HT202549: Mac Basics: Messages helps you chat instantly

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pinkapplemac
Level 1 (13 points)
Mac OS X

Q: contacts in red in iMessage

Hello.

 

in iMessages on my mac, suddenly the contacts are red and the messages aren't syncing. All accounts are turned on and iCloud is checked and working correctly. Forward messages to Mac was toggled on my iPhone, I toggled it off but the code never appeared on the Mac.

 

I've had this happen before  in Yosemite but never El Capitan and the answer was  a setting on the phone. It has been a long time.

Any solutions out there?

 

Thanks

Holly

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jul 4, 2016 2:59 PM

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pinkapplemac

Q: contacts in red in iMessage

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 5, 2016 8:23 AM in response to pinkapplemac
    Level 9 (70,161 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 5, 2016 8:23 AM in response to pinkapplemac

    Might be a corrupt .plist.

     

    Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

     

    Quit the application.

     

    Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.iChat.plist.  Move the .plist to your desktop.

     

    Restart the computer, open the application and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

    If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.

     

    If that doesn’t work, repeat the above but delete the com.apple.imagent.plist

     

    Thanks to leonie and Ralph Johns (UK) for some information contained in this.

  • by pinkapplemac,

    pinkapplemac pinkapplemac Jul 5, 2016 8:24 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 5, 2016 8:24 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hello and thank you.

     

    I went to FaceTime on my Mac and it prompted me to sign in (although I had been before). This then began iMessages to begin coming in and syncing. Not sure what one has to do with the other, so maybe it was a fluke, but I thank you for the reply as you never know when this will happen again.

     

    Thank you so much as I will probably need to refer to this at some other point!

    Holly

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 5, 2016 8:29 AM in response to pinkapplemac
    Level 9 (70,161 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 5, 2016 8:29 AM in response to pinkapplemac

    You are welcome.