Literroy

Q: Can't deactivate iMessage after switching phones?

I bought an Android phone tonight, replacing my iPhone.  I also ported my number to the new phone.  However, now, anytime someone with an iPhone tries to SMS me, their phone automatically sends it as an iMessage, which I can't receive, since I no longer use my iPhone.  How do I deactivate my phone number with iMessage so that I can start receiving text messages from my iOS-using friends again?

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 9:03 PM

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Q: Can't deactivate iMessage after switching phones?

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  • by kapolani,

    kapolani kapolani Mar 14, 2012 1:02 PM in response to cavallino33
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    Mar 14, 2012 1:02 PM in response to cavallino33

    Log in again.

     

    Is your cell number any where on the page?

     

    On the left somewhere?

     

    Delete it from there if present.

  • by cavallino33,

    cavallino33 cavallino33 Mar 14, 2012 8:00 PM in response to kapolani
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2012 8:00 PM in response to kapolani

    Nope no number there. Still have the problem.

     

    I don't know if new iphone numbers have the same issue (i.e. someone new who had never texted me when I had imessage). I only really text with one person who has an iphone.

  • by eldercr4,

    eldercr4 eldercr4 Mar 26, 2012 11:33 AM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 26, 2012 11:33 AM in response to Literroy

    This did not fix my problem.  I recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket.  I had an iPhone for almost 4 years.  I did not turn off iMessages before switching phones.  It is now turned off on my old iPhone 4.  When iPhone users send me a text it works as far as I know.  When I am involved in a group message though, I will not receive anything from the other iPhone users that have iMessages on.  I have unregistered the products as specified above with no luck.  What else can I do?  There is no way I can ask people to turn off iMessages just to allow me to receive their messages.

  • by OhmzJesus,

    OhmzJesus OhmzJesus Apr 10, 2012 1:08 PM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 10, 2012 1:08 PM in response to Literroy

    I called apple today and they told me to put my sim in any iphone and turn off imessage.  And if that doesn't work i have to wait 30 days from the last time i used imessage for it to deactivate on it's own

  • by Tempamental,

    Tempamental Tempamental Apr 19, 2012 10:34 AM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 19, 2012 10:34 AM in response to Literroy

    Not sure if this problem is solved,but try this!!!

    (If you still have the old device)

     

    1. On your old iphone go to "Settings"

    2. Scroll down to "Messages"

    3. When in the Messages menu, scroll down to "Receive At"

    4. In the Recieve At menu, click on your apple ID and sign out. (your Apple ID being there is the problem)

    5. DONE!!! Let the new owner put their info in.

     

    Hope this helps!!!

  • by drfrot,

    drfrot drfrot Apr 19, 2012 10:42 AM in response to Tempamental
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Apr 19, 2012 10:42 AM in response to Tempamental

    I think the problem most people are having is that they don't have access to the old phone, because it has either been sold, stolen or irreparably damaged. How do you switch off iMessages when you don't have an iPhone to switch it off on?

     

    We went through this recently when my wife's phone was stolen. Aside from doing all the tricks above (especially unregistering it at the mysupportprofile website) you can also try logging in on a friend's iPhone, going into their iMessages settings (the "Receive at" section, as mentioned above), logging them out, logging in with your old Apple ID you used to use for iMessages and then switch it off.

     

    Obviously your friend will have to switch iMessages back on again to reverse the process, but this seemed to do the trick with us.

     

    If your friend happens to be on the same network as you, and you still have a micro-SIM card, you could also put that in their iPhone and try the same thing.

     

    All I know is we were plagued with this issue (I had to switch iMessages off just to send my wife a text message on her replacement non-iPhone!) but after doing this, it sorted itself out.

     

    ***

    Edit: Ha ha, @Tempamental, you updated your post with the red text!

     

    Message was edited by: drfrot

  • by SammyB1970,

    SammyB1970 SammyB1970 Apr 23, 2012 1:02 PM in response to drfrot
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 23, 2012 1:02 PM in response to drfrot

    Important note - once you have removed the offending Iphone from the products list, ensure you turn-off your own iphone and reboot it (turn it back on) so that the final link to imessenger for the rogue number is removed.

     

    SO to recap - follow the instructions on the first page of this thread to remove the product that the number was associated with, then switch your iphone off and on.

     

    Worked a treat.

  • by dannyruck,

    dannyruck dannyruck Apr 25, 2012 4:20 PM in response to drfrot
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 25, 2012 4:20 PM in response to drfrot

    drfrot,

     

    THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! You have made my life a little easier now lol...my wifes LCD screen cracked completely and so we were unable to get rid of it. So I was in the same boat as your removing the devices off her apple ID account but still no go, but your solution was exactly what we were looking for, thank you so much!

     

    Danny

  • by dannyruck,

    dannyruck dannyruck Apr 25, 2012 7:12 PM in response to dannyruck
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 25, 2012 7:12 PM in response to dannyruck

    Ok take that back, how do i sign my wife's ID out without turning on iMessage again?

  • by drfrot,

    drfrot drfrot Apr 26, 2012 1:42 AM in response to dannyruck
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Apr 26, 2012 1:42 AM in response to dannyruck

    Yeah, it's a funny one. Once you've logged yourself out, logged her in and switched iMessages off, you have to then switch it back on to use it yourself!

     

    I've got no idea how it actually worked, but this is all we did. Probably a good idea to restart the phone in between switching iMessages off (with your wife's ID) and then switching it back on (to log back in using your ID).

     

    As I say, it doesn't make sense as to why this should work, when technically speaking you're still logged in as her when you switch iMessages back on.... but it did the trick for us.

     

    Another bit of Apple Voodoo to add to the growing list!

     

    :-)

     

    G

  • by mshahzad,

    mshahzad mshahzad May 4, 2012 2:15 PM in response to drfrot
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 4, 2012 2:15 PM in response to drfrot

    i have a similar problem. i did the unregistering online but for some (only for some) people trying to send me a text, it still tries imessage on their phone and they cant get rid of it. i used to have an iphone but dont anymore. what is the solution to this issue?

  • by SammyB1970,

    SammyB1970 SammyB1970 May 4, 2012 3:43 PM in response to mshahzad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 4, 2012 3:43 PM in response to mshahzad

    If they switch their phones off then on again, it should pick-up the change in status of your number.

    That's how mine finally worked.

  • by joshuafromatlanta,

    joshuafromatlanta joshuafromatlanta May 5, 2012 2:19 PM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 5, 2012 2:19 PM in response to Literroy

    I have tried everything listed here, and everywhere else I can find, to get this to work. My iPhone has been inactive for over 30 days. I no longer own any apple products... and I sold the iphone a few weeks ago (after the 30 days had passed).  I had turned off imessage before I switched phones as I’ve heard this is an issue.

     

    I removed it from my support profile, I’ve removed the “find my iphone” from iCloud (not being able to delete that is a whole other story). and I've removed it from my old developer account.

     

    Each time I call apple about it they have hung up on me… I never even get to talk to a person… it puts me on hold for about 5 minutes then hangs up.

     

    Sometimes I get the texts late, most of the time not at all. When I'm with a friend and we look at our chat sessions I'm missing about 40-50% of what they have sent me. I've been on an android (3 different models.. and 3 replacements under warranty for this issue.. countless LTE sim cards).  Verizon has done all they can do.

     

    I think I'm down to having to change my number and see if that works.  

    I hate to have to send out a message to everyone that has my number.. I changed it again (Recently moved across the country and took a local area code so when work calls me it isn’t long distance).

     

    Has anyone tried changing their number?  If it doesn't work I don't want to do it, but if it is another fix to the solution I'm willing to try it.

  • by cavallino33,

    cavallino33 cavallino33 May 10, 2012 11:14 AM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2012 11:14 AM in response to Literroy

    Ok after a month or two of no imessages it seems to have gone away and everyone can text me normally.

     

    I'm finally free of the Apple shackles!

  • by evanm978,

    evanm978 evanm978 May 10, 2012 1:43 PM in response to Literroy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2012 1:43 PM in response to Literroy

    there is no reason apple should not have a switch on your support ui to turn off imessage for you appleid. This sounds more like poor development on their part.

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