Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
Hi:
Had to wipe and clean and reinstall my newish Mac Studio d/t an unrelated problem.
Now I have noted an "intermittent (I hate those!) problem in Messages: some messages are received, and some not.
Everything about Messages works just fine on my myriad other Mac OS and iOS devices.
I've restarted the Mac Studio several times but the problem persists.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated; I'm flummoxed.
Thanks!
OS 13.3.1
Mac Studio (2022)
In your opening post you report that you had to wipe and re-install your macOS, in this case you might find that you need to re-enable, or at least disable and re-enable text message forwarding for the Mac Studio in your iPhone messages config.
In your iPhone go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding then click the link "X" Devices > (where the "X" is the number of Apple devices that you have enabled text messages that arrive on your iPhone to be forwarded on to other apple devices) and in that page you will see slider buttons against the other Apple devices you own.
You should see a slider button against the entry for Mac Studio, the button should be to switched to the right and the button colour green.
If it is not selected and showing green then slide the button over to the right and then iPhone texts should be forwarded on to your Mac Studio.
If it is already green then disable the selection, exit settings and reboot your iPhone then go back to iPhone message settings and re-enable that option.
If your Mac Studio does not appear in that list then go back to Settings > (Your user name) > "Apple ID, iCloud etc" > iCloud > tap "Show All" > Messages, against Messages should be displayed "On", if it is "off" click the ">" symbol and enable the option "Sync this iPhone".
Finally, in your Mac Studio open the Messages App, from the tool bar menu select settings, click the @iMessage tab.
The option "Enable Messages in iCloud" should be enabled and the button to the right of your Apple ID name should show "Sign Out".
Click the button to "Sign Out" and wait while the sign out process completes then sign back-in and ensure that the option "Enable Messages in iCloud is selected.
If the option to "Enable Messages in iCloud" was already deselected and the button to the right of your Apple ID was already showing "Sign In" when you first opened the @iMessage tab then simply sign-in and click the "Enable Messages in iCloud" option.
HTH
In your opening post you report that you had to wipe and re-install your macOS, in this case you might find that you need to re-enable, or at least disable and re-enable text message forwarding for the Mac Studio in your iPhone messages config.
In your iPhone go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding then click the link "X" Devices > (where the "X" is the number of Apple devices that you have enabled text messages that arrive on your iPhone to be forwarded on to other apple devices) and in that page you will see slider buttons against the other Apple devices you own.
You should see a slider button against the entry for Mac Studio, the button should be to switched to the right and the button colour green.
If it is not selected and showing green then slide the button over to the right and then iPhone texts should be forwarded on to your Mac Studio.
If it is already green then disable the selection, exit settings and reboot your iPhone then go back to iPhone message settings and re-enable that option.
If your Mac Studio does not appear in that list then go back to Settings > (Your user name) > "Apple ID, iCloud etc" > iCloud > tap "Show All" > Messages, against Messages should be displayed "On", if it is "off" click the ">" symbol and enable the option "Sync this iPhone".
Finally, in your Mac Studio open the Messages App, from the tool bar menu select settings, click the @iMessage tab.
The option "Enable Messages in iCloud" should be enabled and the button to the right of your Apple ID name should show "Sign Out".
Click the button to "Sign Out" and wait while the sign out process completes then sign back-in and ensure that the option "Enable Messages in iCloud is selected.
If the option to "Enable Messages in iCloud" was already deselected and the button to the right of your Apple ID was already showing "Sign In" when you first opened the @iMessage tab then simply sign-in and click the "Enable Messages in iCloud" option.
HTH
Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac , reboot normally and test to see if the problem persists.
NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;
• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)
• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically
• Disables user-installed fonts
• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files
NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.
If that doesn't help Create and log into a new, basic, admin user account, Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac, and see if the problem persists. This tells us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide.
Note: do not launch any 3rd party apps in the account so as to not install any of the supporting files that most create.
If the problem isn't present then your original account probably has software installed that might be causing the problem.
Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?
Thanks for replying and trying to help out!
Problem persists in both Safe Mode and then after normal reboot, as well as in new test admin account.
I have no idea about why this machine shouldn't receive all texts (and why the issue superficially appears to be limited to not receiving 2FA texts from Apple and Amazon) but otherwise seems to work just fine.
Just an editorial comment out of general frustration, but it seems like my Apple usage has regressed 2 decades. For the intervening years I used the computer to get work accomplished, but in the last year or two and twenty years ago it seems like I spend a huge amount of time trying to get the computer to work :( :( :(
Anyways, thanks to all who have tried to help with this weird issue! It's not the end of the world to rely on an iPhone for these relatively infrequent texts.
Thanks for replying!
Unfortunately, that is not the issue: "Enable Messages in iCloud" is checked. "Sync Now" didn't fix it.
The weird thing is that I can use iMessages for most things. It says I can be reached for messages at my iPhone # and 3 e-mail addresses (various aliases in addition to iCloud e-mail). But what I am noting now is that it doesn't receive 2FA text codes from Apple, yet all my other Apple devices do???
Thanks again for your detailed and thoughtful reply!
What is so weird about this is that all text messages seem to be forwarded normally EXCEPT 2FA messages from Apple and Amazon.
(I haven't done a thorough 1:1 message check so I can't say with 100% confidence that these aren't the only ones missing, but I unfortunately get a zillion text messages every day and they all seem to show up on the Mac Studio except the 2FA ones.)
I'll try your suggestions cuz I'm desperate and have no other ideas, but I am assuming (perhaps wrongly) that if it were a systems issue either all or none of the messages would flow to the Mac Studio, not this weird 98% success rate???
Thanks again for trying!
OK, now this is weird: following your instructions ("In your iPhone go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding then click the link "X" Devices") there are 7 devices listed, 2 valid ones (iPad and M1 MBP) and one (? old) which says "MacBook (Mac)", all 3 of which have the green check box enabled. But there are 4 that are not enabled, one which says "Mac Studio (Mac)" and 3 which say "MyName Mac Studio (Mac)". And I only own one Mac Studio! So how do I clean up these 4 down to 1? Then I can enable that one.
Thanks.
Did you turn on Messages in iCloud?
Messages App -> Settings -> iMessages -> Enable Messages in iCloud
There's also a Sync Now button.
2FA SMS text from Amazon also an issue just on the Studio Mac.
Any ideas for this weird issue gratefully appreciated!
Did you try logging out of iCloud on the phone and the Mac Studio and logging back on? You didn't change carriers recently?
Thanks for your reply!
Yes, I've logged out of iCloud on my phone and Mac Studio and logged back in, and no carrier change for years.
Enabling the 4 (!) Studio Macs fixed the problem: 2FAs are now coming through loud and clear.
Messages Partially Doesn't Work on Studio Mac
