--- description: Apple has released a new tool answering complaints that switching from an iPhone to a different smartphone dooms iMessages. title: Apple's Debugs iMessages image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc325988ac7320fc1/698767b73c163938dc44fd7f/455734818.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple Finally Lets You Deregister Phone Numbers From iMessage by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 3:53 AM CUT  Customers compare an Apple Inc. iPhone 6, left, and iPhone 6 plus during the sales launch at an Apple store in Palo Alto, California, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. Customers compare an Apple Inc. iPhone 6, left, and iPhone 6 plus during the sales launch at an Apple store in Palo Alto, California, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014.Bloomberg/Getty by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 3:53 AM CUT Messaged received: Apple has released a new tool to answer complaints that switching from an iPhone to a different smartphone dooms iMessages sent to them from other iPhone users to an unseen purgatory. Apple’s new web tool lets ex-iOS users efficiently [deregister ](http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/9/7183507/apple-tool-deregister-imessage-phone-numbers-released "undefined")their phone numbers from Apple’s iMessage system and ensures that future SMS messages get delivered to the new device. The [fix](https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage "undefined") corrects a long-standing problem: If former iPhone users don’t disable iMessage before transferring to a different smartphone, SMS messages sent to them by people still using Apple devices can continue to be sent as iMessages. But, since iMessage is exclusive to Apple platforms, those messages won’t be received on the new smartphone. The bug is the subject of a [class action lawsuit](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/apple-sued-over-vanishing-texts-after-iphones-swapped-out-1-.html "undefined") in California. To use the new tool, ex-iOS users just enter their phone numbers into the web browser. Apple then sends a confirmation code by SMS. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3575284/apple-new-web-tool-smartphones-apple-imessage-ios/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3575284/apple-new-web-tool-smartphones-apple-imessage-ios/"},"headline":"Apple Finally Lets You Deregister Phone Numbers From iMessage","datePublished":"2014-11-10T03:53:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:38.278Z","description":"SMS messages used to get lost due to a glitch with iMessages","url":"https://time.com/3575284/apple-new-web-tool-smartphones-apple-imessage-ios/","keywords":["Tech","Apple","Smartphones","reddit","iOS","Lawsuit"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc325988ac7320fc1/698767b73c163938dc44fd7f/455734818.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc325988ac7320fc1/698767b73c163938dc44fd7f/455734818.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple's New Big-Screen iPhones Draw Long Lines As Sales Start","caption":"Apple's New Big-Screen iPhones Draw Long Lines As Sales Start","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3575284/apple-new-web-tool-smartphones-apple-imessage-ios/","name":"Apple Finally Lets You Deregister Phone Numbers From iMessage"}}]}] ```