Q: Why wont messages let me video chat through ichat?

Hi,

Are you displaying the Buddy list they are in and using the iCon at the bottom of the Buddy lits or the Buddies menu ?

If you are starting from the Main Messages window and using the Details option it will try to use the iMessages method (invoking FaceTime) where the ID of your Buddy will be unrecognised.

8:10 pm      Sunday; March 1, 2015

Hi,

Window menu.

10:08 pm      Sunday; March 1, 2015

Hi,

Messages can now Video chat two ways.

Like iChat and earlier version of Messages it can Video from the Buddy Lists  and Buddies Menu.

This is for Bonjour, AIM and Jabber Video chats.

To be precise about who you are contacting it is best that the Buddy List(s) are displayed.

For this you have to go to the Window Menu.

I happen to have 10 other accounts in addition to the iMessages account that does not have a Buddy list.

I also display them separately which is why they display this way in the Menu.  (this is controlled by a setting in the Preferences > General section by unticking the line about gathering them into one list).

Some of those are AIM based account can show in another of the Buddy Lists.

From there you can highlight a Buddy and then click the iCon or use the Buddies menu to start a Video Chat.

If you use the Main Messages window where the text chats are it invokes FaceTime to try and Video

So...

If they are using iChat then you have to be using AIM or Jabber they same as they are.

This means in Messages Menu > Preferences >Accounts you have to have something other than iMessages logged in.

If they are on your LAN it can be a Bonjour Account.

If they are on the internet somewhere then  AIM (or names that works with AIM) or Jabber (GoogleTalk and Facebook Chat IDs are Jabber IDs)

You cannot chat AIM to Jabber  or to iMessages and a Yahoo account does not Video or Audio Only chat either.

The iMessages Account invokes FaceTime the same as it does on an iPhone.

7:17 pm      Monday; March 2, 2015

Dear Ralph,

I see from lots of threads that you are the expert on this. Can I just check something with you - I am using Messages (on Yosemite) and trying to video chat/screen share with my elderly parents who have iChat on Snow Leopard. My Messages is logged in to an AIM name as is theirs. We can exchange text based messages - even jpegs - but all attempts to initiate vid or audio chats simply stall at 'connecting'. We have tried both directions, from the Contact list icons, and restarted machines. Nothing. Is there a bug ?

Thanks in advance

Steve

Hi,

Yes.

At least there is an "Known Issue"

I have raised it with the Hosts to forward it on.

Basically AIM and Jabber accounts (As iChat Had) that could do Video and Audio Chats and the Screen Sharing from the Buddies list do so by using a  Process called SIP.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is text based and works behind the scenes connecting the two ends.

It needs an intervening server in this case called SNATMAP.apple.com and it is run by Apple to do this.

From about July onwards it seems to be effecting more and more people.

What does work is Bonjour Connections (i.e. Out and back to your LAN).

It also works if you use AIM Screen Name on both computers on your LAN.

What is not working is any other connection to other Buddies on the Internet.

In addition to this in Yosemite Apple added the ability from the iMessages Account to invoke Screen Sharing using the Screen Sharing app enabled in System Preferences > Sharing  (Much like it invokes FaceTime to Video or Audio Chat).

In El Capitan the AIM and Jabber Screen Sharing settings have gone from the Video Menu.

Video via AIM or Jabber seems to remain in the Buddies Menu.

Apple seem to either not be able to fix this or unwilling to do so.

In my testing it effects iChat back to at least Leopard in OS X 10.5.8  (iChat 4.0.9) and every version of both apps in between.

I have  a Leopard computer that cannot be updated any further (It is PPC) and a Snow Leopard computer (iChat 5.0.3) that cannot be updated because the type of Intel processor is not good enough.

Of course iMessages will not work across services to AIM on older computers (or at least Older OSes)

10:15 pm      Wednesday; October 28, 2015