Messages.app - unable to sign in with Apple ID/OS X 10.8

Question

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Messages.app - unable to sign in with Apple ID/OS X 10.8

I'm unable to sign in to iMessage with my Apple ID/password on Mac.

Hardware:

2 x 2.26 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon Mac Pro

32 GB RAM

Network connection via wired Ethernet - confirmed operational

OS:

OS X 10.8

Procedure:

(1) Launch Messages.app under OS X 10.8

(2) Select Preferences > Accounts

(3) Note iMessage (Inactive) in accounts list

(4) Enter Apple ID and password.

(5) Click Sign In

(6) Note indeterminate activity indicator (spinner) followed by alert sheet: "Could not sign in to iMessage. Could not sign in. Please check your network connection and try again."

Attempted already:

(1) Changed router DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for primary and secondary respectively.

(2) Deleted every plist remotely related to Messages, IMAgent, iChat.

(3) Verified iMessage works with same Apple ID on iPhone 4 and iPad gen 3.

(4) Restarted computer after (2)

Messages-OTHER, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Jul 25, 2012 2:00 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jul 25, 2012 2:28 PM in response to duncan.alan

HI,

There seems there is now this article (or Already if you look at it that way)

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5419

You could also try Opening Activity Monitor and finding IMagent and using the Quit Option

Restart Messages after this.

(IMagent is a support app for Messages and FaceTime and deals with logging in the accounts)

10:28 PM Wednesday; July 25, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 2

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 25, 2012 2:40 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Thanks -

Forgot to mention that I tried that step also. So here's the running log of attempted actions:

(1) Changed router DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for primary and secondary respectively.

(2) Deleted every plist remotely related to Messages, IMAgent, iChat.

(3) Verified iMessage works with same Apple ID on iPhone 4 and iPad gen 3.

(4) Restarted computer after (2)

(5) Kill process IMAgent -> restart Messages.app

(6) Reviewed this knowledge base article

The response in all cases, is "Could not sign in. Please check your network connection and try again."

Reply

Answer 3

Jul 25, 2012 2:50 PM in response to duncan.alan

This Apple ID works in iTunes, the App Store, Posting here or in Facetime ?

If it works everywhere but Message and FaceTime we are back as looking at the IMAgent stuff.

The article could only have been posted today and probably cover s the one area that was not fully tested.

Namely that people may want to set up a second computer using an ID that is already is use and registered with iMessages.

have you tried setting up Messages in a different Mac user account ?

This may point us back to the .plists although you seem to express that you have covered those.

It is late here and there will be a delay before I get back to any replies.

10:50 PM Wednesday; July 25, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 4

pberk

Level 2

321 points

Jul 25, 2012 2:53 PM in response to duncan.alan

Check your system prefers... Make sure -> iCloud is still set up and also check -> Mail Contacts Calendars which now also allows you to configure for Messages... Once J did that all the accounts started working on Messages

Reply

Answer 5

Jul 25, 2012 3:00 PM in response to pberk

HI,

iMessages part of Messages does not necessarily use the iCloud ID.

It can be any Apple ID

It does not feature in the list of items in Mail, Contacts and Calendars.

11:00 PM Wednesday; July 25, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 6

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 25, 2012 3:08 PM in response to pberk

pberk - I'm still set up properly in System Preferences > iCloud. But System Preferences > Mail, Contacts, Calendars does not have a selection for Messages. (If I understand what you are refering to correctly.)

Also, I note that I'm unable to sign on to FaceTime either. These behaviors are new since installing 10.8.

Reply

Answer 7

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 25, 2012 3:19 PM in response to duncan.alan

Also, sign in fails with another Apple ID

So, a running list of items tried:

(1) Changed router DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for primary and secondary respectively.

(2) Deleted every plist remotely related to Messages, IMAgent, iChat.

(3) Verified iMessage works with same Apple ID on iPhone 4 and iPad gen 3.

(4) Restarted computer after (2)

(5) Kill process IMAgent -> restart Messages.app

(6) Reviewed this knowledge base article

(7) Tried same process as (5) with FaceTime.app -> same behavior

(8) Verified System Preferences > iCloud and System Preferences > Mail, Contacts, Calendars

(9) Tried another Apple ID -> same behavior

Reply

Answer 8

enricojm

Level 1

5 points

Jul 25, 2012 11:16 PM in response to duncan.alan

I had the exactly same problem, y tried almost all the 9 alternatives. I really don´t why but in safari I pressed the share button > imessage, and then it told me I wasn't logged in, so I justed chose to log in and since then it started to work.

Reply

Answer 9

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 26, 2012 4:57 AM in response to enricojm

To the list of 9 attempted solutions (vide supra), I'll add the 10th - the one that actually worked:

Reinstall OS X 10.8

Reply

Answer 10

alibey

Level 1

0 points

Jul 26, 2012 6:13 AM in response to duncan.alan

How do you reinstall OS X 10.8?

Reply

Answer 11

duncan.alan Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 26, 2012 6:47 AM in response to alibey

The original installed version was the 10.8 GM - which ideally should have differed little, if at all, from the final release. In any case, going to the App Store, I clicked on Download. It warned me that 10.8 was already installed, but it let me re-download and re-install nonetheless.

Reply

Answer 12

alibey

Level 1

0 points

Jul 26, 2012 8:02 AM in response to duncan.alan

Alright! i'll do that! thank you !

Reply

Answer 13

Jul 26, 2012 12:37 PM in response to enricojm

HI,

I must admit to not using Safari for sometime and not knowing about that Share Button > Messages option.

8:36 PM Thursday; July 26, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 14

mikzee

Level 1

0 points

Jul 26, 2012 1:07 PM in response to duncan.alan

hi,

same problem here. not even a reinstall of ML helped 😟

Reply

Answer 15

Jul 26, 2012 1:35 PM in response to mikzee

Hi,

Having joined this thread which of the ten thing duncan.alan says he did have you tried ?

9:35 PM Thursday; July 26, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply