A small number of users have been noticing issues with Apple's iMessage service since the iOS 7 update was released last month. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, the company acknowledged that there was a problem and said that it would be fixed in an upcoming software update.
“We are aware of an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users, and we will have a fix available in an upcoming software update,” Apple said. “In the meantime, we encourage any users having problems to reference our troubleshooting documents or contact AppleCare to help resolve their issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes impacted users.”
We haven't had any iMessage issues with our own iDevices since updating to iOS 7, but according to several posts on the Apple Support Communities forums (this is one representative thread) affected users are able to receive messages but are unable to send them. Some report that rebooting the device or signing out of and then back into the iMessage service will fix the issue, though that fix is apparently not always successful.
There's some evidence based on server logs that an iOS 7.0.3 update is being tested internally at Apple, and based on this statement, the update may be intended to fix the iMessage issues for the customers who are having problems. If these logs are genuine, this would be the third minor update to the software after iOS 7.0.1, which was released only for the new iPhone 5S and 5C, and iOS 7.0.2, which fixed some high-profile lock screen bugs. We'll keep an eye out for this problem in the release notes for future iOS updates.
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