iMessage NOT syncing across iPhone and MacBook Air

I think I may have solved it.

iPhone>Setting>Messages>Switch OFF iMessage>Switch back on>Select Send & Receive Addresses

Mac>Message Preferrences>iMessage Tab> Sign Out/Sign In>Select where you can be reached at

After this I am able to initiate new Texts on iPhone and it syncs with Mac. Older messages have not synced. Crossing my fingers this continues to work.

This is the fault of the latest update. I updated a few days ago (I’m always late to the party) and immediately after this update I couldn’t send texts with my iPad. After several days of resending, power cycling, going from one device to another, the issue persists. I got messages to/from one recipient to populate to both devices, but still not effortlessly and consistently like it was before the update.

One of the reasons I pay thousands more for Apple devices is ease of use, consistency, and admitting to and fixing what they know are their problems immediately, if not sooner.

Apple, take note and fix this problem! I shouldn’t have to change settings that weren’t broken before you fixed them!

I am having trouble too. More than just slow syncing. I read a new message on iPhone, them try to find it on iMac and it never synced! I can send one to same person from my phone and see it on my iMac but incoming messages visible on my iPhone are not there on my iMac. very aggravating.

Hi there, ToddAfrica.

It appears that messages on your iPhone aren't appearing on your MacBook Air. You're able to send iMessages, but you can't send SMS/MMS messages from your Mac, and we're glad to provide assistance.

How to forward SMS/MMS text messages from your iPhone to your iPad, iPod touch or Mac - Apple Support -- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive. On your Mac, open Messages and choose Messages > Preferences > iMessages. Make sure that both devices are signed in with the same Apple ID. Then, on your iPhone, go back one screen and check Text Message Forwarding to make sure your Mac has been selected. If it is, deselect your Mac and restart your iPhone. Once it's back to the Home screen, turn Text Message Forwarding back on for your Mac and test the issue.

Feel free to get back to us with any questions or problems you may have.

All the best.

Hi, I had this same problem and I switched messages back on in my iCloud settings which seemed to work for me.

On my iPhone:

Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Toggle Messages "on" (Mine was previously off, even though it was never turned off in the first place)

Note: this did not get the previous messages to re-sync on my computer, but I am now receiving all new messages on both my phone and computer.

Hope this helps!

I am having the same problem. This happens sometimes when Apple does a version update. They need to fix their processes to check this before releasing updates. It always takes too long to fix. Is their no instutional knowledge at Apple?

Just thought I would mention, that in my case, a simple restarting of the messages app on my laptop caused all the messages to show up again. Not sure why it even happened in the first place, but at least all my all messages are back.

So I had this problem too. Had the issue more with text messages, not iMessages not syncing. They would be marked as read on my iPhone but not on any other devices. However, if I read them on my watch, M1 Macbook Pro, or iPad, they would be marked as read. I spoke with Apple Support, who had me try many different things, including resetting network settings, resetting my watch, turning iCloud off and on, off and on, restarting, etc.

What fixed this for me was going to my phone, going to Settings --> General --> Reset --> Reset All Settings.

iPhone rebooted twice, went back into settings, iMessage, logged in, and has not had this issue since. Text messages are automatically read on all devices, whether read on my iPhone, Watch or Mac.

Hopefully, this helps someone else!

Thank you, thank you. This is clearest explanation I have ever read on how to solve the syncing problem in iMessages. It worked beautifully. Thank you again.

Thank you Todd for the answer. I do not have a Text Messenger Forwarding on my iphone 8 running iOS 14.5.1.

All of this started between my iPad, Macbook Air and iMac were not syncing up. I signed out of my apple ID on all four devices. After the restart, My iPad, iMac & Macbook Air were at various stages of syncing. Rather bizarre.

Have tried all the suggestions without success. My texts are being sent from icloud.com (which I have never used). Incoming messages show up on my iPhone but not my computer. recently upgraded to Version 11.3.1 VERY FRUSTRATING