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To the iPhone fans, my motive for making the original post wasn't to start an "us v. them" battle over iPhones or Apple. As an iPhone user for 5 years, I just want people to know that they better turn off iMessages if they are going to switch to another phone. If they don't, they will have a problem and Apple likely won't help them after the fact.

Chas.

RottenApple wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:iMessages may well have saved people money at one point, but that's beside the point. Apple is losing customers to other phones, especially the Samsung Galaxy and HTC phones. It appears that Apple doesn't care about preventing a problem they know exists, likely because they don't care about former customers.

Apple's system is aware whether an iMessage is delivered or not, so why not 1) take the intended recipient's phone number out of their database when the message doesn't complete; and/or 2) notify the existing iPhone customer sending the text that it could not be delivered? Apple does the latter when a former customer turns off iMessaging, so it's certainly possible. The only logical answer is Apple doesn't care, even about former customers even if it creates problems for existing customers.

A key factor in this problem is the fact that Apple is knowingly hindering communication between citizens. I'm amazed that no cell carrier has sued Apple.

Chas.

I'm sorry, Charles, but you are flat wrong. Apple cares about ALL it's customers, current and former. Former customers very well may become current customers at a later date. AppleCare has been rated #1 for customer service for 13 years in a row by Consumer Reports. There is not a single company on the planet that can approach their level of service. Yes, you do get the occasional advisor who is a jerk or just having a bad day, but those are pretty rare.

As for this issue, I know for a fact that AppleCare Senior Advisors have access to the iCloud backend and can easily disable/enable parts of the system for iCloud accounts. How do I know this? Because I WAS a Senior Advisor and did things like this daily. Sometimes, in particularly odd cases, I'd have to escalate it to engineering. But those were few and far between. And those are always, ALWAYS, followed up within 3 days. Also, if you are getting rid of an iPhone (heck, ANY phone for that matter), it is in your best interest to wipe it first. Regarding this issue, wiping the phone would automatically sever the iCloud connection and, hence, prevent this from being an issue. An in-operable iPhone wouldn't be able to do that of course, but again, a simple call to AppleCare can take care of that.

As for the one lady in that article who got a new phone number that had previously been tied to an iPhone, that is a sticky situation. She didn't have an iPhone. Had never had an iPhone. So Apple does indeed have a liability issue severing someone else's iMessages connection to that number. In that particular case, pretty much all Apple could do is let it wait until it's lack of use fell out of the system.

Oh, BTW, I'd be cautious claiming that Apple is "losing customers to other phones". Especially since iPhone sales account for 50% (approx) of all smart phone sales in the US *AND* worldwide markets. Completely anecdotal, but of my friends who switched to Android phones (including the Galaxy), all but 1 of them dumped the phones within the 14 day return period and went back to iPhone. *shrug*

I obviously hit a nerve with this post. My oldest son also lives and breaths everything Apple and he'll stick with them regardless how far they fall behind the industry. Even the iOS7 disaster hasn't deterred him in the least and it was/is a clear attempt to make the antiquated iPhone look like something closer to the Galaxy. I asked the salesman at AT&T what was selling the best and were there many iPhone customers switching. He laughed and said the Galaxy (S4 and Notes) were killing iPhones. This comment along with what I have read on the Internet were the basis of my statement about iPhone. Yes, the Apple loyalists are still buying new phones, but they apparently are a decreasing segment of the phone-buying public. Everyone I know who has made the switch from iPhone to Galaxy aren't going back, Martha and I included. Apple has also lost the younger generation. I work with the student ministry at our church and you rarely see high school kids with iPhones. They have Galaxies, HTC's and some cheaper phones, but not iPhones.

The article I posted was just that -- one article. The iMessage problem is all over the Internet. Apple's customer service may be great for its current customers, but the fact that don't quickly correct reported problem from former customers is telling. They don't even claim they can't fix the problem, because that would be an absurd claim. Take the number out of their system. If you turn off iMessages, then the number is automatically removed in 24 to 48 hours, so Apple clearly has the capability. What is amazing is that they are hurting their existing customers as well, as it is their text messages that aren't getting through. Need more proof that Apple doesn't care? Add this fact -- Apple doesn't even send an error message to the sender if the message fails to deliver, unless the recipient knew to turn off iMessages before switching to a new phone.

I really don't care one way or another about Apple or iPhones. I carried one for years, but I'm not part of the near-cult following Apple enjoys. I just don't want my clients' text messages failing to get through to me because Apple 1) didn't prepare for this problem; 2) ignores the problem when a current and/or former customer reports it; and 3) didn't even bother to inform customers that the problem absolutely will occur if they decide to get a different phone without turning off iMessages. Again, I'm surprised no carrier has sued them yet, as they are intercepting and blocking text messages.

Chas.

USA Today - 9/19/13 wrote:As it stands now, Apple is on a market-share slide. Last quarter, it posted a significant upside surprise in iPhone shipments at 31 million units, but nonetheless, its share of the global smartphone market fell to 13.2% from 17.3% in Q1. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013 ... e/2838607/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

iMessages may well have saved people money at one point, but that's beside the point. Apple is losing customers to other phones, especially the Samsung Galaxy and HTC phones. It appears that Apple doesn't care about preventing a problem they know exists, likely because they don't care about former customers.

Apple's system is aware whether an iMessage is delivered or not, so why not 1) take the intended recipient's phone number out of their database when the message doesn't complete; and/or 2) notify the existing iPhone customer sending the text that it could not be delivered? Apple does the latter when a former customer turns off iMessaging, so it's certainly possible. The only logical answer is Apple doesn't care, even about former customers even if it creates problems for existing customers.

A key factor in this problem is the fact that Apple is knowingly hindering communication between citizens. I'm amazed that no cell carrier has sued Apple.

Chas.

ELB wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:...When an iPhone sends a text to another iPhone, the message is automatically converted to an iMessage. (I have no idea why this is done, unless to cause the very problems it is causing.) ...

Chas.

iMessages do not count against your phone plan's text messages, and they are/can be/(always?) routed through the internet if you are connected. If you have unlimited texting on your phone plan, then no big deal, but if you pay by the text message or have some texting limit, then iMessages can save you some money.

Since my wife and I both had iPhones, as well as my employer, this saved us some $$ -- I didn't bother to pay for any text messaging plans. Wasn't until it became a more widespread practice in my VFD to communicate by text messaging (and my wife picked up some friends that didn't have iPHones) that I had to break down and pay for unlimited texting.

Interesting note about turning off iMessage before ditching the phone tho -- I am about to upgrade us to newer phones, will have to remember this.

A little known fact about iPhones/Apple can bit you in the rump, if you aren't careful. When an iPhone sends a text to another iPhone, the message is automatically converted to an iMessage. (I have no idea why this is done, unless to cause the very problems it is causing.) Once Apple has your phone number listed as using an iPhone, this status stays even if you switch to another phone and/or service provider. When another iPhone user tries to send you a text message, it is changed to an iMessage and it never gets through to you. To make matters worse, the person sending the message doesn't get an error message or any other notification. They think their message was delivered. Interestingly, Apple doesn't disclose this trap.

If you still have your old iPhone, it's easy to correct the problem by turning off the iMessage feature. Anywhere from 24 to 48 hours later, that number will be deleted from Apple's database and text messages will go through normally. Meanwhile, the sender will get an error message and the option to have the message sent as a regular text message.

If you don't still have your iPhone, you may be out of luck. You have to submit a "request" to Apple and hope, I do mean hope, that your number will be removed from their database. I have no idea why AT&T, Verison, etc. haven't sued Apple over this interruption of their customers' service. I learned of this only because my youngest son had this problem and researched it. My wife and I just switched from iPhones to Samsung Galaxy S4s and the phones are great. Thankfully, we still have our iPhones so we could correct the problem.

READ MORE HERE

Chas.