Apple Care
Source: iGeeksblog

Same Message Received on Older iPhones 

Apple Stack Exchange revealed a similar message to a user, that reported a problem 4 years ago. They state:

"My iPhone 5 that has been running iOS 7 since beta 1 suddenly wants to be activated. When locked, it shows me my wallpaper. After sliding to unlock, it asks for my passcode. When I enter it, it takes me straight to the 'Activate iPhone' page - like it wants to be set up."

The message that this user received was the following:
"Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate it, or try again in a couple of minutes."

Apple Stack Exchange Identifies the Problem for the iPhone 5

The two major causes of this are:
1. Network related - change the network used to connect
2. iOS related - something is amiss with the code signing / provisioning

The most likely cause of software is a beta. Apple disables the iOS betas soon after the release happens. If you never manually installed the official release, this can happen. If not, consider backing up your device after checking a couple networks and reinstalling.

iPhone 5 will stop working on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019 if you don't update the Software

Digital Trends reports that the iPhone 5 will stop working on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019 if you do not update its software with the latest iOS update.

Other older models, such as the iPhone 4, iPad mini, iPad 2 and iPad 3rd generation devices will also be affected and will need to be updated also.