Well, they have rolled out to hundreds of telcos in 3 years. Also becomes the most secure mainstream communication service.
Fixing this probably required a lot of testing too, given that they were rolling out major iOS releases every year.
It's the users' faults for not turning off their iMessage account before they switched. I think there was a bug in iOS7 that messed up the setting but it was fixed after a month. Craig Federighi mentioned it in an article I *think*
No but user should not have to find an os device to do it.
So the user forgot. Their should be an easy way to remove your phone number from the web. This bug was in iOS when it was first released with iMessage. So yes this is 3 years over due and Apple finally did it because they got sued. This should of been done on day one.
Even the testing should not of taken 3 years.
So this is why there are so many iPhone users who have not switched to Android. *sarcasm*
Yeah not talking about the other features. We are talking about a major design flaw. Any one defending apple for taking 3 years on this major design flaw and oversight is showing themselves to be a major apple fanboy.Nope. It's a free service. After you leave WhatsApp, will WhatsApp route your message to Wechat ? Nope.
Use SMS or another (cross platform) messaging client.
3 years is of course for delivering all the new iMessage features, roll out to new telcos, and fixing bugs.
Yeah not talking about the other features. We are talking about a major design flaw. Any one defending apple for taking 3 years on this major design flaw and oversight is showing themselves to be a major apple fanboy.
If it required that much testing remove a phone number from iMessage. A system that never tied into the carry SMS on intercepting messages. All it did was override other iDevices of it saw a phone number and rout it threw apple's system.
So yes this is something that is long over due and 3 years late.
Apple should not be praised for finally giving us this tool but burned for taking this long. This should of been a day one thing. Now a dating over 1000.
Never said it was a one day thing fix. I am saying that this should of been done at release. This is a design flaw. Apple screwed up. Now the fans are defending them in taking this long.There is no design flaw here. WhatsApp and other messaging services can't reroute messages to ex-users too, say if those users join iMessage or Wechat.
Even with this new tool, the sender will still need to turn on SMS to deliver to other messaging platforms. Or have both senders and receivers join another messaging service.
It is most definitely not a day one thing. It's a user problem.
Never said it was a one day thing fix. I am saying that this should of been done at release. This is a design flaw. Apple screwed up. Now the fans are defending them in taking this long.
No matter how you cut it 3 years for this is 3 years to late.
Yeah not talking about the other features. We are talking about a major design flaw. Any one defending apple for taking 3 years on this major design flaw and oversight is showing themselves to be a major apple fanboy.
If it required that much testing remove a phone number from iMessage. A system that never tied into the carry SMS on intercepting messages. All it did was override other iDevices of it saw a phone number and rout it threw apple's system.
So yes this is something that is long over due and 3 years late.
Apple should not be praised for finally giving us this tool but burned for taking this long. This should of been a day one thing. Now a dating over 1000.
You still are missing the point and blowing smoke with features and missing the design oversight and the bug itself. A issue that is should of never been released and sure as hell should not take 3 years to fix.Nope. It is just out of scope like how WhatsApp can't deliver to Wechat. End of story.
Plus, iMessage is now rated by EFF as the most secure mainstream comma service. To achieve that, they naturally need to have both ends on iPhone too.
You have to go to a website? Too much effort if it's not ESPN or Pinterest, said everyone in the US.
"Is people so dumb?" - You seriously think you're qualified to report on the intelligence of others?
As someone who experienced this issue when I made the decision to switch to Android in March, I can tell you that it absolutely was not that simple. I switched off iMessage a week before I made the switch. I also removed my number from my Apple account in every place possible, and I still had MAJOR issues. I'm much more technically inclined than the average user and I took every possible measure to avoid a problem before I switched and it didn't help. In researching it, it was obvious that the problem has been going on for YEARS and Apple simply refused to fix it or even acknowledge that there was a problem. The information available on their website claimed that it was as simple as disabling iMessage and also that it might take up to 45 DAYS. Absolutely ridiculous.
Even two weeks after I made the switch, having taken all possible preparations in advance I was still having issues. I was even having issues with iPhone numbers that I had never once texted before I made the switch. I verified through testing that texts to my phone from an iPhone number I had never called or texted before did not go through. It only worked when I changed the default option for "Send as SMS" from off to on. Btw, upon the switch to iOS7 Apple reset that option to off for all iPhones regardless of how it was set before the update ensuring that this problem would continue, since surely an iPhone user is so concerned about using up their text messages that they would prefer for failed iMessages not to be sent as texts. They also don't want to be notified that their message failed to send.
It's pretty obvious why Apple refused to fix this problem until they were sued. It made people who switched away from iPhone think there was a problem with their new phone. They switched and all of a sudden they're not getting their text messages. 99% of users would think that the problem was with their new phone, and they did. Apple not only hurt their former customers with their actions, they also damaged the businesses of other manufacturers, retailers, and carriers. Hopefully those businesses are able to sue Apple for the damage they intentionally caused.
Apple fans - admit it, either Apple is totally incompetent or Apple was maliciously holding former iPhone owners numbers hostage to trick them into thinking there was a problem with their new phone. Take your pick. I'm willing to concede either, but I don't think they're stupid. They're very good a manipulating the uninformed.
way too late but better late than never.
better yet there should be no need for this. iMessage should be designed better.
Well I tried to make overly simple but guess the blind defense of Apple is strong.
It should be relatively simplistic to do and sure of hell should not of taken 3 years.
If it was insanely hard to do someone screwed up in setting it up.
But hey apple can do no wrong. Oh Btw I do deal with stuff like this for a living.
Nope. It is just out of scope like how WhatsApp can't deliver to Wechat. End of story.
Plus, iMessage is now rated by EFF as the most secure mainstream comma service. To achieve that, they naturally need to have both ends on iPhone too.
You still are missing the point and blowing smoke with features and missing the design oversight and the bug itself. A issue that is should of never been released and sure as hell should not take 3 years to fix.
Apple is hijacking the most mainstream form of communication with iMessage - the phone number. That is very different from other OTT services like Whatsapp. Whatsapp uses your phone number, yet it's an entirely separate interface. Sending and receiving text messages from any other SMS texting app will continue to function normally whether or not you delete Whatsapp. What Apple is doing is very different because it hijacks the interface used to send SMS and automatically sends iMessage instead to other iPhones. That's fine, but one of the implications of doing that is that from day one you need to create a way to opt out. Otherwise, once someone starts using the service they can never go back to using the the most mainstream form of communication available. Being that the decision between iMessage and SMS is made in a seamless, automatic fashion, Apple is absolutely obligated to create a clear way out.
Apple didn't have to have iMessage use a phone number as the identifier, they could have used anything else. They chose to do so because it would require no user intervention. In making that choice, they also accepted the responsibility of allowing people to leave the service. It should have been the number one priority when the service was created. Blocking a person's main form of communication is not a trivial matter.
Exactly. This Web tool is 3 years overdue. Removing your number should of been a way to do it with out another idevice.You are the one who's missing the point. WhatsApp, Wechat, iMessage, etc. can't reroute messages to a non-user.
Turn on SMS or use another messaging tool where both parties can run.
All this web tool provide is just to allow users to unregistered from iMessage after they got rid of the phone.
Apple is hijacking the most mainstream form of communication with iMessage - the phone number. That is very different from other OTT services like Whatsapp. Whatsapp uses your phone number, yet it's an entirely separate interface. Sending and receiving text messages from any other SMS texting app will continue to function normally whether or not you delete Whatsapp. What Apple is doing is very different because it hijacks the interface used to send SMS and automatically sends iMessage instead to other iPhones. That's fine, but one of the implications of doing that is that from day one you need to create a way to opt out. Otherwise, once someone starts using the service they can never go back to using the the most mainstream form of communication available. Being that the decision between iMessage and SMS is made in a seamless, automatic fashion, Apple is absolutely obligated to create a clear way out.
Apple didn't have to have iMessage use a phone number as the identifier, they could have used anything else. They chose to do so because it would require no user intervention. In making that choice, they also accepted the responsibility of allowing people to leave the service. It should have been the number one priority when the service was created. Blocking a person's main form of communication is not a trivial matter.
You are the one who's missing the point. WhatsApp, Wechat, iMessage, etc. can't reroute messages to a non-user.
Turn on SMS or use another messaging tool where both parties can run.
All this web tool provide is just to allow users to unregistered from iMessage after they got rid of the phone.
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It's taken care of when the user turns on SMS.
No one is blocked. The ex-user can't receive his msg because SMS is off. Use another tool or turn on SMS.