Apple, iPhones, Messages app & "outside-plan" charges

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mathepac

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I left TescoMobile some time ago and joined eir.

Over the last couple of months, I noticed SMS charges appearing on my bill for texts sent to other Irish iPhone users, which I assumed would be covered in my eir contract as they were in my TescoMobile contract. Not so it seems.

I contacted eir and they told me that for Apple to move the encrypted text from my copy of Messages to another copy of the Messages app on another iPhone, they route the SMS through a mast or cell or server physically located in the UK. So I send an international text, incurring charges as per my contract with eir. I only wanted to send a message to the sister in Dublin and could have used iMessage on my Mac, whatsapp if I had it on my phone, or a bunch of other free to use messaging apps.

Has anyone else noticed this and if so are they as annoyed as about it as I am?
 
Thanks, but that merely confirms my observations and my conversations with eir. 25 minutes on the phone with Apple tonight got me nowhere. "We don't charge for the service" was all I got, referring me back to eir. "Who in Apple decided to route the SMS originating in Ireland addressed to another Irish based iPhone through a UK number?" "Above my pay-grade." "Can I talk to the guy above your pay-grade?" "Maybe I'll refer you to Apple." "I thought you worked for or in Apple Help Centre." "I do", (with two different Italian (?) accented men) "So who will I be speaking to?" "I don't know, it's a technical matter." "But you colleague introduced himself as tech support." and so on and on.
 
I agree - since they officially sell the iPhone on their network, they should sort out these charges.

Do you have free SMS in your Eir contract? You could disable iMessage and Facetime on the phone and just use plain old text messages.
 
If you go to Settings>Messages is the toggle for 'Send as SMS' switched off? Try sending an iMessage with this off (I have never had this switched on since I got my first iPhone five years ago). The whole point of iMessage is that it uses data and shouldn't have anything to do with the mobile network per se. The only interaction should be the initial facetime/iMessage validation message which does go through a UK number.
 
Encryption, privacy, secrecy, security, no 3rd-party apps, single point of contact for problems (if only!!!!), seamless integration, NO HIDDEN CHARGES, these were all the KSPs for Apple and their iMessage service, or so I thought.

I repeat this is not an eir issue (although Apple's fixed margins on iPhone sales may be), the solution lies with Apple and how they configured the service to work in Ireland. Do French iPhone users have their iMessage encryption and point to point delivery authorised by a server in Switzerland with additional charges? I doubt it as it could lead to a ceremonial iPhone bonfire on the Champs Elysee.

I see this as an Irish consumer issue, who are being treated differently to iPhone users elsewhere
 
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