Indeed. Ran into this problem with a client about 7 months ago. 5 minutes on the phone with apple and I was set. iPhones which hadn't communicated with that user before worked instantly. iPhones wich had communicated previously and/or had existing contact cards required either a reboot, deleting the text conversation and starting a new one, or waiting a few days.
Should you have to pick up the phone? No, the tool is something which should have been there from the start, but at least the process they did have was practically painless.
Also, I think this touches on why it doesn't default to FaceTime audio. Loosing access to text messages is a minor annoyance with no significant legal consequences. Voice calls is a whole different ball of wax.
I don't think it was intentional however. I honestly think it was an oversight which they moved quickly to correct with a phone solution once they became aware of it. The web tool is just another front of support now.
Nonetheless, more options are great!
Karl P
It’s great that it works for you and to hear that the Applecare solution is a viable one.
BTW how is losing voice a completely different ball of wax legally from losing text?
Intentional or not. An oversight doesn’t last three years with complaining users. What seems intentional is that they didn’t want to fix it or it wasn’t important enough to them, probably because people that want to deregister would likely be leaving the iOS platform.