sign in to imessage won't cancel

[iMore Question]

My iphone 4 has the "Sign in to imessage" dialog box open and when I hit Cancel, it just comes right back. Also, it's showing an old AppleID even though I changed it a long time ago. I've tried every password I've ever had with Apple, including changing it again, and nothing works.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Go to Settings-Messages and simply disable iMessage.