Beeper Mini Finally Shuts Down on Android Following Apple Ban

In a twist of fate for Beeper Mini, the ambitious project aiming for iMessage compatibility with Android, the journey appears to have met its final chapter.

The last we heard of Beeper Mini just before Christmas, the app faced a challenging road, offering iMessage replication on Android only to the most dedicated users.

The workaround involved intricate steps, utilizing an old jailbroken iPhone connected to Wi-Fi permanently, coupled with a Mac or Linux computer for setup.

Blocked Macs and Spam Flags

For Android users committed to the cause, the workaround was acceptable. However, Apple had different plans. Users who followed the steps found their Macs barred from using iMessage, flagged as "spam."

While some banned accounts were reinstated following a New York Times comment request, Beeper took preemptive action by "disabling the ability for users to start new iMessage connections from Beeper Cloud."

Manual Disconnection for Existing Accounts

Although existing connections remain intact, Beeper provides a manual disconnection option. Users can access this by opening Beeper Desktop, clicking the Gear icon, selecting "Chat Networks," choosing "iMessage," and finally clicking "Delete," per Tom's Guide.

Limited Impact

Beeper downplays the impact, stating, "Just to be ultra clear - this is not a widespread problem and affected 30 users."

Apple quickly reversed its course on the matter, reducing the scale of the issue. With 30 out of 3,500 customers reportedly affected, the percentage stands at just 0.85%.

Final Blow to Beeper Mini

Removing the Beeper Cloud iMessage bridge for new users feels like the conclusive blow to a project already sealed shut. The Beeper Mini app vanished from the Google Play Store earlier this month, and Beeper had previously emphasized that the December workaround represented its final attempt to tackle the issue.

"Regardless of what happened before, there is only question [sic.] at issue right now. Is a hardware ban (with no warning) an acceptable action for Apple to take against paid customers who chose to use a 3rd party client (Beeper) to access iMessage on their own Mac computer?" Beeper wrote in an X post. "

Lingering Discontent

Despite the setback, Beeper maintains its dissatisfaction with Apple, especially considering the reported $750,000 investment in the iMessage bridge.

At this time, there's not a thing that Beeper can do unless it wants to face an Apple ban. The company pivots back to its original mission, focusing on creating "the best chat app on earth."

As for Apple, the tech giant has committed to supporting RCS messaging later this year. However, the extent of this support remains uncertain, and it's already clear that it won't bridge the green/blue chat bubble divide. The evolving landscape of messaging compatibility continues to shape the rivalry between tech giants.