Beeper, the app that brings iMessage to Android users, is implementing a fix that it says will allow users to once again access the service after Apple blocked it. However, the fix requires that you have access to a Mac computer or have a friend on Beeper who uses a Mac.
in Reddit postThe company explained that when users connect iMessage on Beeper, it needs to send identifying information called “log data” from a real Mac. Until now, the company had been using its own fleet of Mac servers to provide this, but it noted that “this proved to be an easy target for Apple because thousands of Beeper users were using the same registration data.”
With the new update, scheduled to launch tomorrow, Beeper will start generating unique registration data for its users.
“This 1:1 mapping of registration data to an individual user – in our testing – makes the connection very reliable,” the post reads. “If you’re using the Beeper Mini, you can use your Mac’s registry data with it too, and the Beeper Mini will start working again. Beeper needs to rebuild this data periodically even after you’re connected, about once every week or month, so your Mac needs To operate regularly.
Beeper claims that if you have a friend on Beeper who uses a Mac, you can ask them if you can use their registration data. Beeper says that in its testing, it found that between 10 and 20 iMessage users could safely use the same registration data.
The company went on to note that it “will also open source our full iMessage bridge, as well as the Mac code that generates the logging data.”
Apple did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
Although the new fix will theoretically keep Beeper alive, it somewhat limits the appeal of the service, which originally allowed users to access iMessage without an Apple device. Some users have already taken to Reddit to share their frustration, with one user commenting: “At this point, I’m willing to wait for Apple to come out with RCS support.” However, others welcome the fix, as one user commented: “This is a great band-aid to stop the bleeding and allow people to use Whistle as intended… as a way to consolidate all your messaging apps into one place.”
Of course, given Apple’s recent ongoing actions to ban Beeper, it’s unknown how long the fix will remain in play once it’s released.
Today’s development comes one day after a bipartisan group of US lawmakers asked the US Department of Justice to investigate Apple’s “potential anticompetitive treatment” of Beeper, noting that “interoperability and interconnectedness have long been key drivers of competition and choice.” Consumer in telecommunications services.