Could Beeper’s dream become a nightmare? The startup, which ingeniously brought iMessage to Android users by reverse-engineering the service, has hit a snag. In an announcement on X, the company revealed an outage apparently caused by Apple, preventing texts from going through via Beeper Mini, a newly launched service that facilitated iMessage on non-Apple devices.

An error message in red letters, reading “failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out,” started appearing for users, signaling the problem.

Initially, the Beeper team urged users to report issues within the app for investigation. However, CEO Eric Migicovsky confirmed that it seemed Apple had found a way to disable Beeper Mini’s functionality, stating, “Yes, all data indicates that.”

The future of Beeper Mini’s capabilities remains uncertain unless their engineers find a workaround for this setback.

Migicovsky, previously known for founding Pebble smartwatches, emphasized Beeper Mini’s significance beyond connecting Android users to iMessage group chats. He highlighted its role in enhancing security for iPhone users, exposing the vulnerability of unencrypted green bubble texts exchanged with Android devices.

In an earlier interview, Migicovsky pointed out the lack of encryption in green bubble texts, making them susceptible to interception by various parties, including Apple and phone carriers. He positioned Beeper Mini as a solution to heighten iPhone security.

Apple’s stance on iMessage, considering it a pivotal tool to retain users within its ecosystem, refrains from releasing an iMessage app for Android. Recent developments suggest that EU regulations won’t mandate iMessage’s interoperability, granting Apple the freedom to combat services like Beeper Mini, as it reportedly isn’t popular among business users.

Migicovsky expressed discontent with Apple’s actions, questioning why they’d compromise iPhone user security by thwarting a service enabling encrypted chats to Android users.

Beeper, initially working on a messaging aggregator, rebranded to Beeper Cloud as Beeper Mini launched. The service, priced at $1.99 per month, cleverly allowed Android users to message iMessage contacts seamlessly. By avoiding intermediary servers used by other iMessage-to-Android apps, Beeper Mini mimicked native iMessage interactions, raising uncertainty on how Apple managed to block its access.

The future of Beeper Mini hangs in the balance as Migicovsky indicated they’d assess their options moving forward.