4 ms·

In recent versions of iOS, it literally says "Your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate iMessage" (or FaceTime or iCloud) ... so at least you kn

by mig39 5y ago

In recent versions of iOS, it literally says "Your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate iMessage" (or FaceTime or iCloud) ... so at least you know what's going on. It also gives you the option to cancel before it sends the SMS.

Scoundreller 5y ago
It still seems to happen (2020 posts here): https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/404573/why-do-imessage-and-facetime-continue-to-charge-money-even-after-activation https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/404573/why-do-imes... https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251223977 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251223977 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250349230?answerId=250672111022#250672111022 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250349230?answerId=2506... (2019 - iphone sending 16 int'l SMS/day trying to activate, $5/day in pakistan can be a lot) Maybe they've ignored the popup, but the first and third examples definitely doesn't sound like that. My guess is that Apple keeps a list of carriers that agreed to zero-rate these and keeps an on-phone index to determine whether to pop up that message, but what Apple thinks carriers do and what carriers actually do are 2 different things.
- baybal2 5y ago
  I would doubt the anonymity of iMessage thrice if activation pings with all the data are sent plaintext over China Mobile
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    It’s my hope they send it XOR’d with a one-time pad.
- kalleboo 5y ago
  > My guess is that Apple keeps a list of carriers that agreed to zero-rate these and keeps an on-phone index to determine whether to pop up that message, but what Apple thinks carriers do and what carriers actually do are 2 different things Lebara is an MVNO so it could also be an issue where the phone is applying the rules for the underlying network rather than the MVNO. MVNOs in the country I live in have a lot of issues with iPhones applying the mainline network settings to the point where you had to manually install a specific provisioning profile just to get the APN settings right.
beckman466 5y ago
> In recent versions of iOS, it literally says "Your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate iMessage" ... so at least you know what's going on. Apple inc. should still ask for my consent before they spend my money. Just because they run some 'exclusive' black box messaging service doesn't mean they can pull shit like this.
- anaganisk 5y ago
  Thats what they did, by asking for your confirmation.
  - beckman466 5y ago
    From googling the popup earlier it looked to me like one of those 'i will dismiss this annoying popup straight away' type things. When i spend bank money i have to enter my pin and authenticate. For my phone carrier money/credit i get no formal bank transaction screen like i do with Apple pay or similar. It's just a popup similar to those never-ending iOS update popups. Why? Both are money. Why is spending bank money much more respected than spending phone carrier money? Exploitation by telecoms has been normalized, so we still accept things like this happening (like OP having to buy €5 extra credit for being 5 cents 'short'). In Europe there are many more protections now, e.g. they also abolished extortionate roaming charges throughout Europe, but that took a very long time and we still have a long way to go.
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      > Exploitation by telecoms has been normalized I wish we treated spectrum licenses like driver’s licenses: a privilege that can be taken away. And no, no refunds for the time and money you put into getting it.
    - anaganisk 5y ago
      I concur, but they do ask. But its not one of those annoying pop ups. It asked me once during my setup of my phone. I mean you are expected to see what you’re doing when you are setting your new phone?
BiteCode_dev 5y ago
Typical Apple talk: instead of telling you they send a text message behind your back, they are blaming your carrier to charge for it.

by mig39 5y ago

Scoundreller 5y ago

It still seems to happen (2020 posts here): https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/404573/why-do-imessage-and-facetime-continue-to-charge-money-even-after-activation https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/404573/why-do-imes... https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251223977 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251223977 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250349230?answerId=250672111022#250672111022 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250349230?answerId=2506... (2019 - iphone sending 16 int'l SMS/day trying to activate, $5/day in pakistan can be a lot) Maybe they've ignored the popup, but the first and third examples definitely doesn't sound like that. My guess is that Apple keeps a list of carriers that agreed to zero-rate these and keeps an on-phone index to determine whether to pop up that message, but what Apple thinks carriers do and what carriers actually do are 2 different things.

baybal2 5y ago
I would doubt the anonymity of iMessage thrice if activation pings with all the data are sent plaintext over China Mobile
- Scoundreller 5y ago
  It’s my hope they send it XOR’d with a one-time pad.
kalleboo 5y ago
> My guess is that Apple keeps a list of carriers that agreed to zero-rate these and keeps an on-phone index to determine whether to pop up that message, but what Apple thinks carriers do and what carriers actually do are 2 different things Lebara is an MVNO so it could also be an issue where the phone is applying the rules for the underlying network rather than the MVNO. MVNOs in the country I live in have a lot of issues with iPhones applying the mainline network settings to the point where you had to manually install a specific provisioning profile just to get the APN settings right.

beckman466 5y ago

> In recent versions of iOS, it literally says "Your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate iMessage" ... so at least you know what's going on. Apple inc. should still ask for my consent before they spend my money. Just because they run some 'exclusive' black box messaging service doesn't mean they can pull shit like this.

anaganisk 5y ago
Thats what they did, by asking for your confirmation.
- beckman466 5y ago
  From googling the popup earlier it looked to me like one of those 'i will dismiss this annoying popup straight away' type things. When i spend bank money i have to enter my pin and authenticate. For my phone carrier money/credit i get no formal bank transaction screen like i do with Apple pay or similar. It's just a popup similar to those never-ending iOS update popups. Why? Both are money. Why is spending bank money much more respected than spending phone carrier money? Exploitation by telecoms has been normalized, so we still accept things like this happening (like OP having to buy €5 extra credit for being 5 cents 'short'). In Europe there are many more protections now, e.g. they also abolished extortionate roaming charges throughout Europe, but that took a very long time and we still have a long way to go.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    > Exploitation by telecoms has been normalized I wish we treated spectrum licenses like driver’s licenses: a privilege that can be taken away. And no, no refunds for the time and money you put into getting it.
  - anaganisk 5y ago
    I concur, but they do ask. But its not one of those annoying pop ups. It asked me once during my setup of my phone. I mean you are expected to see what you’re doing when you are setting your new phone?

BiteCode_dev 5y ago

Typical Apple talk: instead of telling you they send a text message behind your back, they are blaming your carrier to charge for it.