forgot my ichat password

Hi

It would be useful to know what sort of iChat account.

First Step.

Open Keychain Access in the Applications/Utilities Folder

Make sure the top left is set to the Login keychain.

The Lower Left should be on Passwords

Search the right hand pane for the Name or ID that you are looking for.

Double click the item to bring it up in it's own panel.

Tick the Password box (Confirm your Mac User Login Password and Click Allow once)

You should now be able to see the password.

Second Step

@mac.com names

If you have or had a @Mac.com name and you changed the password to longer than 16 characters the AIM servers (As it is a valid AIM Screen Name) cannot cope.

Start here at iForgot

MobileMe issued @me.com names

If you had a MobileMe account that you let lapse then the Name will no longer work (since June 30th 2012) as the MobileMe service has been shut down.

You may need to create an iCLoud ID.

AIM Names (registered at AIM)

Go here at AIM Settings and start to Login.

At that point you can start Password Recovery either by email (if you listed one) or On Line.

Jabber IDs which include Google Talk and Facebook IDs

These will need checking and using Password recovery at those sites

In the cases on most Jabber servers (Non Googletalk or Facebook) you may only be able to do this by email as there is seldom a web page to "recover" from.

6:53 PM Wednesday; August 1, 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

HI Ralph,

I keep getting an error that "IChat can't communicate with my AIM account. The screen name entered is not valid. Make sure your IChat settings are correct". I keep trying and everything is correct. I checked my password in the keychain, and everything is good. I cannot log in to iChat. I am traveling in Africa - and I can't get into the app on my laptop or my iPhone. What should I do now?

Thanks!!!!

Hi,

Which version of iChat and what type of Name.

iCloud Issued @me.com names will not work in iChat 5 or Earlier

These names now require the app (iChat or Messages) to login to me.com as well as AIM to allow AIM to "See" the password.

iChat 5 and earlier do not do this dual login so it will not work.

Also Apple IDs need to keep the passwords to 16 characters or less as this is the AIM server limit.

10:13 PM Tuesday; September 25, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and and iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi Ralph,

Sorry for delayed response. I have been traveling without internet since I sent my email.

IChat v.5.0.3

I have used the same user name (plrbear555) for years...not an iCloud issued name. I set up an AIM account for iChat.

I just tried to log in again and it says that "iChat can't communicate with the AIM account "plrbear555" The screen name entered is not valid. Make sure your ichat account settings are correct". I cannot access iChat!

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Jami

Hi,

Can you login on this page ?

https://settings.aim.com/

You may get a message that the ID is Suspended.

Certainly a few @mac.com users who travel abroad are getting this message.

If you have an AIM Account change your password.

(this tends to prove to AIM that you own the Account and it gets "Unsuspended")

For @mac.com names it is more difficult as AIM has no access to the Password except when you login.

However there is an Suspended Accounts page to go through.

9:26 PM Monday; October 8, 2012

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 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 I am having trouble with my Ichat! when i put the correct password I've always had and it says its incorrect. I would like to know how to change my password

HI,

It is not very clear what account, Screen Name or Jabber ID you are using.

It is not clear where you want to change the Password.

If we take an @me.com account for instance you may have had this for a number of years since MobileMe was started.

You have probably changed/Re-registered with iCloud since then with the same Apple ID.

This change to using the ID with iCloud changes which versions of iChat can still use the ID.

iCloud Issued @me.com and later @iCloud.com names need a second login in iChat (Or Messages in Mountain Lion) that only then allows AIM to "See" the password.

This is achieved only in iChat 6 and Messages in Mountain Lion which logs in to me.com as well as the AIM Servers.

This means an @me.com name will not work in iChat 5 or earlier.

As iCloud has been going some while this may not be the cause of your issue if you have been using iChat for some while.

If you use the first reply I made at the "First Step" part in this Thread then you can change the Password on the computer.

You can also highlight the Stars in the password box (whilst logged out of the server) and change it to something new (this tends to create duplicate entries in the Keychain).

First Step.

Open Keychain Access in the Applications/Utilities Folder

Make sure the top left is set to the Login keychain.

The Lower Left should be on Passwords

Search the right hand pane for the Name or ID that you are looking for.

Double click the item to bring it up in it's own panel.

Tick the Password box (Confirm your Mac User Login Password and Click Allow once)

You should now be able to see the password.

The broader strokes of the First reply to this thread is that you can change your password at the place you Registered the Name/ID.

8:11 PM Saturday; February 2, 2013

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

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 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