So you have purchased your shiny (and expensive) new iPhone 12. It supports 5G and sports a brilliant camera. However, a large number of new iPhone 12 owners have encountered a weird issue where the device is not activating for some reason. And the problem seems to be carrier-agnostic. Customers across AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have reported the same issue.
The affected users have taken to various online forums such as Reddit and the MacRumors forum to complain about the issue. The issue is common on both the regular iPhone 12 series as well as the high-end Pro series.
In MacRumors forum an affected user shared a picture of the activation screen of their iPhone 12 Pro and wrote, “It’s just spinning and spinning for 7 minutes already. Anyone else?” Another iPhone 12 owner replied in the same thread, “It’s happening to me too. I put my Verizon pin in and it’s been on this screen for the past 10 minutes.”
A Reddit user said that a carrier representative told them it was “a widespread iPhone 12 Pro issue due to 5G being new.” The representative suggested the user to wait for a couple of days and the issue will be resolved. The iPhone gets stuck on the activation screen and keeps spinning without proceeding further. It seems the issue affects 5G SIMs only. There is no official statement from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.
How to fix the iPhone 12 not activating issue
A number of users shared on Reddit and other forums that they found more than one workaround to the iPhone 12 not activating issue. A MacRumors forum member activated their iPhone 12 Pro by chatting with Verizon. If you are facing the issue, reach out to the carrier.
Another way is to connect the iPhone to a PC and run the iTunes app. You will be presented with an activation page where you will have to enter the verification details (last four digits of the Social Security Number and zip code).
A handful of users also had success with swapping the 5G SIM card with the SIM from the old smartphone. Give it a try.
