Why am I having an Anroid transition and iMessage black hole problem?

[ds728]

iOS -> Android transition, and iMessage black hole still a problem

I recently switched from an iPhone to Android. 1:1 SMS/MMS messages are working fine, but group messages are being sent into a black hole. I'm hoping that someone here may know of a fix.

I deactivated iMessage using both the device settings and Apple's support site. I also (annoyingly) had to SMS everyone I know who has an iPhone, asking them to delete our existing conversation thread so that their phone would correctly start using SMS for our conversations.

Where I'm stuck is group messaging. It appears that anyone with an existing group conversation that I was part of is still "stuck" in iMessage -- i.e., it should have reverted to MMS for a group chat, since I'm no longer on iOS. But, the messages are still being sent as iMessage, and the senders have no idea that I'm not receiving them.

I've heard that the iMessage servers "time out" after 30-45 days and will fall back to SMS/MMS for a recipient if their iOS device hasn't revalidated iMessage in the background....I don't know if this is true. That would still be frustrating, but at least I'd know that I'll eventually start receiving messages again.

Do any other iOS --> Android switchers have any idea what I can do?

 

[Rukbat]

Re: iOS -> Android transition, and iMessage black hole still a problem

Another thing they should do is manually send you an SMS. (It doesn't have to have content - one space or dot is enough.)

The only "cure" for this whole problem - one Apple has been "looking into" for a LONG time - is for iPhone users to start using SMS apps and let iMessage die. Concrete tires and rubber roads might be a good idea, but if only Chevy came out with concrete tires, it would create problems. That's what Apple always does. (Jobs was a genius, but he was also an egomaniac. Or maybe the two are part of the same thing.)

 

[ds728]

Re: iOS -> Android transition, and iMessage black hole still a problem

I won't hold my breath, though. :-/