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iMessage - What a mess.

EuroChilli

EuroChilli

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 11, 2021
566
567
Belgium
Maybe I'm missing something, but this has to be one of the most un-userfriendly message apps I've used.

Up until now my wife and I are still the only 2 people I know that use it, with each other. We both have lots of friends and family with iPhones yet we just use Whatsapp with everyone else, and it just works. The annoying AI thingy is a non-issue. I barely see it, and have never used it. It's not that hard to just ignore.

Here's my iMessage story.

So I recently decided to switch carriers, but kept the same number, and that's when the fun started. Turns out this new carrier does not support iMessage? They say they do, but they do not. I simply could not re-activate it, even after a week when it was working fine with my previous carrier. So I ported back to my old carrier and after a day it started working again. I then switched to eSIM, same number, same carrier, and iMessage freaked out, again. I also travel a lot and often switch sims, and while WA just keeps going with the same number, iMessage can't handle that.

I give up.
 
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Surprised you're experiencing issues with iMessage and your new carrier. Seems rather strange...

As for me...I'm lucky to send more than a handful of imessages every year; like you I primarily use whatsapp and it just works across countries, phone numbers and devices.

It helps that I don't live in US...which (if you believe what is posted online) has this bizarre "blue vs green bubble" obsession...
 
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saber32au said:
As for me...I'm lucky to send more than a handful of imessages every year; like you I primarily use whatsapp and it just works across countries, phone numbers and devices.

It helps that I don't live in US...which (if you believe what is posted online) has this bizarre "blue vs green bubble" obsession...
Click to expand...

I don't live in the US either and i use both iMessage and Whatsapp as much as the other daily, group chats in both.

I've had zero problems with iMessage across countries, phone numbers and devices, never had a gripe with it or Whatsapp.
 
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Jackbequickly said:
Never had an issue with Messages. My company uses this method to communicate with 99% of our customers and it has worked cross platform with both Apple and Android without flaw. Believe your issue is with the carrier.
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Messages? I'm talking about iMessage, which isn't cross platform. It's free Apple to Apple only over the internet.

Yes, the issue was/is with the carrier I ported to. SMS worked, but not iMessage. I got swooned by their very low launch prices. But many other reports/complaints about them on reddit and elsewhere. Still no resolution 4 months after their start. Their website says they will charge you €0,07 for the sms to the UK, but that's not the problem. It just doesn't work.

But my main gripe is how iMessage doesn't seem to like it when you switch sim cards, even for 5 mins, whereas Whatsapp just keeps on going. Otherwise I believe iMessage will work just fine as long as you don't switch sims, even if you keep the same number and carrier. After porting back to my old carrier and getting iMessage working again I tried their online self-service eSIM swap feature. iMessage didn't like that.

Even though it's only my wife and I that use it with each other, maybe I'm not ready to just give up, yet. I'm still actually quite curious what I've missed. Maybe my 12 mini is starting to show its 5 years of age, despite it running the latest iOS.
 
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WhatsApp is much simpler. You can install the app on a new device (phone or laptop) and it'll sync every message.

iMessage relies on iCloud, which is hit and miss and often far from instant when new messages come in. Plus - and maybe this has changed - but it used to be if I travelled and swapped out my physical SIM, iMessage (and FaceTime) would de-activate from the original number. Useless.
 
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adrianlondon said:
WhatsApp is much simpler. You can install the app on a new device (phone or laptop) and it'll sync every message.

iMessage relies on iCloud, which is hit and miss and often far from instant when new messages come in. Plus - and maybe this has changed - but it used to be if I travelled and swapped out my physical SIM, iMessage (and FaceTime) would de-activate from the original number. Useless.
Click to expand...

It still deactivates the moment you insert another sim. At least it asks if you want to add this new temporary number to iMessage, but you say no as it is....temporary. It then goes on to turn off iMessage completely.

Maybe iMessage just doesn't like non-US carriers....
 
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Grayburn said:
I've had zero problems with iMessage across countries, phone numbers and devices, never had a gripe with it or Whatsapp
Click to expand...

To be fair, I too (prior to using Whatsapp) relied on imessage, and like you I didn't experience any imessage problems of note. iMessage worked fine for me across multiple countries with different carriers and different iphones.

Appears EuroChilli issues are with their carrier...fingers crossed they can get their issues resolved quickly.
 
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YES, Messages/iCloud syncing between my iPhone 12pro and Mac Studio has been disaster for me since Ventura.

All day yesterday, some messages weren't sending from my iPhone, or not showing up on Mac Studio. Images from Android users were listing as 'file images' docs (no pic)- only on the iPhone.

this is not user/setting errors. It reoccurs about every 3-4weeks then fine for a short time.
 
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EuroChilli said:
Messages? I'm talking about iMessage, which isn't cross platform.
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You seem to be talking about Messages as well. Messages is the app name. That app can so SMS (and MMS), RCS (on some carriers) and iMessage. Also, Messages is the app that supports cloud sync (via "Messages in iCloud"), not iMessage.

EuroChilli said:
Turns out this new carrier does not support iMessage?
Click to expand...
This is not possible. iMessage is completely vanilla data, like any other chat app.
 
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cyanite said:
You seem to be talking about Messages as well. Messages is the app name. That app can so SMS (and MMS), RCS (on some carriers) and iMessage. Also, Messages is the app that supports cloud sync (via "Messages in iCloud"), not iMessage.


This is not possible. iMessage is completely vanilla data, like any other chat app.
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I'm talking about iMessage specifically.

I dunno, maybe it was the sms that the carrier was supposed to send to Apple not being sent? But once it's up, then yes, you can just iMessage on any internet connection.

Still, why can't iMessage just work like Whatsapp, and just keep working on the same number regardless of if the sim is in the device or not.
 
Paddle1 said:
That's not correct. You have to activate iMessage with your phone number via the carrier initially. If not set up properly on the carrier's end iMessage won't be usable via the phone number.
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But…while everybody tends to use a phone number, it's not necessary. You can use an email. And if you're using an email, how is that going through the carrier except for data?
 
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eyoungren said:
But…while everybody tends to use a phone number, it's not necessary. You can use an email. And if you're using an email, how is that going through the carrier except for data?
Click to expand...

email is also an option as an iMessage ID, I've used it like that for quite a while before, but when I switched carriers last week, iMessage disconnected completely when it failed to verify my number. It really was freaking out. But, I think I am putting this mostly on the low cost carrier I'm no longer with.
 
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