Beeper

Some Beeper users claim Apple is blocking their Macs from iMessage

Ben Schoon | Jan 16 2024 - 8:09 am PT

Apple’s war on Beeper, an app that tried to bring iMessage to Android, is now seemingly causing some users to see their Macs blocked from using iMessage entirely.

Beeper Mini debuted in December with a reverse-engineered method of accessing iMessage that allowed users to skip previous methods of using a Mac to connect their Android phones. Apple quickly shut the app down and has since continued to block further efforts from Beeper to keep it working. Recently, Beeper released one final method of using iMessage in its app using a Mac, but some users report that Apple is banning them from using the service entirely.

Over the past few weeks, Beeper users on Reddit have been reporting issues with their Macs seemingly being banned from iMessage entirely. Whether through the Beeper app or Apple’s own iMessage app, they just can’t access the service at all. It’s seemingly an intentional move by Apple, but it’s hard to say for sure.

There are quite a few reports of what’s going on, but no two seem to be exactly the same. In some cases, Beeper users are simply running into problems keeping iMessage connected to the app, while others report that iMessage is entirely broken on their Macs, even through Apple’s own app. iPhones don’t seem to be affected.

The former suggests there could just be issues with Beeper’s connection method, while the latter seems more like an intentional move by Apple. One user who contacted Apple support after their machine stopped sending iMessages was apparently told that they “sent too many messages” and had their account flagged as a result. The going theory among users is that Apple is banning the hardware IDs used by these Macs. Beeper uses that data to register the app with iMessage.

We reached out to Beeper earlier this week for more information, but the company was unable to share a statement at the time.

Apple originally argued that Beeper’s reverse-engineered method of accessing iMessage “posed significant risks to user security and privacy.” Beeper, meanwhile, hoped that its latest method of access would be one “that Apple can tolerate existing.” Beeper Mini was also recently removed from the Play Store amid the whole debacle.

We’ll update this article if Beeper or Apple provide more clarity on the situation.