I had an iPhone that one day committed suicide (I think because I played Scrabble way too much, but I’m not certain). I had a secondary phone (no, I’m not a drug dealer, Asac Schrader), so I switched my number to that phone and voilà! All good. Right? Wrong. I found out pretty quickly that everyone on an Android could continue to text me messages without a hitch. Apple users, which incidentally make up at least half of my contacts, could not.
My husband has an Android – has always had an Android – and has NEVER had a problem getting messages from anyone with an iPhone. He did not have to download a lot of software and know code to get messages from iPhone users. There are a lot of articles out there with crazy workarounds, but from what I can tell, the only issue is that I had an iPhone and so was registered with iMessage and need to deregister. That is why you’re not getting these messages. Logical conclusion: deregister from iMessage. Need to re-register eventually? No problem.
How to Deregister from iMessage – If you still have your Apple device:
- Go to the Deregister iMessage page on Apple’s website
- Scroll down to the “No Longer Have Your iPhone?” section
- Enter your 10-digit mobile number in the Phone Number field
- Click “Send Code”
- When you receive the text message with the 6-digit confirmation code, enter the code in the Confirmation Code field
- Click “Submit”
Need to re-register? That info is on the same page after you go through the deregister process. Bookmark that page in your browser! Or just google (or bing or yahoo) “Register for iMessage”.