Skip to main content

Lawsuit against Apple for undelivered texts to Android phones now completely dismissed

imessages

Back in August, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh threw out a class action lawsuit against Apple from former iPhone users complaining that text messages were no longer delivered when they ported their number to an Android phone. The lawsuit alleged that Apple was guilty of “interference” with their messages.

That wasn’t quite the end of it, however. Three of the plaintiffs persisted in individual claims against Apple, alleging that the company was in breach of the Federal Wire Tap Act by ‘intercepting’ their messages. The court has now dismissed these claims – with, it turns out, very good reason …

As Business Insider reports, Apple requested a dismissal after discovering that the claim appeared to be spurious.

Apple […] discovered that two of the three plaintiffs in the case had gotten rid of their old iPhones after they filed the suit against Apple. They are thus unable to demonstrate whether texts sent to their phone numbers went to their Apple or Android devices, Apple claimed. One of the plaintiffs also previously asked that she be dismissed as a “named plaintiff” in the case.

The three plaintiffs were a husband & wife, and an unrelated person. Judge Lucy Koh dismissed the case in a single-paragraph order.

The Court has granted the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Apple Inc. See ECF No. 112. Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment in favor of Defendant. The Clerk shall close the file. IT IS SO ORDERED.

The original issue appeared to have been caused by a bug in the iMessage system, arising where someone switched to an Android phone without first disabling iMessage on their iPhone. While Apple later solved the problem by creating a web-based tool, it continues to recommend that people switch off iMessage on their iPhone before switching devices.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. rnc - 8 years ago

    Result: lawyers win.

    • AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

      At the fault of no one but that small band of super sleuths experiencing switchers regret.

  2. Howie Isaacks - 8 years ago

    What a shock! A stupid lawsuit against Apple actually got tossed out.

    • varera (@real_varera) - 8 years ago

      It seems you have no clue. The issue was nasty and VERY real.

      • Howie Isaacks - 8 years ago

        No. I have a clue safely tucked away in my back pocket for just this kind of thing. I know people who had this problem, and I didn’t give a damn. They were the ones who opted to use iMessage, and then they ditched the iPhone for an inferior knock-off product. That’s not Apple’s fault. Apple should not have taken so long to respond, but a lawsuit over such a petty thing is just stupid.

      • Aunty T (@AuntyTroll) - 8 years ago

        Of course you didn’t give a damn Howie. You’ve proven time and time again on this website that your tongue is wedged well and truly up Apple’s virtual rectum that you will side with Apple, even if they are actually proven to of been less than honest.

      • varera (@real_varera) - 8 years ago

        Oh Howie, you excel yourself in your arrogance. That’s remarkable.

      • transamken - 8 years ago

        A very real issue of a user not following directions, stop the press this is a huge deal… Idiots they walk among us!

  3. This was not a trivial issue for a lot of people, and Apple did not provide a fix until they were forced to. You can argue over whether this needed a lawsuit, but Apple should have admitted the problem and provided a fix without being pushed by the legal system.

    • Matisyahu Gardiner - 8 years ago

      True, it took them ages to finally provide the deregister facility but then again this whole thing could have been avoided had iMessage not hijacked SMS functionality and kept the two seperate – an SMS messaging application and a seperate iMessage one.

      • shareef777 - 8 years ago

        While I agree that Apple is at fault and should have anticipated people leaving the iOS system when building iMessages, I’d still want them to keep them intertwined. It’s why people actually use it. If people had to go to two separate apps for SMS and iMessages you can guarantee people will go to the one that EVERYONE can receive messages on (hint, it’s not iMessages).

    • rnc - 8 years ago

      No, it’s not.

      They can send and receive SMS.

      The “malfunction”, if any at all, is on iPhone users, and they have nothing on that.

      It’s even stupid, of course it was dismissed, this was just a way for lawyers to make money.

  4. varera (@real_varera) - 8 years ago

    wow, that is just plain stupid. once you are off iphone, other people in apple buble cannot send you messages anymore. is the judge stupid???

    • shareef777 - 8 years ago

      It’s user error. You’re supposed to disable iMessages before leaving the iOS device. Follow that simple step and you’d never of missed a message. Later they realized that people weren’t doing that so they setup a website to allow people to unregister. Doesn’t warrant a lawsuit.

      • You don’t actually even need to do that – the sender can send SMS and THAT will get through. The issue is present when the sender is still sending iMessage via Apple. Override it and the issue goes away.

      • The real ROOT issue is that iMessages sent when the recipient’s phone isn’t connected to data are delayed and not re-routed via SMS. If you’re away from Data and someone sends you a message you’re also not going to receive it. That’s an enormous hole, IMO. iMessage can tell in real-time if a recipient is on the network and if not, it should either re-route via SMS at the server level (that would be great) or cause the sending device to resend as SMS (green), optionally prompting/warning the sender first.

        Until this happens, iMessage is really an iffy proposition compared to traditional texting.

    • kbrinker - 8 years ago

      I don’t think it happens anymore. But a few years ago I experienced this with a friend of mine who left the iOS ecosystem. I would try to send him a message and then after a minute or so of trying it would say “Could not send iMessage… Try as text message?”. When selecting text message it would go through, but it would happen with every message.

  5. It’s not a bug, it’s a design consideration and there has never been a fix to re-route iMessages as SMS. The issues with iMessages being delayed or lost are all still present today.

  6. Andrew Maloney - 8 years ago

    Seems to me like Apple dodged a bullet on this one.

  7. Neo-DragonCP - 8 years ago

    I was affected by this (texts not sending to my GF after she switched to Android), and no joke, it caused a few arguments between us as she would think I was ignoring her or whatever, haha. I’m a little bit gutted Apple won, hahaha.

  8. k m (@nyctenor) - 8 years ago

    As one of the original plaintiffs in one of the two lawsuits against Apple over the iMessage debacle, I can tell you that this is not a trivial issue. Supposed you were a psychiatrist treating seriously ill patients, and for whatever reason you switched to an Android phone, perhaps because you lost your iPhone, or maybe (God forbid!) you just like Android better. Hard to imagine, but it does happen.
    So, you switch, and then suddenly you are missing text messages from seriously ill patients who are texting you, the doctor, threatening to commit suicide.
    You can imagine the results,
    The problem with the case is that it was extremely difficult to PROVE injury or damages, monetary or otherwise. How can one be expected to provide proof of messages you NEVER received?. I was able to provide copies of screen shots of friends who were unable to get in touch with me because they KNEW i was having problems with this feature, after switching to Android. These examples, however, were hardly life-threatening.
    We were able to provide proof that Apple knew of the problem, yet did nothing for over a year, because, we can assume only, that Apple hoped that people would become so frustrated they would switch BACK to the iphone. We have quotes from Genius Bar Apple employees stating just that.
    The fact that the case got so far, is perhaps a testament to the fact that our claims were valid. It was a huge surprise that Judge Koh, just let it go so far, stating earlier that the claims were valid, then to just summarily dismiss the suits entirely.

    • JBDragon - 8 years ago

      Here’s a idea, Unlike iMessage from your phone number before you toss the iphone!!! It would have been a non-issue!!! Also I believe the person who sends the message gets a replay about failed to send the message and to try to send as a SMS message back. At which point a person can send the message once again as a SMS.

  9. k m (@nyctenor) - 8 years ago

    Please correct this error in your article. I was the third plaintiff in this case, Kenneth Morris, and I have never met or known the other two plaintiffs, Adam & Joy Backhaut

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


Ben Lovejoy's favorite gear