Apple has since acknowledged the issue but has yet to come up with a solution, but in the meantime it seems that the problem has gotten too much for one user, who has since decided to file a class action lawsuit against Apple over the problem. According to the lawsuit, the iPhone customer claims that she has not gotten messages since she switched from her iPhone.
This issue has been around since 2011 and one that is well-known and well-documented. One of the “solutions” offered by Apple is to disable iMessage before deactivating their iPhones. However according to reports, this does not seem to solve the issue. Some users have been lucky enough where upon calling Apple support, they have had their numbers removed from the system, but this hardly seems like a permanent or elegant solution to begin with.
In fact Lifehacker’s former lead editor was told to ask his contacts to change his number on their iPhones from the “iPhone” category to the “Mobile” category instead, which not only would be a near-impossible task, especially if you have many contacts, but a very convoluted workaround. In any case here’s hoping that Apple will be able to solve the problem and soon, given that it’s been about 3 years since it was first reported.