iMessage Screen Sharing Greyed Out?

Thanks, Ralph - that turned out to fix my problem, too.

You're welcome.

7:59 pm Sunday; September 15, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi Ralph,

I used a Yahoo account to create an iCloud account, but even with the iCloud account screen sharing still seems to be disabled.

I'm trying to share between two Macs using iMessage, and the internet speed is sufficient. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Nate

Hi NateCook,

Messages cannot do Video when chatting in the iMessages account.

Screen Sharing is something that came for the iChat App that was the forerunner to Messages.

Only those accounts that used to work in iChat can Video, Audio Only chat and Screen Share. (in fact the IChat add-on of the Yahoo option is text only and cannot do these things).

So you can make any email ID gained outside of Apple your Apple ID.

You can link this to iClould as well.

I did this with an email from a Dial-up service that has been my Apple ID for years and when I linked to iCloud I gained an @Me.com email as well (later Apple changed this to @icloud.com ones and I got an email that gave this as well - I can in fact use 3 different email IDs to access my iCloud linked Apple ID).

IF you are using your iMessages ID and having a conversation with someone then using the Video icon top right of the Messages window will launch FaceTime for Video.

The FaceTime App also does not Screen Share.

However your @me.com (or @icloud.com) ID can be set up in Messages as an AIM valid ID.

In Messages > Preferences > Accounts use the + button under the list of Accounts

In the new Pane select AIM in the tiop item drop down

Enter your @me.com or @icloud.com Apple ID (It will also accept @mac.com ones as well)

Enter your Password (from Apple) this also needs to be 16 characters or Less to use with the AIM server. This has been a long term state with the AIM servers.

This will that your Contact will also have to move to using AIM in some way, either by creating an AIM ID or using an Apple issued Apple ID as you will have done.

You then have to add each other to your respective Buddy Lists.

Once the Account in in the Account part of the Preferences and extra item appears in the Window Menu called Buddies

This is a Combined list of any AIM, Jabber, Yahoo and the Bonjour account if Enabled.

It can be separated out if you untick the item about gathering accounts in the General Section of the Preferences.

Once you have separate Buddy Lists then the Window Menu lists several CMD + # items liked to those accounts.

This will display the Buddy list in question if used.

Click the + icon at the bottom of the Buddy List

Chose "Add Buddy"

Fill in their AIM (Valid) Screen Name.

9:03 pm Tuesday; October 1, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

It's dang ridiculous that two Messages-using Mac users with iCloud accounts can not share a screen with one another!

HI,

I will highlight the bit from above that concerns this:-

However your @me.com (or @icloud.com) ID can be set up in Messages as an AIM valid ID.

In Messages > Preferences > Accounts use the + button under the list of Accounts

In the new Pane select AIM in the tiop item drop down

Enter your @me.com or @icloud.com Apple ID (It will also accept @mac.com ones as well)

Enter your Password (from Apple) this also needs to be 16 characters or Less to use with the AIM server. This has been a long term state with the AIM servers.

This will that your Contact will also have to move to using AIM in some way, either by creating an AIM ID or using an Apple issued Apple ID as you will have done.

Basically your Apple ID that ends in either @me.com from early in iCloud's time or the later @iCloud.com ID can be used as Valid AIM Screen Names.

These can then be added as an AIM name in the Add Account pane (Use the + button at the bottom of the list)

Yes that does mean you Apple ID may be your iMessages ID and get used as a Valid AIM one as well.

The AIM and Jabber account can Video from within Messages the same way iChat used Video.

This in turn means they can use the Screen Sharing option.

7:55 pm Wednesday; November 6, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

Ralph, all of your help in this chain has been most helpful. Thank You.

Like others, I have spent hours over three days trying to get this to work easily like it used to in iChat.

Last night, finally, I hit the Holy Grail -

- Yes, we both had AIM (AOL) accts.

- The initiator of the screen share must have the AOL Buddies window split out seperately as you have noted.

The Catch - In the Messages main menu under Buddies, Share my screen with... and Ask To Share Screen

are still greyed out. BUT, if you right click on your buddies name in the AIM/AOL Buddies list, both options for screen sharing are active and work fine.

Glad to put this one to bed. This could definately be easier.

Thanks again for all your detailed explanations. - Mike

Hi,

I will try to remember this as it does not match my current view in Messages.

Of course, for me, this particular Mac User account was Migrated from Leopard on a G4 1ghz Dual Processor tower.

Before that it has been the account since OS X 10.2 and iChat 1

The Screen Sharing option has been On since it's inception in iChat.

This means currently it show active and editable (ticked and with dark Text so I can turn it Off) all the time no matter where I am in Messages.

I have all 10 (yes ten) Buddy Lists on show separately which include a Yahoo one which does not do Video or Audio Chat and therefore not Screen Sharing either yet selecting this Buddy List or a single Buddy in the list does not change things.

Neither does using the Main Messages window and selecting a Contact for iMessages and then trying to "convert' to a Screen Share.

This may be down to the way the various .plist involved are stored.

Some are now sandboxed in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.ichat/Data/Library/Preferences as opposed to the regular ~/Library/Preferences.

8:05 pm Monday; March 17, 2014

Hi Ralph,

I recently upgraded to OS X Yosemite and have had trouble screen sharing through the messages app.

I've tried everything I possibly could to resolve the situation, including, reinstalling the OS, deleting the plist file, and others. I spoke with apple for an hour and they couldn't figure it out either.

My friend is able to send me a request to screen share with the exact same set up on his older mac book (OS X Yosemite, iCloud account), but I can't figure out why mine isn't letting me do so.

This is what it looks like for me, in the details drop down menu in messages

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks!

Michael

Hi,

Only AIM (AOL) and Jabber (which includes Google and Facebook) accounts can Screen Share.

Whilst you might use your iCloud ID as you iMessages ID you have to separately Add the same ID as an AOL account (well, it says AOL on the Add Screen but is identified as an AIM account after that)

8:36 pm Tuesday; October 21, 2014

Except, Yosemite boasts a new feature allowing you to Screen share from iMessage with your iCloud account.

Hi,

I had missed that.

It may be that it only Mac to Mac.

I certainly can't see the option active in the active chat I have with my iPhone.

EDIT.

Messages Help

Third paragraph says it cannot be done

9:29 pm Tuesday; October 21, 2014

Hi all,

reading through this has been helpful and not. I have followed the instructions for the buddies list. I can send an invite...but all I get is the sipping wheel of grey death. and the invitee doesn't get any sort of request to share my screen. Where does this happen in the pop up window or in the buddies list, for those that have it working?

two years later help thanks

Hi,

This is about Screen Sharing in the Messages app in Mountain Lion ? (To be sure that you matched titles correctly)

In the Video Menu Screen Sharing should be ON at both ends.

You should both be on Macs and using the same Service (AIM or Jabber in Mountain Lion) in Messages or iChat.

This means you could be both using a Google ID in Messages or iChat or any other Jabber account as a Google account is Jabber based (As in Facebook chat that can be used in Messages as well).

Or you both have AIM valid IDs. In Mountain Lion these can be @mac.com @me.com names linked to iCloud and @icloud.com IDs as well or anything registered at AIM/AOL

If the other end is using iChat 6 in Lion or an earlier version of iChat they will have to resort to AIM only names - later versions log in to both Apple and AIM to allow the verification or allowing the password to be read from the Apple servers which iChat though to version 6 in early Lion does not do. (The actual crossover is part way through Lion and it's iChat's Update).

I would check that you can text Chat as this does allow you to tell each other you are trying.

Can you Video Chat ?

Video chat uses the same Invite Method and also you need th same Internet speed as a Video chat uses.

Video chats work on a invite sent on port 5678. It then moves to port 16402 to send a confirming behind the scenes invite and confirmation you are the same person that sent the invite.

Then the actual chat starts on the same port.

Audio chat start exactly the same way.

Screen Sharing starts a Audio Only chat as above but also a VNC connection usually on a random port.

The other thing that can stop this is whether the Mac(s) involved or the routers connecting them to the Internet are blocking responses to Pings.

As part of the connecting process the app sends pings as part of the way to confirm th answering buddy is at the IP address the Invite was sent to.

On the Mac don't enable Stealth Mode in the Firewall > Options button.

Check you router is allowing them.

9:17 pm Friday; January 23, 2015

Hi Ralph,

I'm experiencing an odd issue where I can screen share with my roommate (who is also on the same LAN as myself) using iMessage but not Bonjour. When I click on his name within my buddy list the "share screen" icon is greyed out. I can do video and audio over Bonjour but not screensharing.