Apple has finally provided a fix for the whole iMessage issue affecting former iPhone owners, as a new tool is now available to deregister from the service.

For those unaware of the situation, an iMessage bug caused lots of frustration and annoyance among former iPhone users, and Apple even faced a lawsuit over this matter. The problem was that once an iPhone user switched to another phone running a different platform they would have issues with their text messages, as their number would continue to be associated with Apple's iMessage service.

Once a cellphone number remained associated with Apple's iMessage, which by-passes the regular SMS system, texts were no longer delivered to the new handset running Android or another platform.

Numerous ex-iPhone users voiced complaints regarding lost messages and Apple offered some instructions at one point, but not all users were able to remedy the problem with that proposed solution. More specifically, Apple recommended disabling its messaging service on the iPhone itself, and disassociating it from the cellphone number in the process. This method, however, worked only for some, as others had either ditched their old phone altogether, or tried this solution to no avail. The only option that was left in that case was to contact Apple's support line and seek assistance.

Needless to mention, this whole snafu caused a lot of frustration among former iPhone users and drew a firestorm of criticism, and an ex-iPhone user even sued Apple back in May because she was not receiving texts on her new Android phone. Apple promised to come up with a server fix, and offered free phone support to anyone facing this issue. A better solution was paramount, however, and it is now finally available.

Apple has now quietly launched a new support page with a simple tool that allows users to deregister their number from the iMessage service. This time, the process is quite straightforward and less time-consuming, as all users need to do is submit the cellphone number they want to deregister from iMessage, then enter the six-digit code sent to that number.

This should make the whole process far easier and should eliminate this frustrating issue for users who switch from an iPhone to a phone running a different platform. For more information or to deregister from iMessage, head over to Apple's support page at this link and try out the new tool.