Apple to fix iMessage phone number issues in a ‘future software update’

iMessage iOS 7

No, Apple is not intentionally trying to make life tougher for its former users who switched to another smartphone brand.

According to a statement a company spokesperson issued to Re/code, a fix for the issue with texts not being properly delivered to people who switched away from the iPhone is in the works.

Apple says a two-fold nature of the problem requires changes on the server end, as well as fixes to iOS, to be delivered in “a future software update”

Re/code has this statement from Apple’s PR:

We recently fixed a server-side iMessage bug which was causing an issue for some users, and we have an additional bug fix in a future software update. For users still experiencing an issue, please contact AppleCare.

The issue blew up after disgruntled customers took to Apple’s Support forums to voice their disdain with Apple’s handling of the situation.

As we told you earlier this week, the iMessage purgatory syndrome manifests itself with text messages not being delivered to an unknown portion of former Apple customers who switched away from the iPhone while leaving iMessage enabled.

As the iMessage backend would not disassociate a user’s iMessage account from his or her Apple ID, the system would automatically deliver text messages from other iPhone users as iMessages.

The problem is, non-Apple platforms are unable to receive iMessages. Also, the sender’s Messages app would mark such messages with a ‘Delivered’ receipt, as though everything were working as expected.

This is a long-standing issue and Apple is even being sued over it by a California woman who is now seeking class-action status for a suit against the iPhone maker.

One of the possible remedies includes removing your phone number from iMessage after selling your iPhone, using the My Support Profile on Apple’s website, as we explained in this how-to article.