It can be very frustrating: You open the Messages app, send an iMessage, and then see that dreaded red exclamation mark or dreaded green SMS bubble. At this point, you might be wondering if it’s just your iPhone or iMessage broken for everyone, but how do you know?
There are several ways to check if iMessage is down, as well as the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, FaceTime, iCloud Mail, Maps, News, or any other Apple service. At the very least, you can check if others are experiencing the same issue or if there is a temporary service interruption. The options listed below are not the only ways to troubleshoot an Apple service, but we believe they are the most helpful.
Check the Apple System Status page.
If you have a problem with any Apple service, it’s best to go straight to the source. Apple has a dedicated System Status web page where you can find out if any of its services are down or experiencing problems, including the following systems:
- App Store
- Apple Arcade, Books, Business Manager, Card, Cash, Fitness+, ID, Music, Music for Artists, Music Radio, Music Subscriptions, Online Store, Pay & Wallet, School Manager, TV Channels, TV+
- AppleCare on device
- Device Registration Program
- Dictation
- Documents in the cloud
- face time
- find my
- Flitsmith
- game center
- Global Services Exchange
- Sharing health data with a provider
- HomeKit, HomeKit Secure Video
- iCloud account and sign in, backup, bookmarks and tabs, calendar, contacts, drive, keychain, mail, notes, private relay, reminders, storage update, web apps (iCloud.com)
- iMessage
- Activating an iOS device
- iTunes Match, iTunes Store
- iWork for iCloud
- Mac App Store
- macOS Software Update
- Map display, map routing and navigation, map search, map traffic
- News
- Photos
- Podcasts
- Radio
- School years
- School work
- screen time
- Sign in with Apple
- Siri
- Offers in the spotlight
- Stock
- Bulk Purchase Program
- walkie-talkie
- Weather
However, suppose the service just went down. In this case, Apple may not update the status immediately until the company has had time to conduct an initial investigation to determine if the issue is widespread or isolated. See other options below if you suspect this may be the case. You can also report any issues you encounter to Apple to ensure they are aware of a potential system issue.
If you are a developer, Apple also has a System Status web page for Developer Services, which includes the following items.
- Check
- AMP – Content Delivery for Developers
- APNS, sandbox
- Application attestation
- App Store – In-App Purchases, Checkout, Sandbox, Server APIs, Server Notifications, TestFlight
- App Store Automatic app updates, Connect, Connect Analytics, Connect API, Connect App Processing
- Apple Developer Forums, Maps API, Music API, News API, Podcasts Connect
- Apple Pay – Developer
- Back to my Mac
- Certificates, identifiers and profiles
- CloudKit Console, CloudKit Database
- Code level support
- Connect with us
- Developer Documentation, Notary ID Service
- Feedback Assistant
- MapKit JS Dashboard
- MFI Portal
- News publisher
- Registration and renewal of the program
- Software download
- Video
- Xcode auto configuration, Xcode cloud
Downdetector
Downdetector is one of the leading services for analyzing the status of websites and services on the Internet. It collects information from Twitter and uses this data to report websites and applications that are not working. Ookla, the creator of the popular Speedtest web app, launched the service in 2012.
You can check Downdetector by visiting its website or iOS app. Here are most of the Apple services that Downdector supports:
- App Store
- Apple Card, Fitness+, Music, Online Store, Support, TV Channels, TV+
- face time
- find my
- HomeKit
- iCloud
- iMessage
- iTunes, iTunes Connect, iTunes Match
- I am working
- macOS software updates
- Cards
- News
- Siri
Services disabled
Services Down is a service similar to Downdetector but focused on services. The website doesn’t make it clear where it gets the information from, but from our experience it appears to be fairly accurate.
The service also shows you how many reports were received in the last 24 hours and how many social media accounts reported that the service was down. Services do not support:
Search on Twitter
Another easy way to find out if others are having problems with Apple services is to search Twitter , and you don’t need to have a Twitter account to do this.
First, you can look at the answers to @AppleSupport. Scroll down this page to see if anyone else is having the same Apple service issue as you.
Try searching the entire site if you don’t see anything about the service being disabled by @AppleSupport. The most efficient way to do this is to search for a hashtag (#), service, and the word “Down”. For example #AppStoreDown. However, you can search with normal formatting like “App Store down”to get similar results.
As mentioned above, some other websites and services can help you find out if an Apple service is down or limited. However, you’ll have the most luck with Apple System Status, Downdetector, Services Down, and Twitter.