OK so as I reported in yesterday's article I decided to switch to a Windows 8 phone in order to evaluate it's potentional as a professional smartphone. Right now our users have a mixture of Android and Iphone devices. Both of these operating systems bring some good things to the table while each are also weak in other areas. As a management concern having mulptiple devices issued can complicate tech support. If, and this is currently a BIG if, Microsoft can bring a strong smartphone solution to the market I believe information technology departments will move towards Microsoft over the next several years. However these Windows 8 phones are just becoming available so the end result will not be known for at least a year. It is a result of all of this that found me switching from my iphone to a Windows 8 phone.
The Switch
OK so here we go. Yesterday my new Nokia 822 Windows 8 phone arrived. I shut off my iphone and called Verizon Wireless to switch the phone. After the switch everything was working fine. Indeed setting up our Microsoft 365 email account, SkyDrive, Lync and Sharepoint could not have been any easier. In less then 5 minutes all of my Microsoft accounts and files were working great on my new phone. However after about 30 minutes I realized that text messages were not making it to my phone. I could send messages and they arrived at their destination without a problem. The problem was that the responses were not making it to my phone. I quickly discovered that the problem was only happening with iphones. I called Verizon Wireless who had me "wipe" my old iphone but the problem continued. I was then transferred to Nokia support who reported it was not their problem and I was sent back to Verizon Wireless. Within minutes I was on a conference call with Apple Support.
Beware iMessage
Now if you have a iphone and you are considering switching to an Android or Windows phone pay attention friends. The Apple Support representative asked if I had other "Apple" devices. I said that I had an IPAD. I was directed to turn off the "imessage" service or at least remove the "phone number" from the "imessage" setup. Once I did this text message starting arriving to my Windows 8 phone! I was so happy.
If you have an iphone and use the text messaging service you probably noticed that the color of the text bubbles change based on if you are communicating with another iphone or another type of smartphone. It is this "imessage" service that makes this happen. Because the "imessage" service was running on my IPAD the text mesages were going to my IPAD and not making it to my new Windows 8 phone. Once "imessage" was turned off on the IPAD the messages were not going there and the messages were allowed to continue on all the way to my new phone.
You have 2 choices if you switch from an iphone to another device type. This is only a concern IF you have other Apple products with "imessage".
1. Simply turn the "imessage" service off.
2. You can leave the "imessage" service on, however you will need to uncheck your mobile phone number from it.
Moving On
OK now that all this is behind me I can actually start using my new Windows 8 Phone. I will post more articles as my experience continues. Wish me luck and stay tuned.
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