No compose field in Messages app for one contact

Question

Level 1

4 points

No compose field in Messages app for one contact

I'm using MacOS Big Sur 11.1 and have an odd problem with Messages. For one contact only (another iOS/MacOS user), I can't compose a message because the text field is missing (see photo).

I've tried:

Rebooting
Logging out of iCloud and logging back in
Deleting all of the Messages related files in ~/Library/Caches and ~/Library/Preferences and rebooting

As a workaround, I can start a new message thread every time I message this person, but it's my wife and basically my most frequent contact.

Please help!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 6:48 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 21, 2020 7:55 AM in response to Indros

Indros,

If you are using Messages in iCloud it would delete the messages everywhere.

If the issue remains after trying safe mode, please visit Get Support for a deeper dive.

Have a great week!

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Answer 2

Indros Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2020 6:24 AM in response to MichaelB2019

Thanks for the questions. I did close Messages before rebooting my Mac.

I do use Messages on my iPhone as well, and there’s no issue there.

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Answer 3

Indros Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2020 7:11 AM in response to MichaelB2019

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll try them. One question: if I delete the message thread on my Mac, will it delete the entire message history? I was hoping to avoid that.

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Answer 4

Dec 20, 2020 1:07 PM in response to Indros

Hi Indros,

Thanks for coming to Apple Support Communities for help today with the Messages app on your Mac. It sounds like you have a Message to your wife that you are unable to type a reply to however you can type new messages.

Did you completely quit Messages before rebooting?

Are you using Messages in iCloud on all your devices that use Messages? Use Messages in iCloud.

What does the message look like on other devices? What happens if you send a message from another device?

Let us know further details.

Have a fantastic day!

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Answer 5

Dec 21, 2020 6:37 AM in response to Indros

Indros,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Have you attempted to completely delete the message thread?

Does this still happen in safe mode? How to use safe mode on your Mac. This can clear some cache. After testing in safe mode you can boot up normally.

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

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No compose field in Messages app for one contact

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