Photo by Steve Fallon
Apple has finally made an effort to fix an issue that has been plaguing those users who have switched from an iPhone to phones that do not run on Apple’s software. People who have recently switched away from iPhones have had trouble receiving text messages because the texts were still being considered iMessages, which are impossible to read on a non-Apple device.
To solve the issue, Apple created an easy-to-use online tool that allows former iPhone users to deregister their device with the iMessage servers, allowing text messages once lost to be received on other mobile devices.
“It is about time that they did something to accommodate people who switched away from iPhones,” said junior Dave Potter. “I was beginning to think that Apple didn’t care about former customers.”
Potter recently made the switch from the iPhone 4 to the Samsung Galaxy S5. Samsung has been one of Apple’s biggest competitors in the smartphone wars, as many have found the Android operating system on Samsung phones much easier to use than Apple’s.
The new tool allows former iPhone users to simply type in their phone number to remove their phone from Apple’s iMessage system.
On the website, Apple describes, “You may need to turn off iMessage if you are now using a non-Apple phone and can't get SMS or text messages someone sends you from an iPhone.”
The website gives former iPhone users an easier way to remove their device from the iMessage system, rather than the old workaround, which involved taking the SIM card out of their current phone, putting it back into the old iPhone and disabling iMessage through the iPhone itself.
However, this approach was not a suitable option for those who had their iPhone lost or destroyed, and replaced it with a non-Apple device.
Apple claims that its iMessage system is superior to other text messaging services as it allows users to see when someone they are text messaging with is typing and lets Apple users read and send iMessages on any other Apple device, including the iPad, iPod and MacBook computers.
“I realized that the benefits of iMessaging didn’t make the iPhone a better phone than the Samsung overall,” Potter said.
However, as complaints about former iPhone users not being able to receive text messages on their new mobile devices increased, it became apparent that Apple would need to come up with a solution to accommodate their former customers.
“It was quick and easy to remove my new phone from the iMessage service,” Potter said. “I just put my number in on the website, entered the confirmation code, and old text messages came flooding in on my phone.”
mmontal1@ramapo.edu
