iMessage NOT syncing across iPhone and MacBook Air

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?

Yesterday I changed my Apple ID password on my MacBook Air 2017. Multiple windows from Apple kept opening asking me to enter my new password which I did. Today I realized that my IPAD and my MacBook are not receiving text messages which they alway did. I can send from my MacBook but not receive. Please advise.

Well, I updated the software for my Apple Watch yesterday. Messages stopped synching. Now I have 3 devices to fiddle with, and I don't know which setting (or combination of settings) on which device will fix things. After over an hour, I gave up.

I hate to say this, but if iTunes wouldn't launch until you fiddled with multiple settings on multiple devices for hours, it would get fixed *ASAP*. If it didn't get fixed, heads would probably roll. iTunes brings in considerable revenue. The Messages app doesn't. It seems like Messages has therefore gotten sent to the bottom of the priority list. It clearly isn't regularly tested when there are OS updates. If Messages only works sporadically, it feels like Apple has decided that it's no big deal. It's only texting.

This is a constant issue. Every update sync gets out whack. I am losing messages, contacts and my devices are always out of sync. This is been happening since mobile me and beyond frustrating that over a decade of complaints and Apple does not consider an issue. Frustrated for at least decade. This is not only with message but across the board with data.

dpaik: THANKYOU! I did what you suggested and it worked. I am now receiving text messages on my MacBook Air and iPhone. It used to work seamlessly until one day it stopped. I've been trying to figure it out for some time. It was driving me crazy. I even updated my iCloud storage, thinking this may have been the problem. I can now receive text messages on my laptop.

Messages stopped syncing to my Mac on Nov.7, 2021

I've tried all the things.

Like most others, I can send from the Mac, but not receive. I don't have time or patience to deal with this issue anymore.

I concede. There are no solutions. Thanks for verifying that for me.

That's the problem. It SEEMS to resolve, only to happen again on a different device. I think there's just basic problems with Messages across platforms. It seems like each device keeps its own copy of the "conversation" (not held on any single cloud server), so if any device "misses" a message (or two, or three) then, too bad, that conversation is now a subset of the full conversation. It's very frustrating. I might be wrong. In any case, it's a mess.

I agree. Before the update, I had no syncing issues with Messages.

There are other problems caused by the last update. Editing a text is no longer as easy as before. Nor is zooming into photos.

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Eagle has landed, I absolutely agree with you and am having the same issue. I am so tired of having to spend hours trying to fix issues that have arisen from your updates. Updates are supposed to fix issues not make them worse. Just lately it's been one issue after another. Just recently I bought a new printer and spent literally the whole day trying to get the printer to work, due to Monterey updates. I am so tired of having to spend hours trying to fix issues that have arisen from your updates.

APPLE please get it together. Your so-called improvements have caused so much frustration, I'm seriously thinking of changing back to a PC.

Hi! I’ve been trying to sync my iPhone and Mac book aid together so I get messages and some photos, but no matter what my Mac book just connects to my email, and my phone just connects to my number. I want it to be both from my number so I get the same texts

I have to agree with you on the point that Apple's iCloud service is a one-way syncing system.

I've never purchased secondhand Apple hardware, so the conflict with other uses does not apply. The only conflict that I have that might be related, is that when I bought my first Apple device many years ago, I inadvertently made two apple accounts and was using both of them to buy apps. That was over a decade ago and I have since only been using the one account for everything. I am sure that all the apps that I'm using today or under the same account, and the apps from the other account are likely obsolete now.

Anyway I'm not sure what I did or didn't do, because I have had this problem with iMessages since I've been using Apple, but it seems to be working at the moment so I will just leave it at that.

Remember that any synced app applies one app at a time based on which Apple ID was used to purchase the App.

If you purchased with the previous Apple ID, and logged in with the current Apple ID, they will not sync.

I suggest you call Apple and have them remove the second Apple ID to eliminate the problem altogether. Remember to inquire regarding what happens to apps purchased by the ID being deleted. Will they be transferred?

Good Luck

As I have the same problem, and have tried all these things, I just noticed that when replicating the instructions you mention for the iPhone, but on the Mac, there is no "iMessages" option, all other apps appear there...

Very frustrating!

Have found, sometimes but not always, it can take some time for the iCloud aspect for iMessage in iCloud to sync. No real specific timeframe, just some time to pass.