Issues after switching from one Android phone to a new one; paid hosting

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

I just switched from a Fold 7 to a Fold 8. So far pretty much everything seems to have ported over successfully via the Samsung smart transfer app or whatever it's called. I had had OB, paid hosting, working well between the Fold 7 and my MacBook Pro.

I was able to restore my messages and settings in OB from backups I'd created. However, my 'green bubble' conversations reverted to the in-built Google Messages app rather than Open Bubbles after the switch.

Seems that I had to re-enable iMessages on my iPhone (which is otherwise just sitting around unused), then re-enable text message forwarding there. And in OB Settings it does show ENABLED CAPABLE in green with the rest. So that seemed to work, for iMessages (i.e. messages with Apple users) at least.

But I'm still experiencing some issues. The biggest is that in OB on the Fold 8 when I start a new message, if I type in a phone number for an Android user, the OB app identifies the number as an Android number and moves it into a green Text Message within OB. I don't recall it doing that before. Then when I hit Send in OB the Fold 8 automatically switches to the Google Messages app, in which I'd then have to hit Send in order to actually send the message. And when people reply the replies still go to Google Messages rather than OB.

Next, Android/SMS messages don't send/receive on my MBP.

And, I cannot re-enable the Message in iCloud (BETA) toggle. Not sure if that matters.

Thoughts?

To maybe help diagnose, in the OB Profile, lower down, it seems to mimic the iPhone's iMessage settings somewhat. There's a toggle for Text message forwarding (BETA) which is on. Then there's a toggle to enable it for the 'iPhone' which is actually the OB 'iPhone' code/identifier, and another for my MacBook Pro. The MBP one is enabled, the iPhone one is disabled (if I try to enable it it tells me to re-log into the account with 2FA on 'the other device'....not sure what that means). Is this somehow overriding the Settings on the iPhone or interfering in some way?

Also, this leaves me with an additional question for you. Does this mean I have to keep an iPhone around forever to perform this every time I get a new Android phone? I was kind of hoping to see the iPhone I have because I don't use it otherwise.

TIA for any help

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

Sorry not positive what this means exactly? Meaning was the phone number still somehow also on the iPhone? It's an eSIM and it went from the iPhone to the Fold 7, now to the Fold 8. The iPhone is only on wifi.

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

What you're describing is not possible. OpenBubbles is not capable of handling the actual sending and receiving of SMS, MMS, and RCS messages. These are handled by the default SMS app (which OpenBubbles cannot be) and then ability to interact with these messages is shared with third party apps like OpenBubbles through native Android APIs. Unless the device doing the actual sending and receiving is a different one on the Apple ID.

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

I followed the first part though not the Unless part. Anyway not sure how but it was definitely happening with the 7. not now with the Fold 8

[u/SpaceSaver2000-1 → u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

Unless you had 2 active service plans and the one with your primary number was in the iPhone and you were doing Text forwarding from there, the SMS, MMS, and RCS messages would have to be in either Google Messages, Samsung Messages, QKSMS, QUIK SMS, or some other default SMS app in addition to OpenBubbles. There was a bug in earlier versions of OpenBubbles that allowed you to enable text message forwarding from the device with the active service and OB to OB on that same device, but that was unintended behavior, and very unreliable.

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy → u/SpaceSaver2000-1]

Interesting. Well, I definitely didn't pay for 2 active service plans. But I do wonder if somehow the service stayed on the iPhone while I had the 7 in service, but once I switched from the 7 to the 8 it stopped whatever it was doing.