Strings: Reference variables in Java

Question

Yes, this is a basic point of confusion that has been discussed before, but there's a lot of convoluted information and I'm hoping that someone can pinpoint my exact misunderstanding here.

public class Test {
  public static void change(int i) {
    i = 2;
  }
  public static void change(int[] i) {
    i[0] = 6;
  }
  public static void change(String i) {
    i = "Bye";
  }
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    int a = 1;
    int[] b = {3,4,5};
    String c = "Hello";
    change(a);
    change(b);
    change(c);
    System.out.println(a);    // 1 - value unchanged
    System.out.println(b[0]); // 6 - value changed
    System.out.println(c);    // Hello - value unchanged
  }
}

1. The variable a actually contains the value 1. When we pass this to the change() method, a new variable is created, which also contains the value 1. Thus when we change i, a is unaffected. This makes sense.
2. The variable c contains a reference to an array object in memory. When we pass this to the change() method, a new variable is created, which contains the same reference. Thus, they both represent the same object. So when we change i[0], c[0] is also changed. This also makes sense.
3. What I'm having trouble with is if Strings are just object references in Java, why do they behave like primitives in this regard?