Can I use iChat with my new iCloud address?

My guess is that somebody (eventually) will reverse-engineer it, but there really is no urgency so I don't expect any of the developers to put a lot of energy into this.

As I mentioned before, most of us have multiple IM accounts on various servers since they don't inter-operate well. People seem to accept that they need several accounts in order to chat with everyone they want to and they don't pay much attention to which account they happen to be using at any one time.

I'm a huge Apple fan, but I have to admit that Apple does have a habit of making things "their own way" and therefore somewhat limiting. So I suggest you and your sister get acccounts on Yahoo or on Google or perhaps even a new account directly on AIM and use that for chat. There's nothing magical about Apple's IM clients or services; there are many others to choose from.

Now iMessage is advantageous because it uses "cloud" storage to keep all of your chats in sync. This is fun but really not hugely important. I can imagine a situation where I ask, "Now which machine was I on when he sent me that flight info by IM?" but realistically, that doesn't come up very often (at least not for me).

Bark!

Hi,

I am not sure why you are not using AIM on the phone (or laptop) if your Sister can only use AIM (or Jabber) on her computer.

But the question is: Is Apple going to change that stupid behaviour ?

Or will somebody finally reverse engineer that crap?

Are Apple going to revert to a less secure from of allowing access to your Password ....

Reverse Engineering would be done by ProteusX, Trillian or Adium as these are AIM clients that can use Valid AIM names (Of which the certain Apple IDs we are talking about are)

9:23 PM Monday; April 30, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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May I ask if you are working for Apple?

It bothers me that you haven't understood any point yet.

To make it clear once again:

I've been using my *****@me.com AIM name for ages.

My sister only has AIM, since she has no device capable of running iMessage.

Now that Apple shut down MobileMe, I cannot login with that AIM screen name anymore.

However, Apple has somehow established a new authentification server that only iChat 6 can use.

This is how it must have been:

Apple IDs have always been available as AIM IDs, working in ANY AIM client!

The AIM account part's password was tied to the Apple ID's password.

But every AIM client is able to check on that password.

Now Apple shuts down MobileMe - that MobileMe server does not give any positive response anymore when an AIM client asks for the password.

BUT: Apple set up a new authentication server (possibly related to iCloud), which only iChat 6 connects to right now.

The question is: Why isn't AIM at least adapting this new authentication method on their web sites and clients?

So I could at least log in with my ID using AIM for iOS.

(Anyhow, it is related to AIM - AIM is not Apple! They link an account with the same name like the Apple ID with each other's passwords. Now Apple changed something inside that authentication process. AIM should change the password link from connecting to MobileMe to connection to iCloud instead. Then every AIM client - Trillian, BeeJive, Adium, Nimbuzz, etc. should be able to get a positive authentication result again.)

Can't you understand how angry it makes me that the ID I have been using for all times suddenly get's "shut down"? (In a sense that I don't want to register another AIM screen name, as all my contacts have my @me.com ID, which should stay like that.)

I myself cannot explain why your previous "me.com" address has stopped working.

In my case, I have a new (post-iCloud) "me.com" address while my wife has an old one (originally MobileMe, now iCloud). Today, her address still works fine with AIM but mine only works from new Apple iChat/Messages.

But that's only my experience, of course.

Bark!

HI,

I do not work for Apple.

I tried to make it abundantly clear that creating an iCloud ID from an existing email (be that a MobileMe @me.com or an External like my own example) creates a new ID that in your case my look exactly like the old ID.

It is my understanding that if you do this with a MobileMe currently Active account that you get asked to end the contract. (Whether or not you mess it up some other way).

The Transition Document does seem to suggest that both the MobileMe account and iCloud Account can be active at the same time (At least until June at the latest)

MobileMe is closing and has been becoming smaller over the past year looking at Active Accounts (the last Purchasable ones were in June or 2011).

The Transition Document does say you can apply for a refund for any outstanding period

You could use http://www.apple.com/feedback/ichat.html and ask that iCloud names can be uses in iChat 4 or 5

You could create another AIM Name.

You could create an @mac.com name (if you have a spare external email).

Ranting at me when you messed up your own MobileMe account is not actually going to help or get you anywhere.

AIM should change the password link from connecting to MobileMe to connection to iCloud instead.

This is nothing to do with AIM.

AIM (servers) can already consult, if you like, with the @mac.com servers the MobileMe half of the @me.com server and the iCloud side or @me.com

What they cannot do is get the iCloud @me.com passwords without your Client logging in to the me.com server.

The only two clients that can do this at present are iChat 6.x.x and Messages beta.

10:27 PM Monday; April 30, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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Yes, that's exacty the way it is.

And in my special case, Apple turned down the MobileMe bit of my account. So it became somrthing like your new @me.com-ID.

When Apple shuts down MobileMe completely, your wife's account will also become unusable in other AIM clients.

Well, perhaps what you say is correct. We'll see pretty soon as MobileMe will be officially gone in a few months.

I'll try her account after that time and report back here.

In any case, what Apple has done is only going to convince people to use other IM clients. It's not a wise decision on their part.

Bark!

I already DO have a @mac.com AppleID (It's the same name before the @ like my me.com-ID)

I was already angry, because Apple will not activate it as an e-mail address ever (it was a inactive .Mac-account when I transitioned to MobileMe.)

Now I had two Apple IDs - ******@mac.com, and ******@me.com.

The problem is - when I use @mac.com, people are to think that they can send me e-mails to that address. But that obviously is wrong.

So I abandonned that one and changed everything to my me.com-ID.

All AIM-contacts have my me.com-ID since then and I am only using my me.com-ID for iTunes purchases now.

Hi,

So although it may have been a Trial or Lapsed .Mac account you did not link this to the MobileMe Account when you created the @me.com address ?

With @mac.com names they stay valid AIM Screen Names beyond the 60 days Trial period or if you let the account Lapse.

At the start of MobileMe active @mac.com name could be joined to @me.com names allowing you to still use them as emails.

(I have not tried to Activate a Lapsed or Trial Account name into a MobileMe name - and the time for that test is past - even if an @mac.com name could be resurrected this way as an email).

The Linking of @mac.com name to @me.com names is similar to what is going on with iCloud now - except that the names both tend to be @me.com.

IF you did link the @mac.com to the MobileMe one can you Login (Manage) to your @mac.com account from here ?

https://appleid.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MyAppleId.woa/

If I click the Manage My Account and use my iCloud @me.com name I get to see my Original email/Apple ID details.

I am wondering if you logged in as the @mac.com name whether your see the @me.com info ?

I am somewhat clutching at straws here as I don't think there is anything that can be done.

However the people that may know of some route you could try are likely to be the Regular Posters on the MobileMe area (I have linked you to the overall "category" and you will have to chose "Forum"/Community to Post in.)

7:59 PM Tuesday; May 1, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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First: There was no way to link my *****@mac.com ID to the new MobileMe account, beause it was an inactive trial account.

Second: When I go to the Apple ID management page, I can either manage my @mac.com ID or my @me.com ID

The primary E-Mail address for @me.com is the @me.com addresss,

the primary e-mail address for the @mac.com-ID is just anything else...

BUT:

As you can see, I set up my GMail-address as my secondary e-mail address for my main account (the me.com one)

That is just fine.

Now notice, that I somehow got to set up the same @me.com address as a secondary e-mail address in my @mac.com-ID!

I don't know how I got this to work, since an e-mail address can only be assigned to one Apple ID at time.

The problem is:

When I try to change either the main e-mail address or the alternative e-mail address of my @mac.com-ID, I only get errors, or the account overview website reloads. This is due to the erroneous entry of my @me.com address as a alternative e-mail addresss. It simply shouldn't be there.

But, however, I cannot delete it anymore either from there.

Interestingly, as you can see in my second screen shot, the account management page suggests that I change my @mac.com Apple ID to something different - making it identical to my main e-mail address.

BUT again: It only shows me my @mac.com e-mail address as a choice for main e-mail addres + Apple ID.

Still, even if I try to sumbit that "change", nothing happens. The page just reloads in the same state.

Hi,

It is possible to Change the Primary Email to something else.

Mine looks like This:

Uploaded with Skitch!

I came across this site and Logged in, then changed the email (Not the ID as the Pic page suggests)

The reason I did this was to have the Discussion Site use my @me.com name to send me the email Alerts of new posts.

I had already added a GoogleMail ID as an Alternative and right now the page lists the Original, the @me.com and the Google one all as Alternatives as well as suggesting I change the Primary Email to the Apple ID as does yours.

So...

Using the site I list above you can get the Gmail Email you have into the @mac.com account info.

I have found that once you have two alternatives it is easier to delete one of them.

It may be that these two pages can be used to recreate to some extent the MobileMe account.
However the most likely people to know are those in the MobileMe forums.

I think it is unlikely though that the name will work in lower versions of iChat.

7:47 PM Wednesday; May 2, 2012

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