"Free" refers to the cost that is otherwise charged by your phone carrier per SMS message - data is always consumed - no matter what the situation.
THere are numerous mentions of this bug - and it's only a bug. I would hope that Apple are addressing this in the up-coming iOS v5.1 due in a few days.
Until then, there are immediate workarounds - a pain maybe, but doable:
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/12/...-annoying-fix/
Lock your SIM. Not hard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlgerdes
I am not saying it is right or wrong, just telling the truth.
1) You haven't bypassed a carrier, you still use your ISP/Telco to move data to Apple servers for forward delivery. So you still have 2 carriers to deal with.
2) It is not free, whether you use 3G,home ISP, work connection, you have still paid for your service and are just using your entitlement. Certainly not Free unless you go and sit in Macca's or Starbucks.
What I was upset about is Apple assuming control of my mobile phone number with consent, to use as an indentity for their iMessage service.
For 3 days anyone with an iPhone who has used iMessage has been unable to send SMS messages to me and has instead been sending iMessages to my sons iPhone.
This has actually been flagged as a security issue with Apple before, but in Apple fashion, it is not a problem. If you get your iPhone stolen and you hadn't locked it, even though you ring your carrier and get them to disable the SIM, the offender can still send iMessages on your behalf and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Apple cannot disable it from their services, it can only be disabled from the rogue device. Identity Theft!
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