nhoch

Q: iMessage on 2011 MBP not functional after new hard drive and logic board

I have a MacBook Pro (2011) and an iPhone 6, running the latest versions of El Capitan and iOS 9, respectively. These are my only apple devices and the only ones that show up in my AppleID devices list (which I assume is accurate since, in troubleshooting this problem, I recently changed my AppleID password and updated on both devices).

 

Recently, my MBP suddenly shut down. I took it in and was told the logic board and hard drive (HDD) needed to be replaced. After the repairs, I signed back into iCloud, made sure the OS was up-to-date, and tried to make sure all other settings were back to the way they were before the crash. But now Messages on my MBP no longer works. I've tried lots of things to troubleshoot this, but nothing has been successful.

 

When I open Messages, it seems to have a record of all the conversations I had at the time when the computer crashed. In fact, when I first opened messages, I didn't notice anything was wrong until I realized that the conversations weren't updating as I was iMessaging from my phone. I tried signing out and back in to iCloud on both devices (tried this multiple times), and I've made sure that all the same accounts are checked in Messages>Accounts>Settings on my MBP and Settings>Messages>Send & Receive on my iPhone. On my computer, all the contacts in the "To:" field of the chat window are colored red. When I click on the contact, in the drop down menu, in faded gray font, it shows the contact's phone number with a check mark and "iMessage" to the right. Below that is the same number, also in the faded gray font, but with the "+1" country code and the text, "is not registered with iMessage."

 

I would be thrilled if someone could explain to me how to fix this!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 7:25 PM

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Q: iMessage on 2011 MBP not functional after new hard drive and logic board

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 27, 2016 7:43 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jan 27, 2016 7:43 PM in response to nhoch

    Please follow these instructions to display the machine's serial number. If the number is missing or invalid according to Apple's web form, take the machine to an Apple Store or other authorized service center to have the problem corrected.

    The serial number is private information. Please don't post it here or on any public web page.

  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 27, 2016 8:16 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 8:16 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you so much for responding so quickly! I followed your instructions and the serial number was validated, so, unfortunately, that was not the source of the problem.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 27, 2016 9:21 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jan 27, 2016 9:21 PM in response to nhoch

    Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.

    1. Open the Messages preferences window and select the Accounts tab. On the left is a list of the messaging accounts that you've defined. Select iMessage. Make sure that the Apple ID shown is valid. If it is, check the box marked

              Enable this account

    if it's not already checked.

    2. Sign out of iMessage on all your devices and sign back in. If you've enabled two-step verification for the Apple ID that you use with iMessage, you must generate an application-specific password and enter it when prompted. Test.

    Note: iMessage and iCloud are not the same, even if you use the same Apple ID for both. You must sign out of iMessage, not iCloud.

    3. Take this step if you have an iPhone linked to the same Apple ID as the Mac.

    Follow the instructions in this support article, under the heading

              To use Continuity for SMS and MMS with your iPhone and your Mac, iPad or iPod touch

    If text forwarding is already enabled on the phone, disable it and then re-enable it.

    Quit and relaunch Messages on the Mac.

    Credit for this observation to ASC member Apple Advocate.

  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 27, 2016 9:42 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 9:42 PM in response to Linc Davis

    No success. I had tried each of these steps before, but I tried again now, just in case, and nothing changed. That is, except for now in my iPhone Settings>Messages there is no longer an option even listed for "Text Message Forwarding." The last few times I tried troubleshooting this problem, that was there. And I'm not saying that I can't select it; I'm saying that it's not even in the list of options.

     

    This is especially confusing because I signed back into iMessage on my MBP first and got this notification on my iPhone: "Your Apple ID and phone number are now being used for iMessage on a new Mac." I take that to mean that my phone and computer are aware of each other.

  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 27, 2016 9:46 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 9:46 PM in response to nhoch

    UPDATE: I force quit the Settings application on my iPhone, quit Messages on my MBP, and then reopened Settings > Messages and Text Message Forwarding was there. My MBP is listed in Text Message Forwarding, but no code appears on my MBP to enter into the dialogue box that pops up on my iPhone.   

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 27, 2016 10:26 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jan 27, 2016 10:26 PM in response to nhoch

    Make sure that at least one email address is enabled on the phone for use with iMessage; otherwise the activation code won't appear.

  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 27, 2016 10:28 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 10:28 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Yes, I did that. I actually have 3 email addresses - the same email addresses - enabled on both devices.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 28, 2016 6:57 AM in response to nhoch
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jan 28, 2016 6:57 AM in response to nhoch

    There may be a problem with the Apple ID account.

    Click the Support link at the top of this page to schedule a call from Apple Support. You might not be charged for the call if you select "Apple ID"—not the hardware model—as the product you're asking about.

  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 28, 2016 12:03 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2016 12:03 PM in response to Linc Davis

    UPDATE:

    I contacted Apple Support, as recommended, and still nothing has been resolved. The support technician had me do the following things, neither of which solved the problem:

    • Test iMessaging from my MBP in Safe Mode as myself and as a guest (in both trials, iMessage performed basically the same as it did when I was logged in normally)
    • Boot my MBP in Recovery Mode and reinstall OS X

     

    I just finished the reinstallation process, and I'm having the same problems as described above.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 28, 2016 12:10 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jan 28, 2016 12:10 PM in response to nhoch

    The first-tier support reps generally don't know how to solve non-trivial problems. Their training is very basic. You have to persevere until your case gets escalated to a specialist—maybe more than once. Everyone else I've dealt with in your situation has reported that.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jan 29, 2016 1:58 PM in response to nhoch
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Jan 29, 2016 1:58 PM in response to nhoch

    Hi,

     

    Open the About this Mac item in the Apple Menu top left.

    This should show the Serial Number.

     

    If it is not there go back to where the Repair was done and have it put back.

     

    The Serial Number is used to create an Auth Token for the IDS item in the Keychain.

    If the Serial Number is missing (even if there was an Original Auth Token) then iMessages will not login.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:58 pm      Friday; January 29, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     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
  • by nhoch,

    nhoch nhoch Jan 29, 2016 11:17 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 11:17 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Thank you for the suggestion. The SN is not missing, but that reminds me of some details of this problem that I have neglected to share.

     

    When I first noticed this problem with iMessage on my MBP, after I signed out of and then back into my Apple ID as a troubleshooting step, I tried to set up Text Message Forwarding to see if that would work. When I went on my iPhone to Settings>Messages>Text Message Forwarding, my computer's ID was displayed twice. I tried toggling each of the identical names to generate the necessary code on my MBP, but neither worked. I thought of this as a secondary problem that I needed to fix, so I looked it up. It was in troubleshooting this problem that I changed my Apple ID password. After I changed it online, I updated both my computer and iPhone with the new password. Then I went back to Text Message Forwarding, and my computer's name only appeared once this time. Still, setup for forwarding texts failed.

     

    I am reminded of this now because, when I was working with an Apple Support rep, he mentioned that there might be some error between Apple's records of my SN and my computer's actual SN that could have resulted from the installation of the new logic board.

     

    Just for an update about what's going on: I spoke with an Apple Support representative who eventually had me send some system information to them so that a software engineer could look at it and diagnose the problem. They will hopefully get back to me in the next 2-3 business days.

     

    I really appreciate the help I have received from this forum this far. Thank you, Linc Davis and Ralph Johns.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jan 31, 2016 11:12 AM in response to nhoch
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Jan 31, 2016 11:12 AM in response to nhoch

    Hi,

     

    I hope you hear from them soon.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    7:12 pm      Sunday; January 31, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     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