Beeper says Apple is blocking some iMessages, but there’s a fix

Here we go again: After investigating reports that some users aren’t getting iMessages on Beeper Mini and Beeper Cloud, Beeper says that Apple seems to be “deliberately blocking” iMessages from being delivered to about 5 percent of Beeper Mini users. The company says that uninstalling and reinstalling the app fixes the issue and that it’s working on a broader fix (though that apparently won’t be in place tonight).

Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment about Beeper’s new claim, and it hasn’t replied to my original request for comment, either. But given that the company has already blocked Beeper Mini before, it’s not too surprising that it seems to be taking action against the app again.

The issues appear to have started as early as about 6PM ET; at that time, one Verge staffer reported that they were no longer receiving iMessages in Beeper Mini. We saw that some users on Reddit have reported not getting iMessages, either, but others say things are still working for them, which would track with Beeper’s explanation that only some users are affected. Beeper’s status site isn’t reporting any issues.

Beeper launched the original version of Beeper Mini, which let Android owners use iMessage with just their phone numbers, on December 5th, but Apple found a way to shut that down just three days later. Beeper got Beeper Mini working again on Monday, but it only works with an Apple ID.

Update December 13th, 10:00PM ET: Added new information from Beeper.