Messages text forwarding: why one device listed more than once

I had to reinstall Monterey on a MacBook Air, and now the computer name is showing up twice on my iPhone for text forwarding. How to fix that?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Mar 11, 2023 8:37 AM

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3 replies

we04ndy Author

Level 2

159 points

Mar 11, 2023 10:33 AM in response to Community User

I followed the suggestions; unfortunately, the duplicate devices are still showing up. Thank you for your help; I'll just have to work with this more. Changing the Apple ID password would be a major headache.

Mar 11, 2023 8:50 AM in response to we04ndy

It's because you didn't sign out of iMessage on your Mac and not disabled Text Forwarding on your iPhone before you did a reinstall. I have experienced the same thing.

First try deactivating both Macs in Text Forwarding, then sign out of iMessages on your Mac and on your iPhone - finally restart both your iPhone and your Mac. Enable iMessages on both devices again. Try to see if the one Mac is gone after restarting.

You can also try signing out of your Apple ID on both devices, always after a reboot.

What usually works might be a bit drastic. But if you change your Apple ID password, the duplicate of your Mac will disappear.

Mar 11, 2023 10:56 AM in response to we04ndy

I understand that. But then you know the solution if you get tired of looking at the duplicate one day.

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Messages text forwarding: why one device listed more than once