Issues with texts after moving to Android from iPhone? Here's an easy fix!

By Richard Devine
last updated

imessage-android
imessage-android (Image credit: Android Central)

Here's how to rectify one of the most annoying things about moving over from an iPhone

If you've joined the world of Android from using an iPhone – welcome, by the way! – you might be finding yourself in a position of epic frustration when it comes to getting your text messages. The problem materializes when iMessage tries to intercept your messages from your still iPhone using friends, and unless you've told all of them to send a regular text instead, you might be missing out for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, there's a couple of things you can do, as outlined by our good pals over at iMore. Let's take a look.

Before you leave your iPhone behind

If you still have your old iPhone to hand, or you haven't yet made the final jump to Android, you're in the best position to prevent any messaging issues. By following these simple steps, you should eliminate any funkyness with iMessage intercepting. 

You need to head into Settings > Messages, then look for the iMessage toggle at the top of the resulting menu. Turn it off, and then try and send some messages to contacts you know have an iPhone to make sure it's worked properly. If you're presented with a sea of green, then all's good. 

As a side note, the earlier you can do this before making the final move to Android the better. Give Apple's servers the most time you can to kick you out. 

If you've already made the switch and are still suffering

If this is you, then the fix is less techy. Grab your phone and ring Apple support – check your local Apple website for the number in your part of the world. Get put through to Technical Support, have your Apple ID handy, and ask them to manually remove your phone number from the iMessage servers. 

Both of these methods should hopefully fix any potential issues you're having with text messages once you've swapped your old iPhone for a shiny new Android one. If you've got any other related issues since switching, then the best places to go are the Android Central Forums and the iMore Forums, where the awesome Mobile Nations community will be sure to help you out! 

Big thanks to Ally Kazmucha of iMore for putting together this guide. 

Source: iMore

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75 Comments
  • oops, I didn't do this before I got my Nexus 5 haha, at first I had some issues but now they are fine :D thanks for the tip! Posted via Android Central App on my LG Nexus 6 (Sprint)
  • Here's an easier fix, don't buy an iPhone in the first place. Posted via Android Central App
  • Don't be that guy...
  • I was fully expecting at least 5-6 comments before one of those showed up, not 2.
  • Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised that the very first comment didn't have this unproductive bullshit.
  • too late.
  • Sadly, there is always that guy. Posted via Android Central App
  • Too true. Posted via Android Central App using an LG G2.
  • So sad, so sad, its a sad sad situation.... Posted via Android Central App
  • "Don't be that guy" could be response of the year. Posted with a HTC One via Android Central App
  • Yes! Posted via Android Central App
  • Exactly what I was going to say! It's like the best method of removing a tattoo is to not get one on the first place.
  • Precisely! Your right! Best solution is to not get a tattoo, or "Ohhh it's sooo hard to quit smoking", best solution,...never start!!! It really is THAT simple. Posted using Android Central App on my Samsung Galaxy S4 T-Mobile
  • Give it a rest.
    You are already on an Android site.
  • Congrats, you get to be "that guy"
  • +1! Good advice! Posted using Android Central App on my Samsung Galaxy S4 T-Mobile
  • +1oo ... (Oppo F5) ...
  • Well thats not really a "fix" now is it? More of a prevention
  • I had to turn iMessages off on every iDevice i had to get it to work right: Macbook, iPad and iPhone. If you have even one account still logged into iMessages then it'll send it there. Just for giggles I changed my contact info in my wife's iPhone from "iPhone" to "Mobile" for me.
  • I did all of this and still had issues with some of my friends. Turned out none of this matters if they have you as an iPhone in there contact card for you. Yes on iPhone it is not just Mobile, Home, Work, you can actually tell your phone that the contact is actually an iPhone user. Once they changed my contact from iPhone to Mobile they were able to send me a message without getting the imessage fail error.
  • its not just that simple... people who also have iphones that you have been texting has to delete the text messages from you from there phone (there phone still thinks your phone is an iphone) since android doesnt support imessages, you still wont get them... i work for Verizon... we get this all the damn time
  • So in this regard then option two would be best? Ring Apple and 'politely' ask them to remove your number?
  • Apple? Remove number?...I wasn't aware Apple was a service provider? Thought they just make electronic "things"... Posted using Android Central App on my Samsung Galaxy S4 T-Mobile
  • Did you even read the article?
  • Nope. He just comes in to comment about how he's never owned an Apple device.
  • + 1 I hate people who comment just to comment and don't take the time to read. Posted via Android Central App
  • You are kidding... iphones have their own proprietary, non-carrier text messaging? Why does this not surprise me.
  • It's IM, not text messaging. Just like BBM, Hangouts, Whatsapp etc. The difference is the user doesn't need to worry about how to send one. You just send a text message and if the other person has an iPhone, it figures itself out. You don't need an iPhone either, it works across Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The problems come when you stop using an iPhone. These are a couple of steps previous iPhone owners can do to try and sort things out.
  • Oh, that makes more sense. Thanks for the info.
  • Probably saves iPhone users a ton in text charges.
  • iMessage really is a pretty seamless experience if you talk to iPhone owners and never plan on leaving the iPhone. It picks it up automatically and goes. Problem is people change. So, in order to kick you out of iMessages you need to clear any record that you ever used an iPhone. Just turning it off like the post has wont do it completely. But like the post said, the earlier you get off iM the better the transition will be.
  • Even if you are an iPhone user, it can be a nuisance. Friend of mine uses an iPhone, but doesn't know that much of smartphones in general. Old iphone, iMessage was on. New phone it wasn't and she couldn't receive any messages.
  • I was able to remove just my number from the imessage settings and it worked fine. I still wanted imessage on cuz i use it on my iPad Posted via Android Central App
  • simongoddard over at the iMore post indicated that you can log in to supportprofile.apple.com and unregister your iPhone there, without needing to deal with customer service.
  • 3 parts - 1. make sure that you have turned off iMessage on your old iPhone.
    2. delete your old phone number and delete/unregister all old iPhone(s) from your Apple ID web profile at supportprofile.apple.c0m.
    3. make sure iPhone-using friends App Settings are set correctly. By default, sending as SMS is not selected in IOS 7. To enable this go into settings>messages>send as SMS. This will send messages as regular SMS messages when imessage isn't available.
  • I have a clean conscious...never bought, or used any Apple products. Posted using Android Central App on my Samsung Galaxy S4 T-Mobile
  • Your the best Posted via Android Central App
  • lol I cannot say that. Damn kids...you try to raise them right...
  • Congratulations. You are now so much better than everyone in the world. If you wait a while, all the world leaders will show up at your door to perform "services" while basking in the sheer splendor of your amazing will to resist every single Apple item that was ever created. Women all want to be with you. Men all want to be you. You are the world's most interesting man.
  • Your comment is even more outlandish. Posted via Android Central App
  • And yet the comment had the same if not more value than Jay Holm's comment.
  • At least HIS comment was funny. Now I have a mental image of Kim Jong Un stapping on some kneepads though... Thanks a lot! (He's also ronery)
  • While not a requirement, any user having that issue should have their carrier remove the iPhone provisioning from their account. Accounts configured for iPhones have certain provisioned features for iMessage routing and other such features. It's best to not have them in place to avoid routing issues if you're not using an iPhone. Then again, this was as of a couple years ago. Might have changed since. I left that industry years ago.
  • So I don't use messaging on my Retina Mini, if I did, would it mess things up on hangouts? Hangouts on iOS doesn't synch with my N4. Maybe its set wrong.
  • What's the fix for the iphone user who tries to text me(on Kit Kat)a photo, but it shows up in my messages as a "slideshow"? Thanks for the help!
  • Apple is such a pain in the ass.. God How I love my android
  • Amen. I went from a Galaxy Nexus to an iPhone 5. I HATED the iPhone. I'll never be so stupid again. Posted via Android Central App
  • My friend had an issue when he switched from iPhone to the Galaxy Note. It turned out that all his contacts had a +1 in front of the number. Once he removed that he was able to text people.
  • My better half just moved from an iPhone 4S to the Galaxy S4. We didn't take any of these steps. In a case such as ours, what happens? Will Apple's servers release her number on their own? She hasn't had any issues as far as we know but maybe she just isn't aware but still missing messages from her old iPhone cronies. Posted via Android Central App
  • I switch back and forth between the iPhone 5 and the moto x all the time. I've learned the easiest way to text is to use Google voice that way there aren't any configuration changes to make and all my texts are synced. Posted via Android Central App
  • Agreed. The Google Voice service is fantastic, and has always worked pretty much flawlessly for me. It's in dire need of an interface overhaul, of course, but we're probably going to have to wait for full GV/Hangouts integration for that to happen. Does GV work pretty well for you on iOS?
  • Thank you to whomever made this point when I switched 5 months ago to my LG g2. Glad I made the switch, wish I could find a find my iPhone comparable.... Life 360 is a beating. Posted via Android Central App
  • Isn't Android Device Manager (android.com/devicemanager) pretty much equivalent to Find My iPhone? I haven't used an iOS device in quite a while, so maybe Find My iPhone has more features than I remember, but ADM has worked really well for my purposes.
  • Check out "Android Lost" by Theis Borg in the Play Store. Great free app that gives a *ton* of features, especially if your device is rooted. https://www.androidcentral.com/e?link=https2F2F...
  • L 0 L aijmessage ... (Oppo F5) ...
  • I remember going through this when I first got my Nexus 4. Friggin Apple.
  • I used to get calls about moving to android from apple with texts appearing on the apple instead of iPhone and that normally worked. Without the iPhone is a whole process and its obnoxious Posted via Android Central App
  • Same thing happened to me when I bought my Nexus 5 after using a temperary iphone 4s. SO FRUSTURATING. Glad u guys did a write up on it because I could barely find anything on the internet and most of what I found still didnt eliminate the woes. I have to admit though, apples tech support wasnt very helpful. I mean I understand they dont want you to switch from iphone, but so to the unassuming you would think you arent receiving messages simply because you now have a android and it must be the phone, and so thats kind of messed up that they arent helpful in this regard.
  • I think it is very sad how hard Apple makes it to turn off iMessage. You should at the very least log into one web site and kill it all at one time.
    They basicly say if you want to leave with your phone we will make iMessage worthless across all devices.
  • Explanation is a bit much for iPhone users, who are short on gray matter, to comprehend.
  • Yes because no dumb person ever held an android phone... oh wait..
  • Just because someone wants a "simplified" smart phone experience doesn't mean that they are not intelligent. It's all about what you expect you phone to give you, and what you want to put into it. I'll be the first to admit that you have to put more effort into an Android phone (setup, customization, etc), even if that means that the returns are greater, but some people just aren't interested. A person's priorities and interests can be different from yours, without them being an idiot. As Simon said above, don't be "that guy".
  • Or link to Eric Schmidt's G+ post from like 6 months ago that tells you how to do this. I wondered if and when this site would start doing regurgitated posts...Guess it's now. Posted via Android Central App
  • There is another option for this, You can go thru Apple id support profile online and unregister your device from the account and that works perfectly. 1. Go to https://supportprofile.apple.com
    2. Enter apple id and password.
    3. Unregister device.
    4. Done
  • You, sir or madame, deserve to win the internet today. Thanks for this. I don't even have an Apple and am appreciative. (Seriously)
  • Doesn't iPhone have Wechat. Posted via Android Central App
  • I like that iMessage automatically integrated with my iDevice (for me it's an iPad mini). Google Voice or Hangouts should be so lucky... but then again, I really don't want Google in my beeswax any more than they already are.
  • So when will Google implement Hangouts features to be equivocal to iMessage?? When will we be able to use emoji outside of Hangouts?? posted via Galaxy S4
  • Nothing against you, but I am always a little surprised by just how much people seem to go "gaga" about the whole emoji thing. I can't remember *ever* thinking "man, I wish I could send my buddy a tiny picture of a unicorn and a cake right now to express how I feel." lol. Maybe it's just me.
  • So for those of you having problems it is helpful to turn off iMessage on all devices that you own, leave them off for a few minutes and then turn them back on after you have turned iMessage off on your phone. I turned iMessage off on my phone before switching over to my Nexus 5, but my text messages were still not being routed. After I unregistered my iPhone on the Apple Support website and turned off iMessage on all my devices I was able to get text messaging working again. Posted via Android Central App
  • I already switched over to the Samsung Note 2 and still can't get texts from iphone users. I turned off iMessage and even tried calling Apple Support but the robot told me that I need to purchase the phone support warranty for $20 or hang up. F you apple!
    My friends still have iphones and I realized THEY also have to go to their settings and select the option to "automatically try sending as a SMS when iMessage isn't available". (under the iMessage option). What a ROYAL PAIN IN THE @$$!!!!!! But it's working now...
  • There are some pretty silly comments here. For the record, iMessage is a fantastic feature of the iPhone (and iPad and Mac) and really adds to the seamless experience you get with these devices. A true Android equivalent would be massive, but of course instead you have multiple clients for multiple services and lots of "choice" and nothing that really works as well. Switching of iMessage? Well if you're daft enough not to do that on your phone before you get rid of it, then you login to your Apple account online and remove the device there. Simple as that. No need to call anyone or perform a voodoo ritual, you just login and switch it off. No need to whine about it.
  • So I haven't been able to fix this even with these instructions. Could any affected people please file a complaint at the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov And the Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org I would rather not let them get away with this.
  • I'm having this problem I just switched over from an iPhone to a android and I wished the the person who sold me the phone would have told me this helpful information..I sold my iPhone back to at&t and no longer have access to my iPhone it's very frustrating I'm thinking just to take this android back and sticking with the iPhone
  • I am going through this at the moment too. I've tried every trick including calling apple and still not working. I get everyones texts but some don't get my reply... these are my customers too... As bad as I hate it back to iPhone. And back to the Ime$$ages from He$$!!