imessage

Stopping iMessage from ruining you life
=======================================

If you switch from an iPhone to a non-Apple device, Apple will punish you by making texts from iPhone users silently fail to deliver. This is a guide to preventing this from happening to you (or if it's already too late, ending the madness).

I haven't yet switched/I still have my iPhone
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Then, there is still time. You can make this transition painless. On your iPhone, open the `Settings` app, and scroll down until you see an item labeled `Messages`. Tap on `Messages` and you will be taken to the messages-related settings. The first item should be labeled `iMessages`. Its slider is probabbly green with a little `1`. If it is, tap the slider so that it is turned off (all white with a little `0` on the right-hand side). With `iMessage` turned off, it should be safe to switch to a new phone. These instructions assume you are running iOS 7.

I no longer have my iPhone
==========================

Well that sucks. You haven't done anything wrong, but Apple is going to punish you for the design mistakes that Apple has committed. Don't worry, we proabably can still fix this. For all of the following, it is recommended that you have someone with an iPhone who is willing to send you messages (and an alternative form of communication with this person so that you actually know whether they've sent you messages).

Do you own a Mac?
-----------------

If you have been using the messages app on one or Mac, you are going to need to change some settings. For any Mac you own do the following:
 *  Open the messages app
 *  On the menu bar (the bar on the top of you screen with the apple logo on its left-most edge), click on `Messages` and select `Preferences ...`
 *  A small settings window should now be open. In that window, choose the `Accounts` pane.
    *  The white at-symbol (`@`) to the right of light switch
 *  In the white box on the left side of the window, there should be 1 or more items. Select the item that has your Apple ID (probably your email address) as a title, and `iMessage` as a subtitle.
 *  The grey box on right side of the window should now have 3 sections. The middle section should have the words `You can be reached for messages at:` with a list of numbers and email addresses below it. If one of the items in this section is your phone number, make sure that the check box to the left of it is unchecked.

Once you have done this for all computers, technically Apple should stop thinking you want iMessages to your phone number

I'm still not receiving any texts
---------------------------------

For some reason (read: poor design and implementation), Some Apple server still associates your phone number with a device that receive iMessages. The official solution to this problem is: change the password associated with your Apple ID. By doing this, it prevents any device from actually receiving the message. For instructions on changing your password, look [here](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5624?viewlocale=en_US). If you have any Macs running `Messages`, I recommend signing out of your account first (On the settings pane where you unchecked your phone number, there is a button labeled `Sign Out`, click it).

If you are lucky, iPhones should now text you properly. In the worst case, iPhones may attempt to send iMessages, and fail. This is still better than it was before, because at least know you can't receive their texts. To fully fix this, you may need to remove your iPhone from your list of Apple devices (if you lost your iPhone, this will prevent find my phone from working. Sorry). To do this:

 *  Open your web browser (Firefox/Chrome/Safari/Internet Explorer) and go [here](https://supportprofile.apple.com/)
 *  Sign in to your account (remember, you just changed your password). You should be taken to a list of devices.
 *  If your iPhone is listed, click on it
 *  You should be taken to a new page about your iPhone. Near the top of the page, under the iPhone name and serial number, there should be a button labelled `Unregister`.
 *  You will be asked `Are you sure you want to unregister and delete this product?`. Select Unregister.

Hopefully, Apple will now recognize that you don't have an iPhone any longer.

Nothing Worked!
===============

That's certainly unfortunate. It looks like it's time to contact Apple Support:

 *  Open your web browser (Firefox/Chrome/Safari/Internet Explorer) and go [here](https://www.apple.com/support/)
 *  Click on the iPhone (if the site has annoyingly scrolled to a list of things that doesn't include the iPhone, just wait for it to scroll again, or click the arrow to jump back to the first page).
 *  On the menu on the left-hand side, choose: `Contact Support`
 *  There should now be a list of items on the right-hand side. The second section is `Apple Support`. In this section, click on the `Get Started` link
    *  Or just click [here](https://getsupport.apple.com/Issues.action)
 *  From the grid of items, select the top-right item: `Phone, Messages and Cellular Data`
 *  A dropdown should have appeared. From this dropdown, choose the third item in the right column: `SMS, MMS or iMessage not working as expected`
 *  Choose `No thanks, Continue`
 *  You will be presented with 3 options: `Chat`, `Schedule a Call`, and `Call Apple Support Later`. I recommend `Schedule a Call`, it works pretty well
 *  Explain what is going on, remembering that while this whole scenario is kafkaesque, it isn't the support person's fault. Expect to be bounced a few times, as Apple doesn't really know what to do.