According to multiple reports on Apple's Support Communities webpage, iPhone owners who recently upgraded to iOS 7 are experiencing issues with iMessage, though a simple software reset may resolve the problem, at least temporarily.
A number of Apple's Support Communities users have reported an apparent iMessage bug that is causing messages to go unsent, unreceived or sent as a text on a variety of iPhones models running iOS 7. Others complain that iMessages are not being converted to SMS texts, as would be the case if Apple's servers were down, and are simply not being sent.
Some threads date back to Sept. 18, when Apple released the latest iOS to the public, though posts regarding the perceived issue have become increasingly frequent since the most recent iOS 7.0.2 update went live last week.
Support Communities forum members may have discovered a solution, however. Users are finding success with the following procedure: disable iMessage in Settings -> Messages, reset the iPhone's Network Settings under Settings -> General -> Reset, then reenable iMessage. The method was also reported to be successful by MacRumors on Monday.
There are variations on the method that include shutting down the handset for three to five minutes, though the technique has seen mixed results.
It is unclear how widespread the iMessage problem is, but one AppleInsider staff member can confirm their handset was affected by the issue. Employing the above network reset did work, however, and the iPhone remains stable as of this writing.
The purported iMessage troubles are the latest in a string of minor bugs users have reported following Apple's launch of iOS 7 less than two weeks ago. The company subsequently pushed out two updates, the first being a day-one patch that dealt with the iPhone 5s' Touch ID sensor, while the second squashed a lock screen passcode bypass bug.