sedentary_of_state
Level 1 (12 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Cannot log out of Imessage. Account Greyed out.

Hi,

 

I have always been signed out of imessage on my MB pro since updating to el capitan (10.11.5) from lion a month ago. I was able to log in and out during this time by going to preferences --> account and signing out.

 

Couple of days ago,I decided to log in Imessage to try it out again. After playing with it for a few minutes, I decided that I don't really need to use this feature and tried to sign out. I couldn't do it. When I go preferences --> Accounts, I can see my Apple Id but there are no options to signout/enable etc. It shows a blank page to the right. http://i.imgur.com/SowbzCl.png

 

Please let me know if there is something I can do.

 

Thank you

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Aug 27, 2016 5:00 PM

by sedentary_of_state,Solvedanswer
sedentary_of_state sedentary_of_state
Level 1 (12 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Hi Ralph,

 

I am going to update el capitan as you suggested in your other post and get back to you.

 

Thank you.

Posted on Aug 30, 2016 9:05 PM

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sedentary_of_state

Q: Cannot log out of Imessage. Account Greyed out.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by srbwanderer,

    srbwanderer srbwanderer Aug 28, 2016 2:32 PM in response to sedentary_of_state
    Community Specialists
    Aug 28, 2016 2:32 PM in response to sedentary_of_state

    Hello sedentary_of_state,

     

    Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities!

     

    It is my understanding you are not able to sign out of Messages.  I have a couple suggestions that will hopefully help you.

     

    The first thing I would do is backup everything that is on the computer.  Nothing I am going to suggest should cause any data loss, but it is always a good idea to have a backup.  Your computer has software on it called Time Machine.  It is fantastic software for backing up your computer.  Information on how to use Time Machine is available here:

    Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac.

     

    It is important to try to isolate what is causing this to happen.  The first thing to do to help isolate what is causing the problem is to start the computer in what is called Safe Mode and see if the problems still occur.  

     

    Starting up in safe mode

    1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
    2. After your Mac shuts down, wait 10 seconds, then press the power button.
    3. Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
      You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after you hear the startup tone, but not before.
    4. Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator.

    Once the computer is running in safe mode, see if you can sign out by opening Messages, then click on Messages > Preferences > Accounts, then click Sign Out. If you're able to sign out, go ahead and restart the Mac normally.   

     

    Have a great day!

  • by sedentary_of_state,

    sedentary_of_state sedentary_of_state Aug 28, 2016 8:29 PM in response to srbwanderer
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 28, 2016 8:29 PM in response to srbwanderer

    Thanks for the thorough reply!

     

    After restarting the computer in safe mode, I had to log in again when I opened Imessage. Once I logged in, I couldn't log out of it in safe mode. It was the exact same issue. The screen was blink in preferences --> account .

     

    Could you recommend anything else?

     

    Thank you again.

  • by srbwanderer,Helpful

    srbwanderer srbwanderer Aug 30, 2016 10:03 PM in response to sedentary_of_state
    Community Specialists
    Aug 30, 2016 10:03 PM in response to sedentary_of_state

    Hi sedentary_of_state,

     

    Since nothing changed in safe mode, the next step would be to set up a test user account and see if the same behavior happens there.

     

    How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

     

    Follow the steps in that article if the issue is happening in all user accounts.

     

    Cheers!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),Helpful

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 30, 2016 10:03 PM in response to sedentary_of_state
    Level 9 (72,957 points)
    Applications
    Aug 30, 2016 10:03 PM in response to sedentary_of_state

    hi,

     

    If you tried Restore from Time Machine then Reinstall from the Internet.

    This will redo the OS without changing any of your files or other Apps you have installed.

    It will not have any "corruption" that might be in the Time Machine copy.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:58 pm      Tuesday; August 30, 2016

     

    ​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)

  • by sedentary_of_state,Solvedanswer

    sedentary_of_state sedentary_of_state Aug 30, 2016 9:05 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 30, 2016 9:05 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Hi Ralph,

     

    I am going to update el capitan as you suggested in your other post and get back to you.

     

    Thank you.

  • by sedentary_of_state,

    sedentary_of_state sedentary_of_state Aug 30, 2016 10:01 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 30, 2016 10:01 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Updating to el capitan 10.11.5 did the trick!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 31, 2016 2:05 PM in response to sedentary_of_state
    Level 9 (72,957 points)
    Applications
    Aug 31, 2016 2:05 PM in response to sedentary_of_state

    Hi,

     

     

    4thanx.gif for the 1helpful.png  Points.

     

    I suggested a Reinstall (a renewing of the current OS level) rather than an Upgrade.

     

    However I am glad you found something that worked for you.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    10:05 pm      Wednesday; August 31, 2016

     

    ​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)