Apple ‘aware of iMessage issue’, is working on it

iOS 7 is, for most, an excellent update for their shiny Apple iDevices. Some users though have reported that Apple’s “free” (it uses data) iMessage service has been messing up, with a bug that reportedly halts iMessages from delivering, reports The Wall Street Journal.

For the non-Apple follower, iMessage is an iDevice-to-iDevice text service that sends free messages over WiFi or 4G data in the normal Messaging app. If the texting app detects that the number being replied to is an iDevice, then the message is sent for free. But on iOS 7, some errors have occurred. The error in question is a bug that has happened to us before on iOS 6, but we always chalked it up to our bad South African wireless connection. iMessages will appear to be “sent” but later that damning red exclamation mark will appear next to the message.

Possible fix

There’s a workaround for the bug. Users have reported that resetting the iDevice helps, but there’s also the option of simply resetting the network settings. Try this: go to settings, general reset, reset network settings.

We haven’t experienced the bug, that’s why it’s reported that only “a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users” have been affected. Apple had this to say:

We are aware of an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users, and we will have a fix available in an upcoming software update. In the meantime, we encourage any users having problems to reference our troubleshooting documents or contact AppleCare to help resolve their issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes impacted users.

Other iOS 7 issues include the battery being drained sucked dry, iDevices that are unable to activate and iTunes Match errors. As it is with every new OS, mobile or not, there’ll always be a few issues that need ironing out.