Some videos sent via iMessage from a friend's iPhone appear correctly on my iPhone but appear as errors that cannot be opened on my Mac. There is no obvious pattern as to which videos will function on my Mac and which will not: two back-to-back transmissions will give different results. I would like to view all videos on my Mac, so any advice would be welcome.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12
You have misunderstood the issue. All videos sent in Messages to my iPhone play. Some of those same videos will play in Messages on my Mac, some will not play and appear as error messages. They videos are all sent from the same iPhone, therefore, I can see no reason for some videos to open and some to appear as error messages telling me that the video cannot be opened.
Greetings, mlsmsw.
It appears that you're having a problem with Messages between your iPhone and Mac. When you receive a video in an iMessage on your iPhone, some of them will play and others won't, and we're glad to help with this.
How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support -- Find an iMessage that includes a video that won't play on your Mac. Once you've located one, restart your Mac in safe mode and try to play the video you found. Depending on whether or not it plays, refer to the additional steps below:
"If the issue continues in safe mode
If the issue continues while in safe mode, or your Mac restarts several times and then shuts down while starting up in safe mode, you should reinstall macOS and make sure that your Apple software and third-party apps are up to date.
If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode
If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally. Then test for the issue again. The issue might be resolved.
If the issue returns after leaving safe mode, startup items are probably at fault. Apps can install such items in numerous places, and they aren't always easy to find or recognize. For that reason, you should first make sure that you've installed any available updates for your Apple software and third-party apps.
If updating your software doesn't help, try any of these solutions:
If you still need help, please contact Apple Support."
Take care.
Thank you for getting back to us, mlsmsw. It's appreciated.
The error was caused by not mentioning your Mac in the first paragraph. But, that is why safe mode was recommended as this process will discover if the videos play or not on your Mac in safe mode.
How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support -- "Safe mode prevents your Mac from loading certain software as it starts up, including login items, system extensions not required by macOS, and fonts not installed by macOS. It also does a basic check of your startup disk, similar to using First Aid in Disk Utility. And it deletes some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, which are automatically created again as needed."
This is why testing in safe mode helps discover what type of issue your Mac may be facing. The issue may be caused by the software on your Mac or settings in your account.
Feel free to get back to us with any questions or problems you may have.
Have a good day!.
iMessage videos appear as error on Mac.
