U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh today decided to stop a group lawsuit against Apple over undelivered text messages caused by an iMessage bug, Bloomberg reports. The issue drew a lot of attention last year when the bug with Apple’s messaging system caused former iPhone users that switched to Android to discover text messages were not being properly delivered to their phone number. In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Koh explained that while Apple’s iMessage system may have resulted in lost text messages, their was inadequate evidence that the group faced a “contractual breach or interference” from iMessage…
Switching from Apple’s Internet-based iMessage system, which is only available on Apple devices, to non-iMessage SMS/MMS messaging used by Android and other smartphones required actively disabling the iMessage feature on iPhone before switching to avoid lost text messages.
News first surfaced that Apple would potentially face a group lawsuit over the text message delivery issue for former iPhone users in May 2014. This plus the attention around the issue lead Apple in November to release an online tool for current and former iMessage users to deregister phone numbers with Apple’s messaging platform without needing the iPhone originally used with the service. Just two days later, we learned that Judge Koh decided Apple would indeed have to face the lawsuit over iMessage preventing texts from being delivered.
Today’s development in dismissing the case over an inability to provide evidence of proper interference means Apple will not have to pour resources into defending itself in the lawsuit.
The issue with iMessage holding on to phone numbers after switching remains mostly unchanged, however, with Apple continuing to advise switchers to disable iMessage before changing to another platform. If a user does switch without indicating to Apple that the phone number will no longer be used with iMessage, Apple’s tool for requesting the phone number be removed from Apple’s servers is still the default solution.
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I did disable iMessage before switching, that did nothing. I couldn’t receive texts from people with iPhones for over a month, and after several calls to Apple, they finally did something on their end and told me to wait a week to see if it worked. It finally did, 5 weeks after I switched. That’s pretty unacceptable.
Switching wrong –Apple
Solution: don’t switch.
So the Apple fanatic’s motto is that choice is worthless? That’s a dumb solution and if Google or Samsung did this when you wanted to switch to Apple, this website would be up in arms calling for sanctions and huge lawsuits.
No this is on the carrier apple did nothing on their end. the cust just had to wait for porting to be taken care of which whoever they switched to took their sweet time and blamed apple.
You are completely incorrect.
That will teach those switchers. . . . muhahahahaha
Of course!
It’s stupid!
Android users can send and receive SMS. How can Apple impede your Android phone from working?
The problem is within Apple users, which can’t send SMS to ex-Apple-turned-Android users.
Duh!
Again, wrong. ex-Apple users can’t receive texts from iphones because the ex-apple person’s phone number is still attached to an imessage account. When Apple finally disables that (it took 5 weeks for me even though I turned it off on my iPhone before switching), then things work correctly. It is all on Apple’s side.