iPhone to Android iMessage bug fix

How about we just deal with the issue the original post is about, and leave the argumentativeness to someplace else? There's 36 pages of back-and-forth, with some solutions buried somewhere inside. This is an actual issue with people switching from iPhone to other types of phones, at least Android. I have it right now, and there's so much conflicting information in this thread I don't know how to resolve it.

I would totally appreciate addressing the topic, Ryan. I would love to be able to have Apple support calls or someone here be able to tell me how iPhones can stop switching new group conversations over to iMessage when I am not a registered user of iMessage.

I've been on support calls with Apple, some that don't know how to address the problem, some that unhelpfully told me it was a carrier issue (when iMessages don't use carrier MMS technology). So far I have gotten some group conversations to exist for a short while after everyone deletes all contact info and previous group threads, but they eventually turn back to iMessage after the iPhones message back and forth, leaving my android out.

Lydeckr wrote:

Hooray! More about how you don't know how to work a computer! Keep trying to have people take you seriously! Maybe start throwing in some more misspellings and random punctuation!

Misspelling is not intended it is my nature as lightbringer.

As several people have stated, the de-register does not help the group messaging issue. My iMessage has been off, and I have contacted apple several times to confirm it is off. I can get individual messages, but group messages between other's iPhones change to iMessage.

If you think I am a "troll" by bringing up the issue I'm facing and others are facing, that would explain your attitude.

When my husband called Apple support, he changed some setting in iMessage on his iPhone and another iPhone that seemed to now allow me to receive group messages within those iPhones - we are going to test this weekend with another friend with iPhone to see if the group messages work and don't switch to iMessage.

(And we wanted to set up a Apple Store appointment for this, but the online tool moves you to call centers for things not hardware related).

Lydeckr wrote:

As several people have stated, the de-register does not help the group messaging issue. My iMessage has been off, and I have contacted apple several times to confirm it is off. I can get individual messages, but group messages between other's iPhones change to iMessage.

If you think I am a "troll" by bringing up the issue I'm facing and others are facing, that would explain your attitude.

When my husband called Apple support, he changed some setting in iMessage on his iPhone and another iPhone that seemed to now allow me to receive group messages within those iPhones - we are going to test this weekend with another friend with iPhone to see if the group messages work and don't switch to iMessage.

(And we wanted to set up a Apple Store appointment for this, but the online tool moves you to call centers for things not hardware related).

As I said above we have a troll that gives people incorrect information instead of helping.

Lydeckr wrote:

And I'd wish you'd stop that trolling and stop going on with incorrect information about Microsoft and email, and start actually helping. And it seems now I'm not alone. Can you stick to the issue?

No problem - there is no issue that I have noticed yet, besides your description. What you just told us is that group messages are sent by your friends to your/your husbands email address that was never revoked, only phone number was. You are wasting your and apple supports time, but enjoy.

They are actually sending it to just my phone number, not to my email address. I turned off iMessage a year ago so my email should not be associated. If that is the case, I should call Apple support to get them to remove it, because it didn't work when I turned it off on my phone.

But Apple recommended my husband and friends both turn off their email address, so I could receive at my phone number. As Apple support was only able to tell us after several calls.

Thank you for your attempt at helping!

If my email is still registered, what would I do to de register it? I would think if I get individual texts and some group messages, they should keep sending to my phone number and not revert to email.

Lydeckr wrote:

They are actually sending it to just my phone number, not to my email address. I turned off iMessage a year ago so my email should not be associated. If that is the case, I should call Apple support to get them to remove it, because it didn't work when I turned it off on my phone.

But Apple recommended my husband and friends both turn off their email address, so I could receive at my phone number. As Apple support was only able to tell us after several calls.

Email is associated not with imessage server, but in contact and thread information. Hence they ask everyone to remove thread. One person in thread still using old info - responses go to old info. Hence me telling you "why don't you wipe your friends phone". Hence me crying that Microsoft stole my email.

I've had them wipe my contact info along with the messaging thread, and while I still get personal texts, group messages don't work. I checked my friends phone that has this issue and did see that he didn't have my email. And new group messages to only my contact with a phone number stull revert to iMessage.

As I said, I wiped my info and messaging thread, not the whole phone, and the problem persists. Hence it having nothing to do with Microsoft or email.

No, I am not saying that. At all. Your lack of knowledge is impressive, you must have tried to be this ignorant. What you are saying makes no sense, and isn't at all sensical following what I have said. I am not talking about apple servers going into my android messaging thread. It can't access my phone, and I never said it a was. Obviously. What have you been reading?

Apple servers are not going into my SMS. This had nothing to do with my SMS. This is more about MMS, as I have said, but this also is not about my phone and my MMS on my phone. This is not about my carrier. This is about the messenger app on iPhone. This is about when the messenger app chooses to send iMessage instead of MMS. I know this because I can see on the iPhones when they choose to send green MMS, and when they choose to send blue iMessage. Did you even know that's what the colors mean?

iMessage is not a carrier function. MMS is. I can receive MMS, I cannot receive iMessages.

Messenger does not change my phone number. At all. Never said anything of the sort, so thanks for showing you don't understand. Messenger is still sending to my phone number. It is sending it over iMessage, which my phone is not connected to.

Again, what happens is that two iPhones and me start a group message MMS to my number and number only, not my email. This I get, because my carrier works fine, and I get MMS. After the iPhones send a few messages, they switch to iMessage. This doesn't work, because this is an Apple solution. iMessage is not a carrier function.

We have tried with my third friend, and so far, having the third person remove their email from their iMessage on their iPhone allows their Messenger to continue to send group MMS without switching to iMessage.

Also, compliment means to give praise. If you want mashed potatoes as a side to your steak, that would complement it well.

My husband, on the Apple support call that did not waste our time, that recommended him delete the email address associated with his iMessage (not my anything), also submitted a bug report after dealing with his case number.

Yes. Same problem here. This is absolutely maddening. If I hear one more person suggest that I deactivate iMessage or futz with MMS settings, I'm going to scream. I have followed iMessage deactivation to the letter.

But,

1) I'm not receiving any group messages.

2) Senders have no idea that I never received the message.

The problem is something in iOS, or with the iMessage backend... iPhones are not continually "validating" iMessage status for each recipient in group conversations. It seems that if a group chat started as iMessage, there is no way to get iOS to fall back to MMS for that group conversation.

This is unlike individual 1:1 conversations, where iMessage actively (somewhat actively?) updates/validates the iMessage subscription status for a given recipient.

I've emailed higher-ups at Apple. Apple Support has been useless.

I agree that it should not be programmed this way, and it was a hassle to find a workaround that solved the issue for me. For me, this was only an issue for group conversations, and individual messages worked fine. After several support calls to Apple, one workaround that worked for me might work for you:

1) Have iPhones turn off sending/receiving from their email address (leaving only phone numbers to send/receive from).
2) Have both iPhones delete the existing group conversation. They can then start a new group conversation.

The bad news is that this does still require you to know that there are sent messages that you are missing.

I have de-registered my number from iMessaging, but I still can't get texts from some iphone users. Will this eventually solve itself, or am I still required to tell all of my friends that they need to turn off iMessaging to help me solve this problem?