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Apple iMessage update may fix bug that keeps texts in purgatory

Apple iMessage update may fix bug that keeps texts in purgatory

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Apple plans to address a notorious iMessage bug that prevents people who switch from an iPhone to some other phone from receiving certain text messages, reports Recode. The issue has existed for pretty much as long as iMessage has, but it recently came to attention again after Lifehacker's Adam Pash wrote about it on his blog and, separately, a lawsuit was filed in California over the issue, seeking class-action status. The bug can cause iPhone users to continue sending iMessages — rather than text messages — to their contacts who have switched away from iPhones, meaning that person will never receive it.

There have been convoluted ways to resolve the issue in the past, but now a statement from Apple suggests that a proper solution could be in the works. "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," Apple tells Recode. It's unclear if that "additional bug fix" will in fact solve the problem once and for all, but given the attention this bug has received of late, Apple may finally be feeling pressured to squash it. Apparently, a recent server issue had made common methods for fixing the issue unusable too, though Apple's statement says that it's been taken care of. No timing was stated for when the additional bug fix will be released.