Phone number marked as "recently deactivated" almost immediately after setting up Beeper mini

[alexismdr]

As you can see from the screenshot below, my phone number is almost immediately marked as "recently deactivated" (in Apple ID settings on my iPhone) a few minutes after setting up Beeper Mini. I've noticed that this happens at the same time as I receive a "Retrieving validation data" notification from beepserv. As a result, I can't use my phone number on Beeper Mini. I've also noticed that the application (very) regularly asks me to refresh my Apple ID.

Am I missing something in the Beeper Mini setup?

[thatmarcel]

I don't think I've heard about this problem yet.

Which carrier, device, and iOS version are you using?

Also, does registering the number for iMessage on the iPhone still work after that?

[alexismdr]

Carrier : Orange F (French carrier) Android device : Google Pixel 3 XL iOS device : iPhone SE 1st gen iOS version : 15.8.1

Yes, I can still register the number for iMessage on my iPhone by inserting my SIM card.

I also used an Android debugging app to check that my carrier was responding correctly to the REG-REQ message with a REG-RESP message. And it does. However, I still need to enter my Apple ID into the Beeper Mini. It's weird, isn't it?

[thatmarcel]

Thanks for the response, that's weird indeed.

I've seen some people in the #beepserv:beeper.com Matrix chat say they've been able to register their phone number after resetting Beeper Mini app data and trying again a few times.

Also, you could try toggling iMessage on the iPhone a few times or trying with iMessage disabled if you had it enabled, or vice-versa.

Additionally, maybe try manually de-registering your phone number, or removing it from your Apple ID.

If none of that works, you could also try signing into Beeper Mini with a new Apple ID.

Apart from that, I'm not sure what's causing this.

[alexismdr]

I've already tried everything you said, but Beeper Mini keeps asking for my Apple ID. I really don't understand what can go wrong after receiving the REG-RESP message from my carrier. Maybe the problem occurs when the REG-RESP "token" is sent to Apple's authentication servers...

If I use a different Apple ID on the Beeper Mini app, my phone number lasts less than an hour being disconnected from iMessage. It always disconnects at the same time I get a "retrieving validation data" notification from beepserv.

It would be great if we could access the Beeper Mini logs to do some debugging, because right now it's just a black box, so we don't understand how it works and where it fails.

[Dometalican]

To be honest, I think what I've noticed is, for me anyway, that it will work for a good while. After some time, the tweak will try to reconnect to identityservicesd and, instead of using the successful cached validation, it would go for another new request automatically which breaks this thing (as it's not successful unless iMessage on the iPhone is on and it should be off to prevent Apple from sniffing at why the number seems 'spammy').

Marcel, you might just need to make the tweak so that it almost always uses a cached successful validation unless we force it to use a new one (or maybe have a reinstall submit a new one if it's necessary; considering that's a valid troubleshooting step anyway).

[alexismdr]

@Dometalican Have you tried setting up Beeper Mini and then turning off the iPhone? (I haven't). If the number doesn't deregister from your Apple account for at least several hours, then your explanation seems correct.

[Dometalican]

@Dometalican Have you tried setting up Beeper Mini and then turning off the iPhone? (I haven't). If the number doesn't deregister from your Apple account for at least several hours, then your explanation seems correct.

I sure did. As expected (because the phone turned off), the Registration Code errors out. When I look into the Apple ID profile, the phone number is removed. I might be locked out so I have to check but I guess that explanation doesn't entirely check out.

I've done just about all troubleshooting but the longest it's lasted is a day before the number gets 'deactivated'. Darn me for not shelling out more money for a newer iPhone that supports rootless...

[thatmarcel]

Regarding the cached validation data, see this comment.

I'm not sure whether the "recently deactivated" issue is related to beepserv or the iMessage bridge that's used in the Android application, or what exactly causes that issue, sorry.