My number shows “unavailable for sharing” in the security section and it can not be used for message or facetime.

I called apple. They discovered my phone number was blocked on their side and cited the reason was likely automated spam detection. They fixed it on the phone in 15 minutes, but it did require 2 advisors to figure it out. Now I can select my phone number to use with iMessage and Facetime again!

After a month of troubleshooting, it was finally resolved. Turns out my number was blacklisted due to someone reporting it as spam. I got on a call with a Sr. Advisor who was able to notify me of this and resolve this issue for me. Highly recommend if none of the troubleshooting steps are helping.

THE FIX:

Go into Settings>Messages>iMessage. Ensure that iMessages is toggled to green, indicating it is on.

Under Send & Receive, I only had my phone number listed. For some reason, I was not logged in with my Apple ID. So, click sign in with Apple ID (and you will leave your number checked as well.)

Then, go into Settings>FaceTime. Ensure that you are also logged into your phone number and Apple ID here also. If not, log in.

Restart your phone.

Lastly, double check on Settings>Your Name>Sign-In & Security that the message under your phone number stating "unavailable for sharing" is no longer there.

Hope this helps!

i called Apple support and they fixed it. My number go flagged as spam. It took a couple minutes to fix

I had the same issue. I spent hours on the phone with AT&T and Apple. I came to this site and was able to fix it in 5 minutes. My number was on a spam list or blacklisted. I called Apple again and they removed it from the list and it is now fixed.

I had the same problem. I spent four hours at the Genius Bar. I read that sometimes numbers are blacklisted as spam. Mine was not. I called Apple support. They said my number had somehow become unregistered. It would work in 24 hours. I was skeptical, but it was the fix!

Had the same problem,

Removed an old phone that was listed under devices under my AppeID (it was present there n addition to my current phone), then I switched of iMessage in settings, switched off Facetime in settings, and then I signed out of iCloud.

Then restarted phone and logged on into iCloud with AppleID again.

iMessage and Facetime settings defaulted to on after this, but also this “unavailable for sharing”

under my number was gone.

Not sure what the initial cause of this was but it is now fixed.

-Hope this helps somebody...

I have fixed this twice now for persons following these steps:

1. Sign out of FaceTime

2. Sign out of Messages

3. Power Cycle.

4. Sign out of iCloud Completely. (This is the main thing)

5. Power Cycle.

6. Sign back into iCloud.

7. Fixed.

This was exactly my issue! I got a new device/phone number for work. And immediately after setup, it said iMessage activation was unsuccessful, but only to the new phone number not the Apple ID with my email. After a week of working with the carrier and spending hours in the Apple store, they only said they would try to escalate the issue but couldn't identify the problem after trying all of the troubleshooting that others have cited, changed out sim and even tried a new Apple ID. I came to this forum and called Apple, asked to check for blockages the first rep couldn't see anything, then was escalated to a Sr. Advisor who found the number was on a block listed and removed it. Everything was reconciled after 5 minutes! Thank you so much for this. Everything is now syncing.

I just had this issue. All I had to do was go into setting, click my Apple ID and accept the new terms and conditions. This resolved everything.

I wanted to provide an update. I called my carrier (Verizon) and was on the phone for a couple of hours before I was finally connected with Apple Support. Apple did a screen share and was able to fix the problem in less than 5 minutes. The representative with Apple was so extremely friendly and helpful. I wish I had saved myself the frustration and called Apple from the start.

This was the correct answer for me! I changed my AppleID without any other changes and was given two separate errors when under "sign-in and security"... Initially there was no phone number associated with the sign-in, once I added it the error was that it could not be used for iMessage or Facetime. I logged into the web and updated the phone number there and was then presented with the "Unavailable for Sharing" message. After clicking "Sign in With AppleID" on iMessage it fixed the problem there and under FaceTIme and the error message went away.

did you call Apple?

I have the same problem which suddenly started two days ago, when I got the message I had to sign in with my Apple ID to get messages on my computer. When I did that I was logged in for a few seconds then it logged me out. I have spent maybe 7 hours or more talking with Applecare, rebooting in safe mode, going to the Genius Bar, talking with a tech support for apple again...They did a clean reinstall on my computer..nothing. All a bit waste of time. Then I was told it was not a problem with the computer but that the phone was not connected to the iMessage server. Now I am supposed to wait 24-48 hours to see if my phone becomes linked to my carrier, T Mobile and left iMessage on. Feeling pessimistic about this problem. FaceTime is also unavailable.

This same thing is happening to me and has been happening for a while now. Started on my iPhone 11. Upgraded to a 15. Issue carried over to new phone.

Steps that I have tried:

1. turn imessage/facetime on/off. Nope
2. Restart phone after signing out of apple ID and turning off imessage/facetime. Nope
3. Reset network settings. Nope
4. Factory reset. Nope.
5. iOS update from 16 to 17. Nope.
6. Changed PW for apple ID. Nope.
7. All the available apple troubleshooting for this issue. Nope
8. Went to my service provider. Nope
9. Went to a 3rd party apple-certified support store. Nope.

The only thing I have not tried yet is an iOS rollback, but the issue started before I even upgraded to 17.1.

So let me know if you find a solution because I've had no luck. Tired of repeating the same troubleshooting over and over again to find a solution so good luck!