iPhone to Android iMessage bug fix

http://www.imore.com/imessage-bug-time-easy-fix

TechCrunch reports an iMessage bug causing problems for iOS users trying to send SMS messages to ex-iPhone users who have switched to another platform, such asAndroid.

What happens is, the iPhone attempts to send the SMS to the ex-iPhone user as an iMessage -- just like it always did before the recipient switched devices. But since Android doesn't support iMessage, the text ultimately fails.

Simple, if naive solution:

Don't let your friends switch away from iPhones.

Complicated, if realistic solution:

1. Tell them to go to: https://supportprofile.apple.com/MySupportProfile.do
2. Log in with their Apple ID.
3. Click on “edit products”
4. Click on the “x” to the right of the product.
5. Click “unregister”

According to a tipster in Apple's support forums, this should resolve the issue entirely. Unfortunately, this is just one of several iMessage related bugs we've been tracking lately. New service or not, Apple needs to get on top of this so users don't have to go through steps they ought not have to go through.

Source: Apple Support Communities via TechCrunch

http://www.samsung.com/us/function/search/espsearchResult.do?input_keyword=deact ivate+imessage&keywords=deactivate+imessage

click on the article: How do I turn off iMessage on my old iPhone before I switch to my new Samsung device?

(It has instructions if you no longer have your iPhone.)

</ end helpful content re:issue>

<start opinion and clever thoughts>

I have both an Android and an iPhone. I agree they both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Because it's a forum, I will share my three cents:

1. This is not a bug or glitch or any such thing. It was programmed this way. It works as coded.

Before anyone gets their pompoms out or panties bunched..

2. It Is a terrible user experience.

• It appears to be something discovered, en masse, recently; and, is giving people (both iPhone and Android users) headaches.
• A good user experience doesn't require me telling my friends to change their phone settings. That's just odd.

Really... I don't care if you have an apple or a robot on your Underoos. A bad user experience doesn't make it a bug. Working as programmed doesn't make it right. Tying a balloon to a lawn chair could allow you to fly; but, is it really the best way to get from a to b? Hint: the beverage service is terrible.

My suggestions:

• Places which sell Android devices should train their sales and support teams on this issue. If I can obtain an solution from any representative I ask, I'm less likely to blow a gasket. "Oh. Okay. Cool." then *text, text, text*
• Apple should make it clear--in their faqs--this is a possible issue (for ANY iPhone user). There is an attempt at that (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5185), which is not very informative. Here's a User Story: "I am an iPhone user. I cannot get my texts through to my friend. I want to help both my friend and myself."
• Samsung has done just that (see link above). If they haven't already, other device manufacturers should do the same.

If you've read this far... I applaud you for maintaining focus through my verbose-ness.

Cheers!

P.S. If you were wondering, my Underoos have marvel heroes. Women dig 'em. Hard to explain at the gym, though..

4 Things worked for me
I stumbled on #4 by accident, and it was what solved it every time.

1. Remove/Deregister your number from iMessage registration: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage
   
2. Remove your device from the iCloud: iCloud: Remove your device from Find My iPhone, or http://smallbusiness.chron.com/delete-devices-off-icloud-account-74917.html
3. Remove your device from iTunes: Manage your associated devices in iTunes - Apple Support
4. Tell your iPhone friends and family to delete your message threads, all personal and group threads you're in, from their messages on their phones.
   (Long press and then delete the conversation).
   Then have them send you a fresh text, and a fresh group message

Hopefully this helped.

What a headache...

ios7 automatically turns off the send as sms feature! everyone is taking the right steps.... Also tell everyone you know to go into there settings and turn send as sms back on that will fix the problem immeditaly

yes this *****... for a semi quick fix tell everyone you know with an iphone to go under settings and turn on send as SMS.. again this does suck but its a fix... even though we should not have to do these. but it works....

hey guys

it's pointless to call Apple or argue with the idiot fanboys.

there is obviousely no concrete solution to the problem. Removing your phone number from your apple account or turning off the imessage on the iphone is useless. ( please stop suggesting that!)

so at this point i found two UNCONVENIANT ways to get around this problem.

it all depends on which iphone model your friends own. ( you need to contact them either way)

1st) if they own an iphone 5, 5S, or 5c they need to go to settings> message> swich on "send as SMS".

2) If they own an IPHONE 4s or lower

unfotunatley the only thing they can do is delete and reinstall your contact info from scratch.

there is no options to resolve the problem.

i know this is very unconveniant, espcially if you are dealing with business contacts

but i had to do it on my boss's iphone 5, and it worked.

i hope someone else comes u with a solution that doesn't involve contacting all our friends soon.

Here's some screenshots of one of the times we tried to fix group messaging while my husband was on the line with Apple support. They had him delete the existing thread, and had him ask our friend to do the same

A fix that Apple has recommended on one call has seemed to work on a few people so far, is to have all parties disassociate iMessage with your email account. We'll be testing it this weekend with another friend.

All you have to do is reset your apple id password. Go to iforgot.apple.com and reset your password. Imessage requires a verified apple id and password, therefore the act of change your password unauthenticates it and fixes it. As said before not a glitch simply an extra step if you want to go from one phone that has a feature to one that doesn't.

After trying many things here's what worked for me. Log into your apple acount using this link: https://supportprofile.apple.com/MySupportProfile.do

Go to edit products and delete your Iphone from the list.

Next log into Icloud from a computer with this link: https://www.icloud.com/#find

Erase your Iphone from the finf my Iphone and delete it. Next go to your contacts and remove anyone that has an Iphone.

I clicked away went to the next result http://www.switchiphone.com/ and found a perfectly logical fix to solve my problem in 30 seconds.

Actually... the link you tout as both successful and findable within 30 seconds contains several errors and no real solution. And IMO, any resource that points to a Reddit thread for context can't end well.

The link for support profile.apple.com leads nowhere, as Apple stopped that service a while ago.

The suggested target for an SMS to unsubscribe does nothing to deregister an iPhone.

You do rightly point out the only correct resource is the one Maxsimonidis provided.

Apple has made a fix for this https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage

Nice rant though.

Pat, this problem was the universe telling you that you shouldn't have switched to an inferior phone 😉

In all seriousness, you can go to Settings > Messages > Send/Receive > and tap your Apple ID, then tap Sign Out. That will sign your device out of iMessages and will remove the phone number from your account. It can take up to 24 hours for activation/deactivation changes in iMessage to take effect, but usually it will be pretty instantaneous.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4268

Also, if your friend turned off iMessage, it is not possible for his text to have still been sent as an iMessage. If you turn off iMessage on an iPhone, it will definitely send as an SMS instead. If you still didn't get texts after they turned off iMessage, then one of you is having an issue with SMS and it's time to troubleshoot that instead.

Better yet, create the iMessage app for android and charge users some price to switch. Increases your market, gives iPhone users an opportunity to salvage group chat and you can still punish those who stray from your product line. iMessage is a ****-poor alternative to the above mentioned products, but you already have the consumer base so this is purely an opportunity for profit.

If you have any thoughts or would actually consider this, let's talk.

http://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/policies/ideas.html

Sorry buddy, as far as I know normally you are way ahead. O😝n that one - support profile s got nothing to do with imessage. It is just old wife's tale.

Check that out and I was told that apple advisors see more info then us regular people.😁

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5185

Credit to trudeau43

BTW impressive work on wifi grayed out thread. 😉

fromsouth wrote:

Sorry buddy, as far as I know normally you are way ahead. O😝n that one - support profile s got nothing to do with imessage. It is just old wife's tale.

Check that out and I was told that apple advisors see more info then us regular people.😁

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5185

Credit to trudeau43

BTW impressive work on wifi grayed out thread. 😉

Support profile does have a link to iMessage. I've tested it myself, and seen it work. Ideally, when you will not be using an iPhone anymore, you should make sure to turn iMessage off, then erase the device. The other steps listed previously also have positive effects... in some cases.

There is no 'magic bullet'. It works properly most of the time, but sometimes it doesn't. You can take every step listed here, and still have to wait. I agree the iMessage system should be improved, but the support profile option is a valid step, in many situations. Please don't discount it as an 'old wives tale' out of hand. It is one of many POSSIBLE resolutions.

Also, Apple Advisors do have access to more information in those articles than the public, as well as articles that the public never sees. Every company has internal information that never gets out to the public, for one reason or another.

And finally, thank you, in regards to the wi-fi greyed out thread.

P.S. The 'Send as SMS' doesn't always work in these situations, moving from iPhone to non-iPhone. Sometimes it gets 'stuck' in the iMessage server anyways.

Check that out and I was told that apple advisors see more info then us regular people.😁

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5185

The solution for this issue is to call 1-800-MYAPPLE and say you need to deactivate your imessage after updating to an non-apple phone since your iPhone friends cant send you messages. They will do the needed steps to remove your number from the iMessage system which after initiated can take a couple hours up to a day. If that does not fix the issue then your contacts are not sending to your phone number and or need to start a new conversation with you. If that does not help it then you are not doing it right or they are not sending to your phone number. The advisors see much more than us consumers can as with most articles which are internal only and even if released to public would not help anyone because you have to have access to their internal systems.