Apple Being Sued Over 'Vanishing Texts' Problem After Switching to Android

[RaduTyrsina]

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Apple has millions of customers all over the world and it's a pretty difficult job to keep all of them satisfied. According to a report from the Bloomberg publication, Apple is facing a lawsuit over an alleged issue preventing iPhone users from sending text messages to the Android phones of former iPhone users. The lawsuit has been filed by a former iPhone customer and it is currently seeking the class-action status. She says that he has stopped getting messages from iPhone owners after she switched to a non-Apple device. Here are some more details:

A former iPhone user sued Apple Inc. claiming the company’s messaging system interfered with delivery of texts after she switched to an Android-based smartphone. Apple’s iMessage retains text messages sent from other users of Apple devices and won’t deliver them to her Samsung phone running on Google's Android operating system, Adrienne Moore said in the complaint filed yesterday in San Jose, California. People who replace their Apple devices with non-Apple wireless phones and tablets are “penalized and unable to obtain the full benefits of their wireless-service contracts,†according to the complaint. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has battled smartphone manufacturers in court, most recently in a patent lawsuit against Samsung in San Jose. Apple accused Samsung of infringement based in large part on its use of Android-based features.

Even an Apple customer support representative has confirmed the problem, saying that the iMessage bug is "a problem a lot of people are facing" and that the company's engineering team "is working on it but is apparently clueless as how to fix it." Officially, Apple advises iPhone owners to disable iMessages before deactivating their phones, but some have experienced problems even after disabling this. Some users said that they had to call Apple in order to have their numbers removed from the iMessage system and, apparently, this worked out. However, the question on everybody's lips is whether Apple is doing this intentionally or this is just a technical glitch.

Source: Bloomberg

 

[scifan57]

I always thought that iMessage was always only between iOS devices and Macs. I don't see any basis for this lawsuit. I've never been able to use iMessage to send texts to a non Apple device.

 

[AQ_OC]

The thing is iMessage is the same app that works for both iMessages and for sms txt messages. If you are txting some in Apple's system, the entry box says "iMessage". When you txt someone not on Apple system, it just says "Text Message" in the box. I txt folks on Android all the time, and also those with iPhones who have iMessage enabled.

 

[J. A.]

If I get this right, the problem is not because of the non-Apple-device, but because the iPhones try to send texts to the iMessage app on an iphone that doesn't exist any more. So the former iPhone owner doesn't receive them.

 

[silverado8405]

If I get this right, the problem is not because of the non-Apple-device, but because the iPhones try to send texts to the iMessage app on an iphone that doesn't exist any more. So the former iPhone owner doesn't receive them.

That's the way I read it. A couple guys at work have this problem and can't get it fixed. Guy had an iphone, switched to galaxy s4, now one person with an iphone can't text him because it keeps trying to deliver to the no longer existent iphone.

Sent from my iPhone 5S using iPF

 

[dhewson777]

If I get this right, the problem is not because of the non-Apple-device, but because the iPhones try to send texts to the iMessage app on an iphone that doesn't exist any more. So the former iPhone owner doesn't receive them.

Yep, so one would think they just need to un-associate their email address and cell number from their iMessage. Maybe they just need to pop their Sim Back into their iPhone for a few minutes to do the deed. Not sure if there is a setting in iCloud for that to do it online.