They can take my dotmac address, and I can take my business elsewhere

[bechle]

What a joke Apple's online stuff is. Everyone that survived iTools/MobileMe/iCloud should get a t-shirt or something.

My woes started back when iCloud was announced and MobileMe was extended free for "everyone." I was one of the lucky folks who had just paid a couple weeks earlier and got the privilege to pay for something other people received for free. I contacted Apple and they said I could only cancel or suck it up. They told me they didn't discriminate and everyone was treated the same. Not true. People were discriminated against simply due to the luck of the draw and their expiration date. Anyway, they told me my account would be dormant and I could sign up for iCloud when it released. I took that option.

Now when I signed up they killed my poor old dotmac alias... The only good thing I really had to show for years of overpriced unstable web services from Apple. I try not to think too much about the amount of money I threw down into that frustrating and unreliable abyss. I sent an e-mail to Apple and when the executive relations person contacted me he acted like I was asking for a free Macbook Pro instead of having an e-mail alias re-enabled. He said it was impossible, which is very unlikely. First, they still control the mac.com domain and the MX record for it. Second, if I had kept paying it would have worked. Anyway, even if it is impossible it's just another misstep by Apple.

What's funny is when I generate an e-mail under iCloud I can still select my old dotmac e-mail address as the from and it works fine. It's just if someone e-mails to it the message gets rejected. So it kind of half works. I can't even delete this information or alias from my account. They wanted me to change my password and let the engineers go rooting in my account. So now my old mac.com address is my iCloud login name, it's selectable as the from address when generating a new message and works for sending, just not receiving and is listed as my e-mail address. I have one "e-mail" dotmac account name to login for my iTunes, one "e-mail" dotmac account name to login to my iCloud account, and neither functional or changeable. Can't fix it or merge any of them. Outstanding!

But anyway, I found a solution! I sold my iPhone 4, my iPad 2 and Macbook Pro are on eBay and I just re-enabled my old MSN e-mail address. (Which I could without any issue.) I guess I'm just about Apple'd out. Never thought I'd leave Apple (heck, I had a Newton!) but I didn't pay the Apple premium over the years just to be treated like a generic pc buyer. If I'm going to be treated poorly I might as well save a bit of money.

Steve Jobs said it best, "Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?"

 

[Bethany Smith]

Sorry you had all that trouble.

If I lost my .mac email address I would be upset as well. Silly thing to be upset about, but some times little things matter more to some than others.

One thing I thought was kind of odd with the whole iCloud transition was that they kept the .me for emails. Would have made more sense to me at least if they just came out with a .icloud or something instead.

 

[bechle]

Thanks for the kind words.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things it's nothing, less than nothing; definitely a first world problem.

I just had a sentimental attachment to that address, went through horrible service and reliability with MobileMe, was asked to pay for service provided free to others, wasn't given enough information to make an informed decision, was talked to by a condescending Apple rep, then had my thread deleted on the Apple forums... I just have had enough and vented.

I feel a little better now though. Thanks for "listening."

 

[Senseotech]

Goodbye, don't let the door hit you on the way out. If your "I'm more special than everyone else" attitude is as big as you make it out to be, I'd rather not have anything in common with you. So, because a company didn't divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against? Try again. Also, I made the MM/iCloud transition and have all my .mac addresses intact and worked 100%, so before losing your mind, perhaps call back and talk to someone else. I find that 99% of the time, in customer service, if you act like a dick, you're going to get treated like a dick, which this thread leads me to believe was the case. And finally, to literally sell your working devices you use on a daily basis over a single email address??? I can't even use words to describe the stubborn, "I'm so high and mighty" attitude problems you have.

 

[whsbuss]

Goodbye, don't let the door hit you on the way out. If your "I'm more special than everyone else" attitude is as big as you make it out to be, I'd rather not have anything in common with you. So, because a company didn't divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against? Try again. Also, I made the MM/iCloud transition and have all my .mac addresses intact and worked 100%, so before losing your mind, perhaps call back and talk to someone else. I find that 99% of the time, in customer service, if you act like a dick, you're going to get treated like a dick, which this thread leads me to believe was the case. And finally, to literally sell your working devices you use on a daily basis over a single email address??? I can't even use words to describe the stubborn, "I'm so high and mighty" attitude problems you have.

Wow, just another a**hole with an opinion. I'd be very upset if my email address was pulled.

 

[bechle]

Now THAT'S the kind of reply I was expecting.

You sound just as angry as me about nothing, so stick it, buddy.

Apple couldn't have offered pro-rated refunds for those of us who just paid full price? Nah, they just expected us to pay for the honor of using MobileMe just dependent on expiration date. And what are you talking about "divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against." It was announced when I contacted them. Reading comprehension, fail. I just wasn't going to pay for a service that other people were getting for free.

EDIT: Thanks, whsbuss.

Goodbye, don't let the door hit you on the way out. If your "I'm more special than everyone else" attitude is as big as you make it out to be, I'd rather not have anything in common with you. So, because a company didn't divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against? Try again. Also, I made the MM/iCloud transition and have all my .mac addresses intact and worked 100%, so before losing your mind, perhaps call back and talk to someone else. I find that 99% of the time, in customer service, if you act like a dick, you're going to get treated like a dick, which this thread leads me to believe was the case. And finally, to literally sell your working devices you use on a daily basis over a single email address??? I can't even use words to describe the stubborn, "I'm so high and mighty" attitude problems you have.

 

[Senseotech]

Now THAT'S the kind of reply I was expecting.

You sound just as angry as me about nothing, so stick it, buddy.

Apple couldn't have offered pro-rated refunds for those of us who just paid full price? Nah, they just expected us to pay for the honor of using the crap that was MobileMe just dependent on expiration date. And what are you talking about "divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against." It was announced when I contacted them. Reading comprehension, fail. I just wasn't going to pay for a service that other people were getting for free.

EDIT: Thanks, whsbuss.

They're offering pro-rated refunds actually, so way to go not doing any research before flipping out.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4445

 

[bechle]

Yep, and that's what I did and got my money back. They told me my account would be dormant and I could just re-enable it by signing up for iCloud. There was nothing saying parts of my account would be lost.

If they would have just informed me of this, I could have made a more informed decision. Also, if you cancel MobileMe to get that refund, I read your old alias will not transfer to iCloud. Only active MobileMe accounts. Again, something not mentioned by Apple back when announcing iCloud.

It seems they hadn't figured out all of the pieces back then, or didn't disseminate the information to their support staff.

They're offering pro-rated refunds actually, so way to go not doing any research before flipping out.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4445

 

[Starhawk]

I almost did what you did. I reactivated my old Mobile Me back in February of this year, and after iCloud was announced, I considered canceling it then, getting a refund, and waiting till iCloud came out to re-aquire that username/email. I decided to just wait because I was already using that me.com email again.

I'm with you, I thought they said that dormant me.com emails would be able to be reused by the same person.

 

[thunderbunny]

Now THAT'S the kind of reply I was expecting.

You sound just as angry as me about nothing, so stick it, buddy.

Apple couldn't have offered pro-rated refunds for those of us who just paid full price? Nah, they just expected us to pay for the honor of using MobileMe just dependent on expiration date. And what are you talking about "divulge secret information on an upcoming product launch by not renewing you, you're suddenly discriminated against." It was announced when I contacted them. Reading comprehension, fail. I just wasn't going to pay for a service that other people were getting for free.

EDIT: Thanks, whsbuss.

Nobody got anything MobileMe for free. Apple extended the accounts of people who'd already bought it.

 

[bechle]

I had paid for MobileMe, for many years in fact. My expiration was about four weeks before the iCloud and MobileMe extension announcement. They automatically charged my credit card.

So I paid $100 for service. Someone who's expiration was few weeks later paid $0 for their renewal. I would consider that they are receiving free service.

I couldn't stomach that, so after they told me I could cancel, get a refund and my account would just be dormant, I told them to go ahead.

Nobody got anything MobileMe for free. Apple extended the accounts of people who'd already bought it.

 

[thunderbunny]

I had paid for MobileMe, for many years in fact. My expiration was about four weeks before the iCloud and MobileMe extension announcement. They automatically charged my credit card.

So I paid $100 for service. Someone who's service ended a few weeks later, paid $0. I would consider that they are receiving free service.

Maybe they'd paid before you? You're getting more than you paid for so quit moaning.

 

[bechle]

Maybe they'd paid before you? You're getting more than you paid for so quit moaning.

If they paid before me, they were in the same boat; paying for service other people received for free.

How am I getting more than I paid for? All I wanted was my e-mail address. I don't use any of the other services.

 

[hassr]

This boils down to two things. When the the refunds were offered there was no mention of the loss of the @mac.com email address during the iCloud transition. The whole reason for the refund was offered was because of the transition.

Then months after the refund was offered the company decided to the keep the inactive accounts @mac.com email addresses inactive during the iCloud transformation. This included people, like myself, that took advantage of the refund and who cannot reactivate their accounts after being aware of the new information.

 

[thunderbunny]

If they paid before me, they were in the same boat; paying for service other people received for free.

How am I getting more than I paid for? All I wanted was my e-mail address. I don't use any of the other services.

Nobody got anything for free.

Might have more sympathy if you'd been constructive on this forum before signing up just to moan.

 

[bechle]

If you don't see how that's free, I'm a bit confused, but whatever.

And you have a valid point on the joining to complain. I just posted something similar on Apple's forums and they deleted it, so I searched for another Apple forum and here I am.

Sorry I'm not beaming Apple joy from my buttocks.

Nobody got anything for free.

Might have more sympathy if you'd been constructive on this forum before signing up just to moan.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Your not the only one getting fed up with Apple. My sister has been a long time Mac user who basically got my entire family converted over to mac. She had a lot of trouble with MobileMe not too long ago, has been experiencing a bunch of problems with the initial roll-out of Lion, and just had some issues with the transition to iCloud. Yes, in all cases I managed to fix her troubles, or told her to be patient for future updates, but as she put when she had the most recent of these problems "I'm so ***** fed up with Mac".

The "it just works" mantra that got people into paying a premium for Apple products is running out of steam. My sister is certainly not tech savy, and she certainly expects too much out of computers, but the sad fact is that the user-experience is resembling more and more the PC environment. With the wide diversity of platforms and products, integrating them all while keeping regular update cycles for both hardware and software seems to be taking it's toll.

What's sad is the long-time devout users who helped make macs successful and more popular do not seem to be adequately appreciated and compensated, like yourself dear OP.

Another case in point is the sad ordeal with iCloud email temporarily not working, even today. Yes, it is new, but that simply isn't acceptable to the general public that relies on their email accounts to work reliably for their work. If it wasn't ready for prime-time, it shouldn't be released. When basic access to the service doesn't work, for days on end for many users, you know something is seriously out of order.

The quality of release seems to be slipping. Yes Apple might eventually get things right by the time they roll out the third or fourth updates, but that was always true for the PC environment too. The bottom line is the average non-tech savy user isn't interested in rationalizations or explanations, they want things to "just work", and as Apple's success has proven, they are willing to pay a premium for that luxury. Hopefully, going forward, Apple can figure out a way to use its ingenuity to make transitions and initial product releases more fluid otherwise it will risk alienating its user base. When you are new to the platform you tolerate these quirks, but as time goes by, all the problems begin to have a compounding affect.

 

[Senseotech]

Your not the only one getting fed up with Apple. My sister has been a long time Mac user who basically got my entire family converted over to mac. She had a lot of trouble with MobileMe not too long ago, has been experiencing a bunch of problems with the initial roll-out of Lion, and just had some issues with the transition to iCloud. Yes, in all cases I managed to fix her troubles, or told her to be patient for future updates, but as she put when she had the most recent of these problems "I'm so ***** fed up with Mac".

The "it just works" mantra that got people into paying a premium for Apple products is running out of steam. My sister is certainly not tech savy, and she certainly expects too much out of computers, but the sad fact is that the user-experience is resembling more and more the PC environment. With the wide diversity of platforms and products, integrating them all while keeping regular update cycles for both hardware and software seems to be taking it's toll.

What's sad is the long-time devout users who helped make macs successful and more popular do not seem to be adequately appreciated and compensated, like yourself dear OP.

Another case in point is the sad ordeal with iCloud email temporarily not working, even today. Yes, it is new, but that simply isn't acceptable to the general public that relies on their email accounts to work reliably for their work. If it wasn't ready for prime-time, it shouldn't be released. When basic access to the service doesn't work, for days on end for many users, you know something is seriously out of order.

The quality of release seems to be slipping. Yes Apple might eventually get things right by the time they roll out the third or fourth updates, but that was always true for the PC environment too. The bottom line is the average non-tech savy user isn't interested in rationalizations or explanations, they want things to "just work", and as Apple's success has proven, they are willing to pay a premium for that luxury. Hopefully, going forward, Apple can figure out a way to use its ingenuity to make transitions and initial product releases more fluid otherwise it will risk alienating its user base. When you are new to the platform you tolerate these quirks, but as time goes by, all the problems begin to have a compounding affect.

For every one of these rants about how Apple screwed up or the whole thing was a mess, there are hundreds who never had a problem and are perfectly content with it. I'm one of those, whose never had problems with Lion, used MobileMe with no problems, and made the transition to iCloud with zero issues. Just because your sister and a dozen others had a problems, doesn't suddenly mean Apple is losing or suffering at anything, because at the end of the day, the users with problems are a small minority when compared to the countless others who are happily working away on their rock solid platform and don't need to come here to complain when simple statistics hits them and shows that theres literally nothing in the world thats perfect, but just because it happened to you, doesn't make the whole thing screwed up.

 

[srf4real]

but just because it happened to you, doesn't make the whole thing screwed up.

You'd be singing a different tune were the shoe on YOUR foot. Apple is slipping. I've been a fanatic for a long time, because Apple has always been extremely reliable, easy to integrate, and highly concerned with customer satisfaction. Lately, I can see it too. Hopefully it's just a growing pains.. but I also had recent issues concerning my long time dotmac account which has never gone unpaid in seven years. The transition has been less than stellar for a large group of folks - (check the forums and don't assume everyone with problems posts their own thread)

 

[PNutts]

That's too bad the OP lost an e-mail domain he wanted. However, the information is available on Apple's website that only active accounts move to iCloud: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/transition.html

To me it seems like the OP got everything he wanted. He cancelled his account and got a refund. He was no longer a subscriber. He was told he could sign up for iCloud. He assumed something would happen that didn't. That prorated refund is probably looks small right now compared to losing an address.

Apple had to draw a line in the sand. One month earlier and it would be someone else complaining. Another month earlier would be that batch. Apple can refund all subcription fees for all subscribers back to their account activation.

It does puzzle me why he had years of bad experiences and money thrown away and now wants to keep that connection.

 

[yojitani]

Your not the only one getting fed up with Apple. My sister has been a long time Mac user who basically got my entire family converted over to mac. She had a lot of trouble with MobileMe not too long ago, has been experiencing a bunch of problems with the initial roll-out of Lion, and just had some issues with the transition to iCloud. Yes, in all cases I managed to fix her troubles, or told her to be patient for future updates, but as she put when she had the most recent of these problems "I'm so ***** fed up with Mac".

Same here. Got my family hooked on Macs but I probably won't be buying another new model. I don't like their locked down machines, I've never liked these glossy displays (I know you can change them, but at another premium), I don't like the app store, I'm tired of the buggy OS releases, etc. Plenty of time, I hope, before I have to make the decision about where to go next. I'm thinking some Linux distro or another.

I sympathize with the OP. I liked the @mac.com address too. @me.com, and mobileme generally, aggrieve my ears in much the same way as Qwickster did.

Also @PNutts: your link does not say anything to the effect of "only active accounts move to iCloud." In fact, the correct information is:

I have an expired @me.com email address as an Apple ID. Can I use it with iCloud and receive email at that address?
Yes, if it is an @me.com address. To use your expired MobileMe account for iCloud, follow the iCloud setup instructions and enter your expired @me.com email address as your Apple ID. Your @me.com address it will be reactivated for email when you sign up for iCloud.

Source: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4895

 

[bechle]

I didn't assume. Apple support erroneously told me I wouldn't lose anything except for the ability to use my account until the iCloud release.

Also, that FAQ was not available at that time. It came out later.

Yeah, not sure why I wanted to keep that address either after the pain. However, I was donating my time doing a website for a charity and it was just easiest to do it on iWeb so I hung onto MobileMe for years. That dotmac address was my badge for having used Apple's online services through good and (mostly) bad.

When they charged my credit card, they knew iCloud was coming out. They mostly likely knew they were going to extend MobileMe for free. So anyone charged just before the announcement? Tough cookies. That "solution" was crap in my opinion.

I did some more thinking and realize I still really like OSX, I'm just tired of iOS and Apple's online stuff. I have a reserve on my Macbook Pro, so maybe it won't sell. I guess I wouldn't mind. I'm glad to be rid of the locked down iPad and iPhone though. I'll most likely be buying that new Google phone when it's available. Until then I picked up a cheap HTC Inspire and I really like it so far!

Anyway, thanks all and good night.

That's too bad the OP lost an e-mail domain he wanted. However, the information is available on Apple's website that only active accounts move to iCloud: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/transition.html

To me it seems like the OP got everything he wanted. He cancelled his account and got a refund. He was no longer a subscriber. He was told he could sign up for iCloud. He assumed something would happen that didn't. That prorated refund is probably looks small right now compared to losing an address.

Apple had to draw a line in the sand. One month earlier and it would be someone else complaining. Another month earlier would be that batch. Apple can refund all subcription fees for all subscribers back to their account activation.

It does puzzle me why he had years of bad experiences and money thrown away and now wants to keep that connection.

 

[PNutts]

Also @PNutts: your link does not say anything to the effect of "only active accounts move to iCloud." In fact, the correct information is:

That is quite a pageful. I've copied the paragraph below. It's the first paragraph after the first bullet points. Emphasis is mine and it's not meant to be in-your-face.

Can I keep my MobileMe email address once I move to iCloud?
Yes. If you have an active MobileMe account when you sign up for iCloud, you can keep your me.com or mac.com email address and any email aliases you have created and move your MobileMe mail, contacts, and calendars, as well as your bookmarks, to the new service. When you're ready to make the move, go to http://www.me.com/move.


EDIT:

Also, that FAQ was not available at that time. It came out later.

I was afraid of that. I looked for a date on the page and couldn't find anything. I say if you want it back, be enough of a pain to them that they revisit their decision.

 

[Senseotech]

You'd be singing a different tune were the shoe on YOUR foot. Apple is slipping. I've been a fanatic for a long time, because Apple has always been extremely reliable, easy to integrate, and highly concerned with customer satisfaction. Lately, I can see it too. Hopefully it's just a growing pains.. but I also had recent issues concerning my long time dotmac account which has never gone unpaid in seven years. The transition has been less than stellar for a large group of folks - (check the forums and don't assume everyone with problems posts their own thread)

And don't assume to now what I'd feel in a situation. Also don't assume that just because one group is vocal about something, that the other group doesn't exist. Even if 1000 people had an issue with the transition, that still leaves millions who didn't and aren't going to come here to post about it. Apple isn't slipping in the opinions of many people, so how is yours more valid than theirs, because you've had a problem?

 

[JohnDoe98]

For every one of these rants about how Apple screwed up or the whole thing was a mess, there are hundreds who never had a problem and are perfectly content with it. I'm one of those, whose never had problems with Lion, used MobileMe with no problems, and made the transition to iCloud with zero issues. Just because your sister and a dozen others had a problems, doesn't suddenly mean Apple is losing or suffering at anything, because at the end of the day, the users with problems are a small minority when compared to the countless others who are happily working away on their rock solid platform and don't need to come here to complain when simple statistics hits them and shows that theres literally nothing in the world thats perfect, but just because it happened to you, doesn't make the whole thing screwed up.

But you miss my point. The point is over time people will get irritated if they keep up on this lousy release path. I don't know how long you've been with Apple, and if it has been a long time, your lucky you haven't run into one of their major screw ups, like when they released iPhoto and it deleted people's entire libraries. Then there was also the recent FinalCut Studio or whatever it is fiasco. MobileMe was a disaster they themselves recognized. iCloud is giving a bunch of people problems with their emails and is deleting some of their work randomly.

I really hope iTunes Match won't wreck my music library. So, yeah, statistically, since most mac users are new users (more and more people are coming at increasing rates to the mac platform), maybe they haven't had problems. But once they have been around long enough to be affected by one of these stupidness, their opinions might dramatically change. I haven't had problems with Apple, so I'm pretty happy with the experience. I am a little concerned for their future if they continue on this path though.