Why is my Messages app not syncing between iPhone and Mac?

I had a similar issue with sms message senders not syncing, and having to update some constantly. Here is what I found that worked- I applied the instructions, restarted both the iPhone and the MBP, and presto. Hope this works for you:

To sync SMS message senders between your iPhone and Mac, you need to enable iMessage and Text Message Forwarding. Ensure both devices are signed in with the same Apple ID and that your Mac is selected in Text Message Forwarding on your iPhone. 

Steps to Sync SMS and iMessages:

1. Enable Messages in iCloud on both devices:

• • On your iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Messages and toggle it on. 
  • On your Mac, open the Messages app, go to Messages > Preferences > iMessage, and ensure Enable Messages in iCloud is checked. 

1. Enable Text Message Forwarding:

• • On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding. 
  • Make sure your Mac is selected and enabled. 
  • If your Mac is already selected, you may need to deselect it, restart your iPhone, and then re-enable it. 

1. Verify Apple ID:

• • Ensure both your iPhone and Mac are signed in with the same Apple ID. 

Troubleshooting:

• If you still encounter issues, try restarting both your iPhone and Mac. 

I have faced this same problem for literally years; sometimes it works correctly for weeks or months, and then without warning, messages on my Mac almost randomly fall out of sync with my iPhone. This occurs with messages from both iPhone and Android apps, and the sync issues happen on both Intel and Apple Silicon chips. I have seen all the usual suggestions for fixing the problem, but I believe I have found one of the reasons why it is happening. After receiving a message this morning on my iPhone from another iPhone user, I turned on my Mac and started the Messages app. The message on my phone did not appear on the Mac, so I did the following: 1) I went to the Mac system settings for iCloud -> Messages and used the "sync now" button, noting the number of messages that it identified, but the missing message did not appear in the Messages app. 2) Next, I did the same thing on the iPhone, but before syncing, I also noticed that it gave the last sync time as 16 hours earlier (that's right--16 hrs that my phone had not synced messages with iCloud!). After syncing was complete, it showed a different number of messages than indicated on the Mac. 3) Finally, I returned to the Mac settings and performed the sync again, and this time, the number of messages matched the iPhone, and the missing message appeared in Mac messages. Conclusion: the iPhone's failure to sync for 16 hrs prevented the Mac from getting the correct messages. It's interesting also that this problem virtually never happens in reverse: if I send a message from the Mac, the iPhone always gets it instantly.

Fairvoice wrote:

Do Apple executives ever have meetings with several working groups to solve issues? I don't think so. My message app on my iPhone and on my MacBook Air WILL NOT SYNC. I have some corporate management experience and know that such a major issue should be addressed at upper levels with a simple meeting that should mandate a fix within a given period of time, or heads will roll. Apple makes some great products, but when it comes to software, things are off the power curve.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

There is no Apple here in these user to user technical forums.

You can provide Apple feedback here Product Feedback - Apple

If you want help from other users in these forum, then you'll need to provide more details than "not syncing".

Or better yet, go to the Apple store or contact Apple directly.

Macbook Pro 14-in Nov 2024 + iPhone 15 Pro and messages are not syncing! I have checked all the things listed here. The problem seems to happen when I or another member of my family iMessage to a thread on which one member is on a Google phone. The group then splits into another group so my app suddenly has a new thread and people start receiving texts in multiple chats rather than on the one named Family with our three members. Is this something to do with Apple's handling of non-iMessage/iPhone people? It's driving all of us crazy.

Please help if you have any idea what is going on. I can't figure it out.

For problems with group messaging with mixed groups of iPhone and Android users, I highly suggest using WhatsApp because it avoids the hangups between operating systems using the cellular networks, and instead uses the internet. Messaging is absolutely trouble free.

Very interesting indeed!

I tried the "Sync Now" button in Messages—no effect.

I tried syncing my iPhone with my Mac—no effect.

Etc., etc, etc.

Finally, the trick was to send a message to my wife via Messages.app on my Mac. So, Messages.app was open, and I saw it instantly update all the messages!

I tried these steps but don't see an option to remove my MacBook as a text message forwarding device in the settings. It says text message forwarding 1 device and when I click into that menu there is no option to toggle from on to off. How do you remove and re-add a device for text message forwarding?