People who have switched from using an iPhone to another brand of phone are finding that they are not receiving texts. Turns out that Apple doesn’t use the same kind of text messaging system that “regular” phones use. Hundreds of people have complained, and at least one is suing Apple over the issue.
The technical problem revolves around the fact that iPhone uses iMessage to send texts. It is not using the regular SMS text message system that most phones use for basic messaging. So you have to disable iMessage BEFORE you switch phones — otherwise other iPhones will continue delivering messages to your iMessage account and not to your actual phone.
Disabling iMessage sounds easy, but according to users who have contacted us it is at best a multi-step process and at worst — say if your phone broke or your traded it in before killing iMessage — can permanently disable you from receiving texts from iPhone users.
Business Insider has a step-by-step procedure for fixing the problem before you change phones. It looks complicated, and you should start several weeks before you switch phones. However, if you are switching because you dropped your iPhone in the toilet, sorting out the problem could be difficult. -via Digg
(Image credit: Flickr user lecates)