 Whether you believe in heaven or hell, one thing's for sure. Purgatory does exist and it's a place full of lost iMessages. I'm Nathan Seidkart and this is 90 Seconds on the Verge. Apple has announced it plans on addressing the notorious iMessage issue that leaves many messages in limbo, never to be seen again. Here's what happens. Apple's default messaging app detects when two iPhones are communicating. And when that happens, messages are automatically sent via iMessage. This can happen over Wi-Fi or cellular data, and that saves you from typical messaging fees. And it works alongside standard SMS. The only visual difference is a blue versus green chat bubble. That means that when your friends with iPhones send text and photos, they may continue to send via iMessage, which of course you never see. And therein lies the problem. iMessage knows to send iMessages when you're on an iPhone, but it doesn't know when to stop. The problem can be avoided if you turn off iMessage before switching devices, but even then there's no guarantee it'll work. In a statement to Recode, Apple says it has fixed a server-side bug and that it'll have additional fixes in a future software update. And the issue isn't even anything new. It's been happening since iMessage was first released in 2011. But recently, frustrated users have been more vocal. Lifehacker's Adam Pash wrote about it on his blog, and separately, an iPhone user in California sued Apple last week for losing her messages. Will Apple's next update finally bring an end to this problem? Will years of lost iMessages ever be found? Or will we forever be trapped in an unhealthy relationship with our iPhone? For more on iMessages, check out The Verge. Coming up, I discover I've been doing this from purgatory the entire time. Wait, what?
 Whether you believe in heaven or hell, one thing's for sure.
 Purgatory does exist and it's a place full of lost iMessages.
 I'm Nathan Seidkart and this is 90 Seconds on the Verge.
 Apple has announced it plans on addressing the notorious iMessage issue
 that leaves many messages in limbo, never to be seen again.
 Here's what happens.
 Apple's default messaging app detects when two iPhones are communicating.
 And when that happens, messages are automatically sent via iMessage.
 This can happen over Wi-Fi or cellular data,
 and that saves you from typical messaging fees.
 And it works alongside standard SMS.
 The only visual difference is a blue versus green chat bubble.
 That means that when your friends with iPhones send text and photos,
 they may continue to send via iMessage, which of course you never see.
 And therein lies the problem.
 iMessage knows to send iMessages when you're on an iPhone,
 but it doesn't know when to stop.
 The problem can be avoided if you turn off iMessage before switching devices,
 but even then there's no guarantee it'll work.
 In a statement to Recode, Apple says it has fixed a server-side bug
 and that it'll have additional fixes in a future software update.
 And the issue isn't even anything new.
 It's been happening since iMessage was first released in 2011.
 But recently, frustrated users have been more vocal.
 Lifehacker's Adam Pash wrote about it on his blog,
 and separately, an iPhone user in California
 sued Apple last week for losing her messages.
 Will Apple's next update finally bring an end to this problem?
 Will years of lost iMessages ever be found?
 Or will we forever be trapped in an unhealthy relationship with our iPhone?
 For more on iMessages, check out The Verge.
 Coming up, I discover I've been doing this from purgatory the entire time.
 Wait, what?