Apple sued over iMessage bug that prevents texts reaching Android defectors

[sincity]

Apple has been hit with a lawsuit over a persistent iMessage flaw that prevents texts being delivered to former iPhone users who departed the iOS ecosystem to use Android phones.

The long-existing flaw affects some Android users whose phone numbers were previously associated with iMessage through an iPhone.

The result is that iMessage users believe a text sent to an Android counterpart has been delivered, but the recipient never receives the message. Neither party is aware of the issue.

It appears the problem is device centric, with iPhones believing all numbers previously associated with iMessage are still attached to an iPhone. That means delivery will still be attempted over the web, rather than via cellular networks.

No real fix

The situation may now come to a head as a result of a class action lawsuit filed by a Samsung device owner, upset her communications with iPhone users have been curtailed.

Apple currently has no real solution for the problem, but current workarounds involve iPhone users deactivating their number on iMessage before switching, or, on the other side deleting and re-adding a contact.

It'll be interesting to see if this legal action encourages Apple to resolve the issue which blogger Adam Pash claims, the company has no idea how to fix.

He wrote: "Apple has completely hijacked my text messaging and my phone number portability (portability between devices, not networks). No one can fix this but Apple because it's a problem at the device level, which means people in my position have no recourse but to wait for Apple to figure out what the problem is."

Have you been experiencing similar problems? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

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[ajnl]

Never had a problem with my number.

[putts]

I had the same problem when I went from iPhone to Windows Phone. Everybody that had an iPhone was not able to text me because my number was associated with iMessage and was sent as an iMessage, not a text. The person trying to contact me had to change their text message settings in their phone.

 

I might be reading too much into it, but this tells me that there is a large number of iPhone users that are bailing on iPhones.