The entire Russian-speaking Internet has been harping on the hype news for two days now. Allegedly, Apple began debiting Russians’ mobile phone accounts by 10 rubles for each iPhone reboot. It sounds powerful and juicy, so audience comments are replete with over 300 jokes from owners of cheap Chinese smartphones. Everywhere you go, there is a KVN qualifying stage.
This news has one already typical problem, which has become the norm in the context of the popularization of trash Telegram channels that do not bother to check the information. It is almost 100% fake.
The reality is simpler. In this article I will analyze what is really happening, and also give anonymous comments from representatives of Russian operators.
What they write on the Internet about charges for rebooting an iPhone
Hype rose due to viral infection the post on the Pikabu website, where the user was outraged by these write-offs. I quote below a repost from a typical popular telegram channel:
❗️iPhone charges Russians 10₽ for each phone reboot
Previously, it was free, but after Apple left Russia, some telecom operators began to charge money for it.
To avoid charges, you need to disable FaceTime and iMessage or set a ban on SMS abroad in the settings.
To complete the picture, keep a few comments under it:
– Serves you right… There’s no point in using a mafon… More show-offs than normality..
– I’m not friends with iPhones… I moved 10 on the first day by car. Therefore, Android is optimal for me. Recently I gave my son 15 an iPhone and got a bunch of gifts… But I’m glad that he will suffer for the reboot… Maybe he’ll switch to Android.
– What else needs to happen for people to give up iPhones? Paid charging? More pain with these phones. Applications cannot be installed, third-party payment services do not work(
The mood is understandable. But sometimes there are those who understand what is really happening. This means that all is not lost.
What’s Really Happening
iMessage and FaceTime are linked to the iPhone owner’s phone number.
▸ Why do iMessage and FaceTime require a phone number? These Apple online services can (but do not have to) be linked to the device user’s phone number. Thanks to this, you can send messages and make video and audio calls between users of the Apple ecosystem using a regular mobile phone number as a contact. It is more comfortable.
Both services can work correctly without being tied to a phone number. In this case, in the contact field, instead of a number, there will be an email linked to the Apple ID of the iPhone user.
▸ Why are they writing off money? Charges are made for sending an activation SMS to a foreign number. It leaves the iPhone after the user of the device has agreed to activate iMessage and/or FaceTime in iOS.
Before sending the activation SMS, the iPhone operating system (iOS) asks the user for permission to activate iMessage and FaceTime. If the user refuses, no SMS is sent.
▸ When is iMessage and/or FaceTime prompted to activate? Only in cases where the owner:
▪ inserts a new SIM card into an iPhone for the first time
▪ changes the main SIM card for communication in the iPhone
▪ switches SIM cards between physical and eSIM in iPhone settings
▪ travels to a roaming zone and connects to another telecom operator
Activation or reactivation itself is not required. Activation request window NOT occurs if the device is simply turned off or rebooted without removing the SIM card.
Why is Apple even debiting my money without permission?
If someone asks this question, it means he doesn’t know how to read.
Because iOS, before sending an SMS, warns in plain text that the telecom operator may charge a fee for the activation SMS.
What does it have to do with it reboot iPhone?
Nothing to do with it it’s fake. Rebooting the device and the activation SMS are in no way connected.
Why do you even need to send SMS to activate iMessage?
To confirm that this is your phone and that it is being used in this device right now.
To link iMessage and FaceTime to a phone number, you must obtain confirmation from the owner of the Apple device that the phone number really belongs to you and is used in this particular gadget. This is why an activation SMS is sent: it contains all the necessary information to automate this process.
In addition to transmitting the phone number, the activation SMS contains an encrypted device identifier that is depersonalized for third parties. All this allows Apple servers to correctly link the phone to the Apple ID account.
The SMS is sent to a foreign number (currently a UK number).
Why does the operator debit money from my account for SMS?
Because the activation SMS is sent to another country.
Apple enters into agreements with certified telecom operators, under which the latter automatically reimburse the cost of these SMS to their subscribers. If an SMS is sent from an operator with which Apple does not have such a relationship, the cost of the SMS is debited according to the subscriber’s tariff.
At some point over the past two years, Russian operators stopped automatically refunding the cost of these SMS, and some did not do this at all before.
I spoke privately with some of the largest operators in the Russian Federation on this issue. The fact that such an agreement existed between them and Apple was confirmed to me by one of them. However, none of the operators wanted to officially sign up for this story, fearing to come under criticism from the misguided majority of subscribers.
At the same time, at least one of the operators reported that until now you can return the money written off for these SMS. To do this, just contact technical support.
Why did Apple start charging money for this “right now”?
Many write that write-offs began only recently, and that Apple allegedly does this on purpose. As you may already understand, the latter is definitely not true. With the first one, everything should now be clear.
In fact, there have been write-offs before. iMessage as a service launched in October 2011 with iOS 5, more than 12 years ago. The principle of activating the service has never changed since then.
Since then, complaints about charges for these SMS have periodically arisen here and there, but for some reason they have not caused a similar reaction on the Internet as yesterday.
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iPhones.ru We are analyzing a hype fake that has spread across Russian Telegram channels and the media.
Nikita Goryainov
@ngoryainov
Editor-in-Chief of iPhones.ru. Thank you for reading us. Have a question, suggestion or something interesting? Write to [email protected].
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