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iMessage for free on Quantum class and Harmony


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A lot of people have discovered that Apple iMessage works for free on certain ships.   This has some Android users questioning why RCI is allowing this for Apple devices but not allowing any texting app to work for free on Android.
 
I have a theory. RoyalIQ offers a texting feature for $7.95 for the full voyage. On Apple devices the RoyalIQ app has to use the Apple notification platform to inform users a text has been received. This requires that TCP-5223 be open to the internet. As it turns out this is also one of the ports that iMessage uses.
 
It appears that iMessage working is a side effect of making notifications work on the RoyalIQ app.
 
My theory is that Royal is not trying to give Apple users an advantage, they have to allow it in order to make Royal IQ work on Apple devices.
 
Eventually the new Royal app will replace RoyalIQ and that is expected this year for some ships in the fleet. Once RoyalIQ is replaced by the new app on the Quantum class I expect iMessage to stop working unless you purchase Voom.
 
Enjoy it while you can.
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1 minute ago, CGTLH said:

Hmm sounds like an experiment for me to try in May on Harmony. Shame you can't define ports that services can use...

I'm wondering if one could piggy back other traffic onto TCP/5223 such as a proxy server running at home then proxy all traffic over it.  Or configure a VPN to listen on TCP/5223 at home.  Knowing Apple there is a long list of potential servers to whitelist so they might have had to make it open to all internet destinations.  

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1 minute ago, twangster said:

I'm wondering if one could piggy back other traffic onto TCP/5223 such as a proxy server running at home then proxy all traffic over it.  Or configure a VPN to listen on TCP/5223 at home.  Knowing Apple there is a long list of potential servers to whitelist so they might have had to make it open to all internet destinations.  

Do I need to wrap my head in foil to keep you from reading my mind?

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18 minutes ago, twangster said:

Can I us that for halloween on the Symphony TA?

Go for it! That's the get up I did on Oasis.

Very compact and easy to pack! Cheap also, already had the shirt. Gloves and sunglasses were ~$3 on ebay, not show was a knit cap ~$3. Wig and beard were $10 on Amazon, look for the caveman one.

Dry erase board was I think $2 from Wal-Mart. Amazon had a 11x14 version for $6. The larger one is the one I used.

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7 minutes ago, melski94 said:

Sorry I understood none of that except iMessage works on Harmony.  I’ve read about this and various reports about in airplane mode or no airplane mode. Is there anything we need to do to out phones to get it to work? 

Turn on airplane mode, connect to ship wifi (royal-wifi).  Use iMessage.  

The RoyalIQ app requires the same approach.

Turn on airplane mode, connect to ship wifi (royal-wifi).  Use RoyalIQ.  

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12 minutes ago, melski94 said:

Sorry I understood none of that except iMessage works on Harmony.  I’ve read about this and various reports about in airplane mode or no airplane mode. Is there anything we need to do to out phones to get it to work? 

I know, right? 

It's like every time they start talking about this stuff, my eyes start going in different circles and I feel dizzy.

 

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15 hours ago, twangster said:
It appears that iMessage working is a side effect of making notifications work on the RoyalIQ app.
 
My theory is that Royal is not trying to give Apple users an advantage, they have to allow it in order to make Royal IQ work on Apple devices.
 

Ding ding ding.  I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market.  As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked.

BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

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57 minutes ago, monorailmedic said:

Ding ding ding.  I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market.  As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked.

BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

Even an extension to this exists on the ship that are using the new app (not Royal IQ). They have an option to enter your info so you can download the app. Well if you happen to exit the store without downloading it gives you full internet access. Not sure for how long.

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1 hour ago, monorailmedic said:

Ding ding ding.  I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market.  As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked.

BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

 

2 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

Even an extension to this exists on the ship that are using the new app (not Royal IQ). They have an option to enter your info so you can download the app. Well if you happen to exit the store without downloading it gives you full internet access. Not sure for how long.

Gogo wifi on airplanes used to be this way.  You got 10 minutes of free internet to download the app.  Eventually they figured out people were abusing it and they limited you to 3 attempts.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

To put this all in terms that everyone can understand.

Assume there is a highway connects 2 cities.  In order for the RoyalIQ App to work, it needs to use that highway and opens it up for use.  Well, that is the same highway that iMessage uses.  Since Android phones/apps don't use that highway, the 2 cities can't talk to each other.

Hopefully that clears some things up for people.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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