iPhone 'Error invalid number. Please re-send...' bug while messaging Android devices troubles AT&T users: Here's what's happening

With its cutting-edge products and excellent user experiences, Apple has undoubtedly emerged as a technological leader on a worldwide scale.

However, being popular doesn’t mean that it’s products or services are free from bugs and issues.

For instance, we recently covered issues where photos clicked with an iPhone 14 Pro were being overprocessed and iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices were overheating.

This time, users are experiencing some issues while texting.

iPhone ‘Error invalid number’ text bug

According to reports (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), multiple iPhone users in the United States are experiencing difficulties when sending text messages to Android users.

Apparently, this happens because the iPhone keeps adding an extra ‘+’ character to the beginning of phone numbers of Android or Google Voice users.

Due to this, the device’s messaging app or carrier mistakenly recognizes text that one receives from such users to be of foreign origin.

And if they try to send a message on such a number, users get a message that says ‘error invalid number. please re-send using a valid 10 digit mobile number or valid short code’.

@TMobileHelp is there an issue with the T-Mobile network currently? Folks I send SMS to are receiving unthreaded messages (separate chats) and error code stating invalid number.
Source

Anyone else having issues texting non iPhone users with AT&T? I cant receive texts from non iPhone users.
Source

Users have tried blocking and deleting the broken number but it reappears whenever they are texted back by Android or Google Voice users.

Potential workaround

Unfortunately, Apple has not officially responded to the matter yet. But we did manage to come across some workarounds that might help solve your problem.

It’s recommended that you add a +1 to the number of Android or Google Voice users whom you want to text. Additionally, you can try resetting your device’s network settings for a potential fix.

That said, we’ll keep an eye on the invalid number error affecting some iPhone owners when messaging Android users and let you know when an official solution is available.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apple section, so be sure to follow them as well.

Featured image source: Apple

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.