A long-standing issue with iMessage that causes iOS devices to still be able to send and receive messages even after a user has taken his SIM and iMessage login out of the device got renewed attention this week when the bug hit an Apple Store Genius and his iMessage history leaked out to the web.
Spurred by the latest report, Apple has broken their customary silence to address the issue. Don’t expect a fix to be forthcoming, though: instead, Cupertino is denying there’s a bug, and is instead blaming the whole debacle on the Apple Genius who failed to follow protocol. In fact, the so-called iMessage “bug” is actually incredibly easy to fix.
Speaking to Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, an Apple representative has said:
“This was an extremely rare situation that occurred when a retail employee did not follow the correct service procedure and used their personal SIM to help a customer who did not have a working SIM,” Apple representative Natalie Harrison told The Loop. “This resulted in a temporary situation that has since been resolved by the employee.”
A lot of people who have their iPhones stolen or lost are having the same issues, as thieves (or second-hand device buyers) pop in a new SIM card but still send and receive iMessages under the original owner’s account. According to Apple, though, this issue is easy to fix by just toggling iMessage on and off.
Is that really all there is to it? You’d think Ars Technica would have tried that. If so, this really is much ado about nothing.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
12 responses to “Apple: Store Genius Whose iMessages Leaked To The Web “Didn’t Follow Procedure””
Where’s the part where the employee loses his job?
Toggle it off and on again on what device though? The lost or stolen one? Good luck with that, if that’s the case.
Sometimes the easiest solutions are the ones we make fun of.
On the new one moron.
Other than embarrassment, it is not a terminal offense.
If it’s such an easy fix, why doesn’t anyone know about it. And more importantly, why has Apple chosen to keep it quiet until now? Hmmmm. It’s a bug. If one restores the phone as new, it should delete every single bit of old info. But that method has failed for everyone that has been affected by this BUG. It’s a bug.
One could just as easily say that, “if it can be proven that ghosts don’t exist, why do so many people believe in them?”
The point being that just because there are a million people on the Internet yelling about a “bug” doesn’t mean that the bug is actually a real thing.
People are idiots and easily fooled into believing all sorts of ridiculous crap. Rumours fly around daily that have no basis in fact at all, some of these last for years.
Hey douchebag, what if you don’t happen to have a replacement phone on hand? The thief can still send and receive YOUR iMessages until you find a device to do the iMessage toggle on? Don’t be an idiot fanboy by trying to defend every bug.
SO this only affects iPhones with SIM cards? Are Verizon iPhones safe?
Who says they’re rumors? Before this article on the Apple Genius, there were a number of same incidence being reported. Just because you are not experiencing it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. It’s not about “a million” people yelling it out on the internet. It’s about the number people who are actually experiencing it and telling it on the internet. To use your analogy, just because you don’t believe in ghosts, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And who to say you aren’t being fooled by Apple that it isn’t a bug? Not the first time they said something, only to recant and admit they were in err. Or at least however they admit to being wrong. ie. 3G slowdown issues with iOS 4.
Well isn’t that just the biggest “no shit, Sherlock” headline of the new year?!
I’m waiting for the part where some of the people who comment here lose their privilege!