Q: ichat can't communicate

Hi,

That's even more messy that I thought it would get.

Apple brought ichat in 2003 as an AIM only client and with an Agreement with AIM that all Apple ID issued by the .Mac Service (@Mac.com names) would be recognised.

At the same time AIM had agreement with several ISPs in the States to do the same with their emails as IDs for Valid AIM Screen Names.

Effectively we are talking about a agreement that has been in place for nearly 10 years !!!

If the Senior guy had really know what he was talking about he would have know that the AIM servers have access to the Apple servers to verify the Screen Name and access the password and that logic would mean there would be no details on their server.

The Process acts like the @Mac.com names are held on the AIM servers in some form, but it is unclear whether this is actually so.

The other things is that some of us can still login with @mac.com names

I have one @mac.com and one @me.com name that would have the same "No Details" issues.

The only other common fact is the posts by others that have used their "Account" whilst travelling abroad.

At the iChat 2 to iChat 3 change over I had contact with the then Host here at Apple Discussions about an issue AIM had with @mac.com names where the username part made the whole thing more than 12 Characters.

Again this did not effect everyone.

At that time Apple waved a big stick at AOL/AIM but it took a few days to resolve.

It sounds like Apple will have to do this again.

7:53 PM      Wednesday; August 8, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ralph,

How do we prompt Apple to wave the big stick? 

Regards,

DXB Law

Hi,

I would use the http://www.apple.com/feedback/ichat.html page.

This may need you to manually enter the version and OS level you are at (it has never been that good keeping track of iChat and OS changes)

However I have not come across a limit to the free text area (there probably is one)

I used that page and prompted fairly heavily about changing this document

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1507

It now makes it clearer about which are the Bonjour ports and which are needed for which service via the Notes.

That is to say I have used this route and I know it works even though you don't get a reply.

10:52 PM      Saturday; August 18, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Then again, maybe the problem will just magically go away.  It did for me.  Just as suddenly as I wasn't able to log into iChat now, hey presto, I can.

HI,

I must admit I did drop a messages myself with links to two threads that this issue had come about.

It might be that Apple reminded AIM the @mac.com names are still valid AIM Screen Names under the agreement.

Glad to hear yours is working again.

9:32 PM      Monday; September 10, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

And just as suddenly, it stopped and is again giving me an error message that my user name is not valid.  This is frustrating.

HI,

That is odd.

Does the AIM settings page say you are suspended again ?

Has your location changed ?

6:59 PM      Sunday; September 16, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Yes, it says I am suspended again.

My location has changed multiple times - I use iChat only when I travel, which I do frequently.  There seems to be no way to get "un-suspended" other than to wait and hope. 

Though quite frankly if AOL is now going to suspend me every time I travel, then iChat is not going to be much use to me anymore.  That would be a pity, because it was one of my favorite things over the past seven or eight years . . .

Hi DBX Law,

I would still use the Feedback page and stack up the requests for apple to "Sort" this and lean on AIM a bit.

8:38 PM      Tuesday; September 18, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Yes, I'll try that again.  I'll let you know if it helps.  Thanks.

Do you think that this problem relates to Apple having discontinued iChat in favor of Messages?  I thought Messages was another name for the same (albeit upgraded) version of the same software, but perhaps it isn't. 

It is very odd because I used iChat successfully for nearly a decade while traveling to various countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East - and now all of a sudden I am getting blocked by AIM with no way to resolve the issue.

Hi,

iChat 6 and Messages do allow AIM to verify the Password slightly differently to iChat 5 and earlier

iChat 6 an Messages also login to me.com 

This dual login (to AIM as well) then allows the AIM servers to "See" the password.

No Login to me.com = no access to the Password.

However it only seems to effect newer iCloud Issued @me.com names

This means iCloud issued @me.com names will not work in iChat 5 due to this (Nor the AIM Settings Login point)

iChat 6 and Messages also use different Servers to iChat 5 and earlier.

The new one is api.oscar.aol.com On port 443. The old one was login.oscar.aol.com which gained a leading s when you used SSL. This used port  5190.

So there are ways that AIM could monitor how iChat and Messages login.

However it seems to be the older @mac.com names that are being effected.

If Apple were blocking the names then you would not be able to Login with that name to iTunes, Apple Support Communities and the like  (however iMessages and FaceTime registrations are separate again from that)

For a long time AIM have suspended Accounts they see as having Unusual Activity and have had contact pages to get in touch with them.

Their first response has always been "reset the Password" (i.e if you own the Account then you can do this)

However with Apple IDs the process does not work as AIM don't have the Passwords they can only Look at them.

In the past I have come across to conflicting Apple Articles about how it works.

My theory is that Apple do Allow the List of Apple IDs to be either held or seen at AIM.

The Passwords definitely require AIM to Look them up at Apple.

One of the Apple Docs said that Apple "Created the AIM names at AIM" for Apple Users.

If this were true then people would not have problems with the AIM limit of 16 characters to a password.

I had forgotten about the reciprocal arrangement that AOL IDs could be used in iTunes

But in searching for the Docs I was talking about I see lots about losing that ability.

I have come across this http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4139

(I still can't find the Docs I was looking for)

It now looks like some tit for tat political stuff is going on.

However the issue is at the AIM end.

9:16 PM      Monday; September 24, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and and iPad

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

So the practical effect, at least for the time being, is that there is no way for me to restore iChat functionality - I just have to sit back and wait in hopes it will get sorted between AIM and Apple. Does that sound correct?

HI,

That is correct.

AIM are the ones that suspended the "Account"

However the account is not their's to Suspend as it were (could be interesting for someone)

Possibles.

Deleting com.apple.ichat.AIM.plist and restarting the app may help.

This .plist holds info on how iChat (or Messages) last logged in (Account details in hexidecimal form plus the AIM server it was using).

It can be messed up so to speak if the app loses connection with the server that was not caused by Quitting or specifically logging out.
Deleting the said .plist and restarting the App makes the app recreate the .plist and refreshes the Login data.

You could also try deleting com.apple.imagent.plist although the reasons for doing this are is more fuzzy.

This .plist does provide the Logging in info when the app is not started.

That is to say it provides  "listening" brief to the various Servers and will start up the App if Off Line IMs are sent be other people (this can be overridden by the setting in the General Section of the Preferences about settig the Status to Offline on Quit)

The issues with this is that the .plist holds Jabber, AIM  and Yahoo login info (i.e all accounts) which is less desirable in terms of less intervention.

I think that both these are unlikely to "fool" the AIM servers.

9:46 PM      Thursday; October 4, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

  iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously