Level 1

51 points

iMessage not working on Big Sur

Just updated to Big Sur from Catalina on a 16" MBP, and now my iMessage doesn't work. On launch it prompts me to sign in, and when I do, it displays the iMessage interface with all my chats for about 10-20 seconds before it quits and gives me that same prompt again.

If I try to send a message while the interface is displayed it gives an error message about iMessage not being enabled :/

Weirdly enough, the iMessage preferences windows does not open nor is iMessage or FaceTime listed under the services using my iCloud account.

Does anyone know what exactly is happening here, and if there is a fix?

ps: iMessage works fine on my iPad which uses the same AppleID

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 12, 2020 9:39 PM

Top-ranking reply

zheng181

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Feb 10, 2021 12:12 PM

I had this issue as well after the OS was updated to Big Sur. Now it is finally solved.

I contacted the Apples support online chat, they're helpful but help is quite limited because the issue remained after trying their troubleshooting attempts. They advised me to do the following,

1) Create another admin account on mac.

2) Log into the new account and try to sign in message and facetime.

3) Because the issue persisted, they advised me to reinstall the OS.

4) System reinstall was not successful because it says "The volume can't be downgraded."

Then the online chat group scheduled a session for further assistance.

Apple called me thereafter and they found that my apple ID was reported as Spam and thus not functional on imessage and facetime. They removed me from the spam list and restarted my mac and IT WORKED!

So the solution is simple, reach out to the senior Apple support group and they can fix this. Hopefully, it helps.

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77 replies

cooperx

Level 1

4 points

Feb 3, 2021 9:16 AM in response to FarH

This worked well. Make sure the iphone is plugged in and has completed its iCloud upload/download.

FarH

Level 1

9 points

Feb 11, 2021 12:21 AM in response to fusionriver

OOPS! does it work for you now?

I have not had any issues after the re-login process. its working just fine with my team too.

Feb 11, 2021 10:58 AM in response to jian144

Thank you for the advice to contact senior support. It was not the acct but something to do with my user on the Mac!

Feb 11, 2021 1:19 PM in response to FarH

Hi, this worked for me. Thanks!

Feb 28, 2021 9:17 PM in response to FarH

I keep getting this recommended to me, but I can't even get to preferences. It sends me back to the sign into iMessage.

Calvin_BT

Level 3

664 points

Feb 28, 2021 10:15 PM in response to ruchira918

The internet was a problem that you haven’t enable iMessage before Big Sur

minty77

Level 1

4 points

Mar 10, 2021 11:55 AM in response to ruchira918

I have the exact same problem does anyone know how to fix it?

minty77

Level 1

4 points

Mar 10, 2021 12:01 PM in response to jian144

How do you know who has blocked you?

Dec 9, 2020 4:54 PM in response to ruchira918

I have the same issue on my mac including spotlight. I was troubleshooting the spotlight issue and one user said I do the following:

Go to System_Preference>Accessability>Display and check Reduce transparency. Surprisingly, imessage and facetime popped out on my screen out of nowhere just when I gave up. lol

Kbloxham

Level 1

4 points

Dec 10, 2020 12:24 PM in response to Sorrythatailias

I had this same experience and Mac Support was not able to help me, although they did give me an idea of where to look. Apparently, my contacts were not working correctly with iMessage once I updated (and reinstalled, and wiped my machine, etc., etc.). I found this fix in another thread and it worked to get iMessage working again and also showing the names instead of just the phone numbers.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8340892

Now the only problem I have is that quite often my messages are failing to send. Still working on that one.

yguelce1

Level 1

4 points

Dec 11, 2020 2:22 AM in response to ruchira918

The issue might be related to this. Contacted Apple Chat support about the same issue and this was the resolution. Unfortunately, you can't resolve this without contacting them. I recommend using chat.

Resolution: Apple Tech Response

"Great! So it seems that was happened here was there was a temporary block, possibly due to someone reporting the number as spam. But we were able to remove the block for you."

Good luck.

Feb 11, 2021 11:03 AM in response to relon7979

After contacting someone in senior support we got iMessages working without reinstalling the OS! I was going to share the steps we took but I can't pull up the transcript for some reason. It had something to do with the startup files on my user account. She had me delete all login items from my user and delete or group many files from different system folders. If you're not having luck, insist on a senior rep!

Mardl

Level 1

9 points

Nov 18, 2020 1:30 PM in response to dbooysens88

They didn’t told me, I have read in another forum that the apple ID were blocked (even working on iPad and iPhone).

Mardl

Level 1

9 points

Nov 20, 2020 1:51 PM in response to notmycupofmilk

They didn’t told me, I have read in another forum that the apple ID were blocked (even working on iPad and iPhone).

Mardl

Level 1

9 points

Nov 20, 2020 1:55 PM in response to SargeantsTechTips

Try to contact to apple support. They solve the problem (I don’t know how but they did it)

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iMessage not working on Big Sur