Seems the plaintiffs were the problem.
Most cases I find to be a waste of time , though this was not a small issue, and the time it took to resolve, warrants scrutiny. We are talking 2 years....
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Judge Dismisses Android-Switching iMessage Lawsuit Against Apple
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Seems the plaintiffs were the problem.
Most cases I find to be a waste of time , though this was not a small issue, and the time it took to resolve, warrants scrutiny. We are talking 2 years....
U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed [PDF] a lawsuit against Apple over a long-standing issue that prevented some former iPhone owners who switched to Android smartphones from receiving text messages from other iOS users, as reported by Business Insider.
Koh originally ruled against granting the lawsuit class-action status, because it was not clear enough that all Android smartphone switchers were actually affected by the issue, but a trio of plaintiffs Adam Backhaut, Bouakhay Joy Backhaut and Kenneth Morris persisted with their case.Apple launched a web tool in November 2014 for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device, and Koh ruled that Apple would face a federal lawsuit over the issue just two days later. As of Koh's ruling on Tuesday, however, all lawsuits against Apple related to the matter have come to a close with no punitive damages against Apple.
Article Link: Judge Dismisses Android-Switching iMessage Lawsuit Against Apple
I like apple and have a lot of their stock. But I had a friend who switched from iPhone to an android (specifically a Samsung s5 iirc) and had this issue. Apple was no help. He did exactly what Apple told him to do including turning off iMessage before even getting the new phone, etc.
It took him having people deleting all references to him on their phones and a number of other steps to make it work right again. We tested all fixes people on the net proposed while together eating lunches. So I know what he did and didn't do.
I think this lawsuit should have moved forward. If nothing more that to see if Apple truly did what they could to make it right or maybe they dragged their feet because it was people leaving Apple.
It took him having people deleting all references to him on their phones and a number of other steps to make it work right again. We tested all fixes people on the net proposed while together eating lunches. So I know what he did and didn't do.
I think this lawsuit should have moved forward. If nothing more that to see if Apple truly did what they could to make it right or maybe they dragged their feet because it was people leaving Apple.
2 years, for one of the biggest tech companies that prides itself on things just working, is stretching it.
Most people I know got around it by turning iMessage off, probably why for most it became a non issue
I think there was a suspicion among some that this was an intentional strategy by Apple to "encourage" Android users to switch, so their Apple friends could receive their text messages. Rubbish.
However, I must say that getting texts to my Android-using friends is still a dodgy affair.
However, I must say that getting texts to my Android-using friends is still a dodgy affair.
It's actually a bit messier. I got lucky when i switched away a few years ago, I switched off iMessage on my iPhone before changing phones, but it still screwed up my texts. Then I found out that sometimes you had to also disable everything in iCloud, and then it started working, but I know people who gave up and went back to iPhones because they couldn't get any of it to work.
Though I think (hope) that with the web tool this whole thing is moot now, that was three years ago for me.
Exactly. This is what people are missing.
Just because there's a problem doesn't mean there are damages -- and even if there are, it doesn't mean Apple is legally liable for them.
So this was not a bug. This was how iMessage was designed to super secede your regular text messages. The issue comes when you leave the hive mind and failed to shut down your iMessage account before you wiped your handset. This left your iMessage account active in the system. So other apple users who tried to message you had there messages sent to the cloud to await download and decryption. This was all done to keep as much of your messages as encrypted as possible. They went very BBM when they designed this system. I think apple should have had a tool from the word go to deactivate your account on there servers, however they failed there. This was a case of users not knowing how to properly shut down a service they were using when they decided to migrate to a different environment. I have to say i am sorry for those users but it does not rise to the level of a lawsuit. This should have been addressed sure but it also should have been addressed as a FAQ or a PSA from apple or verizion or att or Tmobile etc.
This was not a bug in there system it was a design choice. The choice was to allow your device to not be able to respond for a long period of time and have the message wait on you to download it in the future when you're secure device was ready to receive them. This meant people who were in the hive were trying to communicate with you in a secure why and nothing was happening.
I am all for going after apple when they screw there users or former users out of intent. The macbook screen debacle, the graphics card debacle the bumper case debacle.
Dumb users do not warrant a lawsuit
This was not a bug in there system it was a design choice. The choice was to allow your device to not be able to respond for a long period of time and have the message wait on you to download it in the future when you're secure device was ready to receive them. This meant people who were in the hive were trying to communicate with you in a secure why and nothing was happening.
I am all for going after apple when they screw there users or former users out of intent. The macbook screen debacle, the graphics card debacle the bumper case debacle.
Dumb users do not warrant a lawsuit
There are a lot of business who may use text messaging to keep in touch with eachother. (maybe nto the best solution) but they do. You have no right, nor ability to claim that missing texts doesn't have financial reprocussions on anyone.
Listen, I'm usually not one to say "CORRUPTION! SCANDAL! SHENANIGANS", but Judge Koh's history with Apple makes her suspect. Her Prior decisions which have been questionable, and even some overruled for overstepping by other judges makes her even more suspect.
For one, Prior to her appointment as a judge, she worked for the law firm, on the team that represented Apple's legal / patent team.
during the Samsung v Apple patent dispute. She had One injunction she imposed against samsung overturned by other courts because "Overstepped her bounds".
During the Samsung V Apple case she regularly allowed evidence from Apple, while rejecting the same evidence from Samsung
She also gave incorrect instructions to the Jury of the same case.
Over and Over again, her name keeps poppping up with these questionable activities as a judge. I'm not saying she's corrupt, but in the interest of fairness, and the interest of preserving honesty in the legal system, she should not be allowed to sit over these cases that involve Apple. There is way too much question of Bias or conflict of interest. Even if nothing is being done wrong, its suspect.
And the question is: do Apple's actions make them legally liable?
Even if someone suffered financially due to missing a text message (which, yes, I highly doubt is the case) the question is about Apple's legal liability.
If a business uses text messages to the extent that missing one would cause significant financial harm, that is a business I would want to stay far, far away from. I cannot think of a scenario where missing a text would cause me enough harm to file a lawsuit like this. If I urgently need to get someone's attention and they haven't responded to my text, I send an email. AND call.
Ironically for me, when I traded in my 6 Plus for a Note 5 at Best Buy, while standing at the counter I factory Wiped my phone before handing it to the guy. After it wiped, I realized that I had forgotten to turn off iMessage before wiping.
I did go to the website and try to deauthorize myself on there when I got home, but it said I wasn't in the system.
Weird, it just worked for me, even though I forgot to do it the right way.
I did go to the website and try to deauthorize myself on there when I got home, but it said I wasn't in the system.
Weird, it just worked for me, even though I forgot to do it the right way.
A case should move forward based on the merits of a plaintiffs case not the seriousness or believed widespread effects of the issue at hand.
It's childish because it actually is a childish thing to say. For example, if a child was to look for a possible explanation for why the judge ruled this way, they might say that.
Right, because her actions recently haven't been questionable. If you try to deny that, that's your problem not mine
An adult might look and see that two of the plaintiffs destroyed their evidence on their own and the third asked to be removed from the case...But OK.
Yeah, I would like to know what changed her mind.. I suppose I could go try to find the ruling...
They're not "holding phone numbers hostage", people are just forgetting to turn off their damn iMessage.
That's like if you're switching from Spotify to Apple Music and you forget to cancel your Spotify subscription and you get charged. Is it Spotify's fault? No.
Im not sure you understand the issue. The problem that this case was about,was previous Iphone owners who switched to android, kept their same phone number, and their phones were still "signed into" imessage and so they would not receive them. The issue you describe in your post is not one that was addressed in this case and if that is happening to you, you should probably talk to your carrier.