Beeper, the app that brings iMessage to Android users, is rolling out a patch it says will allow users to regain access to the service after Apple blocked it. However, the fix requires you to have access to a Mac or have a friend on Beeper with a Mac.
In a Post on Reddit, the company explained that when users connect iMessage to Beeper, they must send identifying information called “registration data” from an actual Mac. Until now, the company used its own fleet of Mac servers to provide it, but notes that it “proved to be an easy target for Apple because thousands of Beeper users were using the same recording data.”
With the new update, which is scheduled to be released tomorrow, Beeper will start generating unique recording data for its users.
“This 1:1 mapping of registration data to an individual user — in our tests — makes the connection very reliable,” the post says. “If you’re using Beeper Mini, you can use your Mac recording data with it and Beeper Mini will start working again. Beeper needs to play this data periodically even after you’re logged in, about once a week or month, so your Mac needs to be turned on regularly.”
Beeper claims that if you have a friend on Beeper with a Mac, you can ask them if you can use their recording data. Beeper says that in its tests, it found that 10 to 20 iMessage users can safely use the same recording data.
The company went on to note that it “will also be open with our full iMessage bridge, as well as the Mac code that generates recording data.”
Apple did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
While the new patch 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, with one user commenting: “This is a great tool to stop the bleeding and let ppl use the buzzer as intended . . . as a way to integrate all your messaging apps into one place.”
Of course, given Apple’s recent ongoing efforts to block Beeper, it’s unknown how long the patch will remain operational once it’s launched.
Today’s development comes a 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 interconnections have long been key drivers of competition and choice of consumers in communications services”.
