Texting Between IPhone And Android Users Currently Broken Due To This Bizarre Bug
A strange bug has been discovered that affects text messages between iPhone and Android users. According to a series of posts on Reddit, text messages sent by Android users to iPhone users mistakenly add an extra number to their phone number. The problem seems to primarily affect Android users on AT&T phones.
The problem is that text messages are sent from Android users to iPhone users, but iPhones put a "+" at the start of the phone number. This tricks the messaging app or service provider into thinking the message is coming from an international phone number, using the first few digits as the country code.
In the Messages app, incoming messages from Android users are split into separate message threads. When an iPhone user tries to reply to this thread, the message cannot be sent. You can reply normally in the main thread, but when the person replies, a new message is posted in the same thread with the wrong international phone number.
In most cases, the carrier's automated system will prompt the iPhone user to "resend the message using a valid 10-digit mobile number."
One Reddit user explained:
I texted my best friend this morning and it passed our usual SMS test. For context, he is an Android user. When replying, a new thread starts with its number and a plus sign at the start. I got an invalid number error when I answered but he still received texts. I'll send him an email with our regular subject and he'll get it. But all the responses are from non working numbers.
Other Reddit users:
I've had the phone for a year and never had a problem with Android Messages until today. Just yesterday I texted one of my friends and it's pretty normal. When I texted him today I got his response, but to my surprise it was the number (last digits of the area code added to the rest of the number). When I messaged in the chat window, I immediately got the wrong number error, but in our first conversation, the message went through. Basically, the messages I sent him and the messages he sent me appeared in two separate chat windows.
It's not clear where exactly this fault occurred in the pipeline. Since these messages are sent via SMS, it seems that the service provider has a network problem. We've seen several reports of this issue affecting AT&T customers. It's unclear whether this issue also affects other carriers.
Apart from iPhone users, the problem seems to mainly occur when iPhone users send text messages to Android users on AT&T. The problem doesn't seem to be related to the current iOS 16.5 version.
Reddit thread on the matter:
We'll update this story if Apple, AT&T, or another carrier becomes aware of the issue. Trouble sending text messages from iPhone to Android users? Tell us about this in the comments.
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