Apple simplifies iMessage deregister

If you use Apple devices, you've probably been using iMessage even without noticing it. Apples message services transparently turns your SMS into iMessages when talking with other Apple devices. The service works great... until the day you replace your iPhone with another smartphone, and find you can no longer receive messages from your iPhone friends.

This is a well know problem that has been going on for years. The thing is, Apple still assumes your phone number is associated with a iPhone, and tries to deliver the messages sent from other iPhones via iMessage. But, as you're no longer using an iPhone, and have no access to iMessage (personally, I think it's a big mistake for Apple not to push iMessages into Android and Windows Phones - as well as Facetime, which Steve Jobs himself said it would be "open" to use) then you won't ever receive it.

To fix this, you need to disable iMessage on your iPhone before switching your SIM card to a different smartphone (or even dumb-phone). But if you no longer have access to it, if it was stolen or broken, then things got "complicated".... until now.

Apple has finally acknowledged the issue and provides a simple solution, with this deregister iMessage website. All you need to do is to enter your phone number, confirm it with the code that will be sent to you via SMS, and Apple will clear your number from its iMessage service, and no longer try to push your iMessage messages from other iOS devices.