Judge Dismisses Android-Switching iMessage Lawsuit Against Apple

imessage_ios72U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed [PDF] a lawsuit against Apple over a long-standing issue that prevented some former iPhone owners who switched to Android smartphones from receiving text messages from other iOS users, as reported by Business Insider.

Koh originally ruled against granting the lawsuit class-action status, because it was not clear enough that all Android smartphone switchers were actually affected by the issue, but a trio of plaintiffs Adam Backhaut, Bouakhay Joy Backhaut and Kenneth Morris persisted with their case.

The three alleged that they switched from iPhones to Android phones in 2012. After that, texts sent to them from other iPhone users were not delivered. They were probably stuck in Apple's iMessage system, which was notoriously unreliable at delivering texts to Android phones until late 2014, when Apple introduced a fix for the bug. That constitutes a violation of the Federal Wire Tap Act, the three claim. Apple denied the allegations.

Apple launched a web tool in November 2014 for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device, and Koh ruled that Apple would face a federal lawsuit over the issue just two days later. As of Koh's ruling on Tuesday, however, all lawsuits against Apple related to the matter have come to a close with no punitive damages against the company.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
iPhone Air

Report: 'Virtually No Demand' for iPhone Air

Wednesday October 22, 2025 3:22 am PDT by
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports. The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...

Top Rated Comments

friedmud Avatar
128 months ago

I won't buy a new Apple device until they fix this.
Ironically, buying an Apple device would completely fix your problem....
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tycho24 Avatar
128 months ago
... Really?

Our court system makes no sense. It rules that Apple has a monopoly on ebooks (a claim that would make sense if you were talking about Amazon, and by extension, none if you talk about any other company), but that it's totally cool for Apple to hold phone numbers hostage.
Don't be such a silly goose!
Why not try to educate yourself?

Lol, @ "hold phone numbers hostage". *smh*
Sheesh, dramatic hyperbole much??
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Orlandoech Avatar
128 months ago
Sounds like Apple has a judge in their back pockets.

Waiting for the Apple apologist to back Apple and freak out over my post.

PS
I own lots of Apple products and dislike Android but this was a huge issue
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
128 months ago
... Really?

Our court system makes no sense. It rules that Apple has a monopoly on ebooks (a claim that would make sense if you were talking about Amazon, and by extension, none if you talk about any other company), but that it's totally cool for Apple to hold phone numbers hostage.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chatter Avatar
128 months ago
Sounds like Apple has a judge in their back pockets.

Waiting for the Apple apologist to back Apple and freak out over my post.

PS
I own lots of Apple products and dislike Android but this was a huge issue
Its just childish to say "Sounds like Apple has a judge in their back pockets".
Oh well...enjoy the holidays.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AbSoluTc Avatar
128 months ago
Just takes a search of MR or any search engine, to realise this was a quite big issue. So how come the judge saw it as a non issue ? Seems weird to me based on the data available.
Because of the following..


Apple […] discovered that two of the three plaintiffs in the case had gotten rid of their old iPhones after they filed the suit against Apple. They are thus unable to demonstrate whether texts sent to their phone numbers went to their Apple or Android devices, Apple claimed. One of the plaintiffs also previously asked that she be dismissed as a “named plaintiff” in the case.

The three plaintiffs were a husband, wife and family friend. Judge Lucy Koh dismissed the case in a single-paragraph order.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)