Apple won’t text Android because of a Glitch

• AT&T customers face an “invalid number” error when messaging Android users from iPhones.
• The bug was caused by iPhone adding a ‘+’ character to Android phone numbers.
• No official response from Apple or AT&T yet. Possible workarounds provided.

Apple’s iPhones are known for their closed and seamless ecosystem, but they are not immune to bugs and issues. Even Apple faces problems from time to time due to its experimental techniques. One bug that iPhone users, particularly AT&T customers, have reported is related to messaging Android users. When attempting to send a message to an Android device through AT&T, users receive an error message saying, “Error invalid number. Please re-send using a valid ten-digit mobile number or valid short code.”

The bug stems from the iPhone adding a ‘+’ character at the beginning of the phone numbers for Android devices. This issue has mainly affected AT&T subscribers in the United States, causing difficulties in sending text messages to Android phones. AT&T interprets these messages as foreign, resulting in different treatment by the carrier.

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Similarly, Android users experience the same issue when replying to these messages, as the ‘+’ character reappears at the start of the phone number. Despite attempts to block or delete the affected number, the problem persists.

Although users have tried standard troubleshooting methods, no effective solutions have been found. However, there are a few possible workarounds you can try for the time being. Resetting your device’s network settings or adding ‘+1’ to the recipient’s number (for Android or Google Voice users) may help.

Unfortunately, neither Apple nor AT&T has officially responded to the issue yet. It remains to be seen if Apple plans to release an update to fix the bug. We will continue to update this post with the latest developments and information. Stay tuned for official confirmations and potential updates from the companies involved.

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