Apple sued over text messaging issues related to switching away from iPhone

Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2014
Apple is being sued yet again, this time from a former iPhone user who claims the company's iMessage service is causing texts coming to her new Android smartphone to vanish.

iMessage


According to the complaint filed on Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, plaintiff Adrienne Moore says Apple device owners are "penalized and injured" when switching away from iMessage. The lawsuit was first spotted by Bloomberg.

In her claim, Moore notes she was automatically opted-in to use iMessage when her iPhone 4 updated to iOS 5. When she later traded in that device for a Galaxy S5 in April, iMessage continued to send text messages originating from other iPhone users to the now deactivated Apple smartphone without forwarding them to the Samsung handset. Senders are not notified that their message was not forwarded, leaving both parties in the lurch.

Apple has been aware of this issue since the release of iOS 5. In a support document covering iMessage troubleshooting, the company warns users to turn off the proprietary service prior to transferring their SIM card or phone number to a non-iOS device. If proper steps are not taken, other iOS devices may continue to send text messages via iMessage instead of SMS or MMS for up to 45 days.

Moore claims she and other iOS device owners were not made sufficiently aware of the system issue and as a result missed "countless" texts, causing irreparable harm.

The lawsuit is seeking class-status under California's unfair competition law, claiming iMessage is wrongfully interfering with customers' wireless contracts by restricting the use of carrier text messaging systems.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 184
    tleviertlevier Posts: 104member
    But who should have standing? Apple isn't interfering with their SMS's. The problem is with their remaining customers who have an iPhone that improperly recognizes a contact as an iMessage contact. I would think that the sender would have standing, and if you look at their options, the could simply turn off iMessage to send an SMS (or hold down on the blue coded message and select "Send as Text Message")
  • Reply 2 of 184
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 584member
    I suppose ignorance is as good an excuse as any for a lawsuit ....
  • Reply 3 of 184
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    Just switch back lady, ....solved.
  • Reply 4 of 184
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    I think suing is way over the top, but this is a problem for which Apple needs to develop a better solution. It's too easy to be ignorant of the fact that - or to forget that - you need to deactivate iMessage before moving to a different type of phone.

    Similarly, it can be easy, when selling a device, to forget to deactivate it for iTunes purchases. Normally, you can only deactivate a device from that specific device, but if you've already sold it, it can be too late. In that case, Apple offers a mechanism that allows you to deactivate all devices, via a log-in to your iTunes account from any device, and the effect is immediate. They need some way that a user can deactivate iMessage without needing the actual device and without having to wait for 45 days.
  • Reply 5 of 184
    leavingthebiggleavingthebigg Posts: 1,291member
    I hope this lawsuit is thrown out AND she is forced to pay all legal bills to teach her and others a lesson.
  • Reply 6 of 184
    disturbiadisturbia Posts: 563member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post



    Just switch back lady, ....solved.

    Agreed and on the same note, I would love to show her in person! :smokey:

  • Reply 7 of 184
    I have a friend who asked me to help her with this problem. I sat down with her old phone, new phone, I texted them with my iPhone, another friends old phone who used to text her that can't now.. I tried every setting, turning her iMessage off then on, leaving it off, sending as text message from my phone, sending it to her phone number not Apple ID, etc... Nothing worked, it was a pain. I told her to talk with her carrier next. Not sure what happened after that.
  • Reply 8 of 184
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member

    Remove your phone number from iMessage. Dumb arse.

  • Reply 9 of 184
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jkichline View Post

     

    Remove your phone number from iMessage. Dumb arse.


    How, if you don't have an iOS device any more?

    There's definitely a problem here, and it's tied up with Apple's integration of SMS and iMessage.  If Apple are acknowledging it, and yet haven't solved it since iOS5, then a lawsuit is fair enough; they should have fixed it.

  • Reply 10 of 184
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Three things here
    1. if someone sells off their old iPhone without making sure new phone is working that is rather silly of them but in this day of trade in offers its not a shock
    2. if you call Apple Care they can remove your number from the system manually.
    3. if it is true that Apple has known about this since iOS 5 they should have changed iOS 6 and & to deactivate the number in the system any time the phone is wiped. Whats the harm since you can reactivate it when you activate the new phone.
  • Reply 11 of 184
    tbehunintbehunin Posts: 56member
    Why doesn't Apple automatically build in "deactivation" of iMessage (and any other service) when you go to reset your device? That would solve this problem 90% of the way, IMO.
  • Reply 12 of 184
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mr. H View Post



    Similarly, it can be easy, when selling a device, to forget to deactivate it for iTunes purchases. Normally, you can only deactivate a device from that specific device, but if you've already sold it, it can be too late. 

     

    I think you might be confusing authorizing computers in this. You don't activate devices for purchases in the same way. The only way a device would still be 'activated' is if you didn't erase it before handing it over. Which is a whole other mess

  • Reply 13 of 184
    tbehunintbehunin Posts: 56member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post



    Three things here

    1. if someone sells off their old iPhone without making sure new phone is working that is rather silly of them but in this day of trade in offers its not a shock

    2. if you call Apple Care they can remove your number from the system manually.

    3. if it is true that Apple has known about this since iOS 5 they should have changed iOS 6 and & to deactivate the number in the system any time the phone is wiped. Whats the harm since you can reactivate it when you activate the new phone.

    Re: #3 -> beat me to it! ;)

  • Reply 14 of 184
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,907member

    Apple needs to provide a means of fixing this after the fact.  I was not aware of this issue and was an Apple At Home Advisor for iOS last year.  There is no mention of the need to disable iMessage before leaving iPhone in the iPhone User Guide either.

  • Reply 15 of 184
    alandailalandail Posts: 757member

    so they filed a law suit instead of calling tech support?

  • Reply 16 of 184
    timgriff84timgriff84 Posts: 912member
    I know a couple of people that are having this exact issue. Removing your number from your Apple ID doesn't seem to make any difference.

    Its seems more like an issue that your friends phones have learned you have an iPhone so they send an iMessage and anything you do on your phone wont have an instant effect on theirs, therefore you have to wait the 45 days for their phones to update.
  • Reply 17 of 184
    georgeip5georgeip5 Posts: 225member
    1. She buys a the least innovative phone on the market. The galaxy s5.
    2. She doesn't even google the stuff.
    3. She doesn't contact Apple to remove the number
    4.She doesn't restore her phone before trading it in or sign out if her iCloud/iMessage/Facetime
    5. Why is she still running iOS 5?
    6. Maybe her friends had her number as iPhone under contacts :smokey:
    7. She actually sues them.
    8. She doesn't even check for a fix.
  • Reply 18 of 184
    johnnashjohnnash Posts: 129member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by alandail View Post

     

    so they filed a law suit instead of calling tech support?


    Welcome to the US of A.

  • Reply 19 of 184
    Apple should take some responsibility here. It's not something you typically think you would have to do, and once you no longer have an Apple device, the procedure for unlinking your phone number from iMessage is not clear.
  • Reply 20 of 184
    georgeip5georgeip5 Posts: 225member
    timgriff84 wrote: »
    I know a couple of people that are having this exact issue. Removing your number from your Apple ID doesn't seem to make any difference.

    Its seems more like an issue that your friends phones have learned you have an iPhone so they send an iMessage and anything you do on your phone wont have an instant effect on theirs, therefore you have to wait the 45 days for their phones to update.
    Try signing in and out, rebooting. Deleting and reading the contact. Disabling the device from iMessage threw iCloud. Use an email address as default.
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