IMessages Going to Wrong iPhone "Isn"t a Bug" Claims Apple
an Golson In December, an apparent bug appeared in Apple"s iMessage service that allowed iMessages to be sent to a stolen iPhone. Earlier this week, Gizmodo reported that a customer who went to Apple"s Genius Bar began receiving iMessages from the Genius who helped fix their phone. It appears that the Genius took his personal SIM card and inserted it into the customer"s iPhone as part of a series of unofficial and unapproved diagnostic efforts to fix the customer"s phone. An Apple representative explained to The Loop"s Jim Dalrymple that the issue in the Gizmodo story wasn"t a bug, but instead was the result of the Genius not following protocol.
“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.”
The act of installing an employee"s personal SIM card into a customer"s iPhone is obviously not an approved procedure at the Genius Bar. However, the fact that the Genius wasn"t supposed to perform this act does not mean that this was merely an "extremely rare situation". A number of customers have reported iMessage issues, including messages continuing to go to a stolen iPhone after a remote wipe and a SIM card deactivation. This is obviously an unintended action, and though Apple explains the solution to be "toggle iMessage on and off" in the Settings app, that is an impossible act to perform on a stolen phone. (Image via Ars Technica)