Constant requests to sign in to imessage

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Level 1

12 points

Constant requests to sign in to imessage

Hi,

I'm having a problem on my MacBook Pro, where every time I start up my computer I am asked to sign in to iMessage (actually called Messages on the Mac, but well done Apple for creating an incorrect login screen as well as a non-essential app I can't delete).

I have never logged in to Messages. I never want to log in to Messages. I don't know anyone I would contact via Messages. I do not have any other Apple products so I would never care about syncing.

Please can someone tell me how to stop these stupid messages? I have to quit the screen 3 times every time I boot up my computer because it appears at 5 minute intervals. I can't access the app Preferences tab because I don't have, nor want to have, this app set up on my computer. I have switched off the 'handover' option under General in System Preferences.

If I need to do something in Terminal, could someone give me the steps, please? I have deleted things before but I'm not confident I'll know what I'm looking for or what the search term(s) should be.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.13

Posted on Feb 23, 2019 5:43 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Twig55ad Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 24, 2019 12:38 PM in response to andreafromadelaide

Hi.

I wasn't signed in to iCloud, so I logged in then out, restarted my computer and still got the message.

I did notice something probably significant, though. It's asking for my old Apple ID. I'm not sure why it's asking for my old password when I have never logged in using it. I think I changed my ID maybe 6 months ago, but I'm not sure when the messages started - probably shortly after. It sounds like there's some kind of ID check regardless of registration and it's finding a mismatch.

Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for your help so far.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

238,620 points

Feb 24, 2019 3:46 PM in response to Twig55ad

After you or your Mac administrator resets the password of your macOS user account, your Mac might ask you to update your keychain password or enter the password of your login keychain. It might also tell you that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. That's because your login keychain is still using your old password...

If you don't know your old password

If you don't know your old password, the solution is to create a new login keychain.

If you know your old password

If you know your old password, use that password to update your existing login keychain:

Open the Keychain Access app, which is in the the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
From the list of keychains on the left side of the window, select "login."
From the Edit menu in the menu bar, choose “Change Password for Keychain 'login.'”
Enter the old password of your user account in the Current Password field. This is the password you were using before the password was reset.
Enter the new password of your user account in the New Password field. This is the password you're now using to log in to your Mac. Enter the same password in the Verify field.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201609

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Answer 3

Feb 24, 2019 1:35 AM in response to Twig55ad

Try this Go to the  Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
Choose the 'iCloud' preference pane.
Sign in to iCloud at the OS X preference panel – note if you're already signed in here but still seeing thepop-up message, you can sign out then sign back in to stop that password prompt from happening again.

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Answer 4

Twig55ad Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 24, 2019 1:23 AM in response to andreafromadelaide

Hi. As I stated in my post, I am not registered on Messages and I don't intend to set up an account (which I have to do to get to the preferences tab. It kind of defeats the object of switching it off, no?) I also dont want my data to be saved in more databases than necessary, which it will if I have to register with every app going.

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Answer 5

Twig55ad Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 24, 2019 1:11 PM in response to BDAqua

Ah. I checked it again and I only have one app logged in on that screen, which doesn't have Messages. I haven't logged in to any of the others on this computer except iCloud, which doesn't have it as an option either.

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Answer 6

Twig55ad Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 24, 2019 2:48 PM in response to BDAqua

Unfortunately, yes. I only logged out because of the iMessage pop-up. Though I don't actually use iCloud so I have stayed logged off since.

Edit: apart from testing the steps suggested in previous steps.

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Answer 7

Twig55ad Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 24, 2019 2:51 PM in response to BDAqua

I also found that the pop-up was asking me to use my old Apple ID. I wrote this in a post above:

I changed my ID maybe 6 months ago, but I'm not sure when the messages started - probably shortly after. It sounds like there's some kind of ID check regardless of registration and it's finding a mismatch.

Is there any way of clearing any reference to an old ID across the system?

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