Apple Releases New Online Tool To Deregister From iMessage

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Apple has made it somewhat easier to switch from an iPhone to an Android-powered device by quietly releasing a new web tool which allows users to instantly deregister phone numbers from the company’s iMessage system.
The new service, which was reportedly first spotted by a Reddit member, allows users who no longer have their iPhones to enter the phone number they want to have deregistered from iMessage. Apple will then send a six-digit confirmation code, which the user enters online to confirm the process.
The new online tool should “solve the problem of disappearing text messages,” said Dante D’Orazio of The Verge. “Many former iPhone users have reported for years that they were not receiving text messages from their friends. The issue stemmed from Apple continuing to route texts through iMessage even after users had moved on to other devices.”

Image Above Credit: Apple.com
Since iMessage is proprietary to Apple’s iOS platform, users who switched to Android devices or a different brand of smartphone without first disabling the SMS service would no longer be able to see messages sent to them by friends or family members using iPhones, D’Orazio explained. In many cases, users who ran into the issue were forced to completely deregister their old devices from their Apple accounts.
“If you don’t switch devices often, the new tool may seem insignificant, but for those who often swap SIM cards into different devices for work, it should make the transition smoother,” he added. “The company also took a lot of heat earlier this year when issues with disappearing iMessages were widespread in the news – some disgruntled users even filed a class-action lawsuit over the matter.”
According to Gizmodo’s Ashley Feinberg and Brian Barrett, Apple admitted in May that a server-side bug was partly to blame for the issue, and that the bug had been fixed and an additional patch would be coming in a future software update. However, with the new online tool, Feinberg noted it “looks like they decided to go with something a little more proactive.”
Apple’s new online tool also provides an alternative deregistration method for those users who still have their iPhones. The website directs those individuals to place their SIM cards back into the iPhone, go to Settings, then Messages, where they have the option to turn off iMessages. The site also links to a Frequently Asked Questions page which provides more advice on deactivating the SMS service.
VentureBeat writer Harrison Weber said the new online deregistration method “should make it slightly easier for new Android (or even Windows Phone) device owners to make sure the switch goes as smoothly as possible,” as users no longer have to contact Apple Care customer service to report issues. He added that it “would’ve been nicer if Apple just automatically detected the switch.”
Feinberg added that the new iMessage deregistration tool “makes the whole process as simple as it should have been all along… only time will tell whether the new tool actually works as promised, but at the very least it’s a step in the right direction.”
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