Level 1

19 points

Messages app not loading/opening on Sonoma 14.5

Hi everyone - For whatever reason my Messages app will no longer open on my Macbook Pro M3 / Sonoma 14.5. Sometimes, the icon will "bounce" for a while before it just hangs; oftentimes it doesn't even do that. I need to Force Quit it every time. I've attempted many reboots and shutdowns, but that hasn't fixed anything. I've even booted into Safe Mode, and the problem also persists there. I have a similar issue with the Facetime app, but somehow that app will sometimes load (some reboots it works, and sometimes it also hangs); I haven't been able to determine how or why.

I've attempted many different other solutions I've seen associated with the Big Sur update (e.g., opening with terminal, opening "Calendar" first, holding option when opening) but nothing seems to resolve the issue.

MacBook Pro (M3, 2023)

Posted on May 13, 2024 3:25 PM

Top-ranking reply

Didge01

Level 1

12 points

Posted on Jun 5, 2024 9:55 PM

***** SOLVED *****

To recap ...

I erased my SSD and reinstalled MacOS to resolve an issue with file sharing. After that, Messages would not launch.

I spent hours on the phone with Apple tech support - they were very obliging, but had no idea what was causing this problem.

I did all the usual troubleshooting steps - rebooting, safe mode, reinstalling the OS again, running Disk First Aid, resetting permissions - nothing helped.

I knew that the Message service was OK because it worked fine on my other devices - and I knew my Mac and the Messages app were OK because Messages worked fine on a newly created 'test' user account.

It had to be something in my Home folder.

Then I realised that my freshly re-installed MacOS was missing Microsoft's Calibri font. I reinstalled that, then Messages instantly started working again !!

This explains everything !!

I'd previously set the Text Size in Messages/Settings/General to Calibri 14pt, and this was embedded in the Messages preferences in my Home folder - which explains why Messages (which defaults to the System font) worked for the 'test' user, but not for my User account.

Apparently, Messages looks for the specified font - if it can't be found, then it just gives up.

Unfortunately, this makes it impossible to trouble-shoot - or to fix easily - because if Messages won't launch, you can't edit the font settings.

So - that explains the cause.

The solution now is for Apple to explain how to reset the font settings for the Messages app when the app can't be launched.

I hope that helps :)

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43 replies

Jul 14, 2024 6:15 PM in response to BCJ83

Please try this, it's quick and easy! Worked for me after I tried literally everything! ---

Messages won't open on Macbook - Solution… - Apple Community

AlWeir

Level 5

5,073 points

Jul 25, 2024 11:54 AM in response to BCJ83

Do a net search for a Title: How to Troubleshoot iMessage Issues on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

It is on a site called Mac-Help. It will give you loads of help on fixing Messages

May 14, 2024 8:57 AM in response to BCJ83

Same problem on my 2020 iMac. Updated to Sonoma 14.5 yesterday and Messages app failed to load (and the icon would bounce for about 2-3 minutes before failing) each time. Just reinstalled Sonoma 14.5 in hopes that would solve the glitch, but the problem persists. I use Messages on my iMac as a primary means of communicating and coordinating things throughout the day, so I need to get this fixed, but don't want to step back to reformatting to do so. Hoping a 14.6 update will happen real soon that will help.

May 14, 2024 6:09 PM in response to BCJ83

I had another call with Apple tonight, did all kinds of stuff, nothing fixed it, scheduled a follow up for Sunday, then a few hours later...I get an imessage on my iMac...the tech said he has seen it before where it takes a bit of time for things to get back into order, but if you are still having issues, call support and let them do what they do, maybe something helped, I will never know, but its all good now.

May 15, 2024 8:54 AM in response to DoubleD_23

Yes, from habit I woke up and clicked on the Messages icon and responded to someone who had txt'd me on my phone. I literally just noticed, "Hey I'm on my iMac and using Messages again." Strange, and glad it's back.

BCJ83 Author

Level 1

19 points

May 15, 2024 9:44 AM in response to BCJ83

Thanks, everyone, for your replies and insight! I'm happy some of you have miraculously had your issue resolved via a method or reason that no one appears to know! :) I'm still experiencing the same issues as initially identified, but I suppose I'm hopeful they'll somehow resolve themselves in due time. Would still love it if someone could share an identifiable fix!

meltom3

Level 1

8 points

May 15, 2024 3:16 PM in response to BCJ83

I'm noticing this also! I thought it was fixed after I was on with support but I noticed that my iMessages are displaying out of order - for example if I message via my phone vs via my computer, the messages do not display correctly on my IMessage on the Mac. Hoping this is fixed soon! This is a real headache!

htb56

Level 1

12 points

May 20, 2024 1:00 PM in response to WillFulmer

Same issue, Support was unable to go to SafeMode and went to a Recovery - neither Messages or FaceTime is functioning, but my iMac sees that there are activities on other devices so it is communicating (I think) on the backend. I'm going to ask about rolling back the OS or when 14.5.1 will be around to resolve this.

May 26, 2024 3:02 PM in response to BCJ83

Same issue for me. I reinstalled Sonoma OS from the App Store. iMessage just bounced and fails to load. Icon always seems to show 1 message. MacBook Air 2020 M1 16gb ram. Please give this some attention.

Jun 5, 2024 9:15 PM in response to BCJ83

Same. Updated to Sonoma 14.5 and immediately Messages on my MacBook would not even open. Just bounced. Forced quit, restarted twice. Chatted with Apple online and they had no answers but seemed to know about the bug. Told me to try starting in Safe Mode.

So frustrating. Come ON. Don't release if you haven't tested for bugs!

meltom3

Level 1

8 points

Jul 11, 2024 12:40 PM in response to meltom3

Do we know if there's any update on Apple solving this problem? Every time I log into my Mac I have hundreds of messages that will not load into my iMessage. I see someone claims this is due to a font not loading but frankly I have no clue how to resolve that on my own.. seems like Apple needs to update that in a fix.

TFman18

Level 1

8 points

Jul 18, 2024 5:24 PM in response to KikiSouthern

I have a two month old Mac Studio Max running 14.5. IMessage wuits mid day. It tels mevtonre enter password . Nothing happens. I restart. The Apple ID box pops up asks me to enter email, or phone and password. Nothing happens, but as I am still entering my password I here an iMessage delivered, it reconnects on its own. I wondered if it was a filter setting on remote ESET SECURITY, but sounds more like an IOS bug. AppleCare had now anderr and said they'd call me back. So that tells me they just release buggy garbage. Any other experiences?

Jul 25, 2024 10:50 AM in response to BCJ83

Same issue here. 2018 MacBook Pro. Messages just hung. Tried everything in the book. It started working again for a few days and now is hung up again. Very frustrating. Works fine on iPhone and iPad.

camp54

Level 1

0 points

Jul 29, 2024 6:25 PM in response to BCJ83

Just installed 14.6 on my Mac Studio (M2 Max) and I still cannot open Messages. This has been going on for a few weeks now for me, and was hoping 14.6 would help fix the issue, but no luck. Have also tried the safe mode boot, installing Calibri fonts, etc. - nothing seems to work thus far.

Jul 30, 2024 9:43 AM in response to BCJ83

I had sonoma 14.5 and my imessages and facetime worked fine, yesterday i updated to sonoma 14.6 and now my imessages and facetime doesn't work at all. I communicate with support and they asked me to restart my imac on safe mode but still facing the same issue.

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Messages app not loading/opening on Sonoma 14.5