Adding Phone to messages (all other solutions in different threads not working)

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Adding Phone to messages (all other solutions in different threads not working)

Hi all, As a pre-cursor, Ive researched this to death, tried all other solutions provided by different threads on and off of this forum, so hang in there while I explain.

I recently left to go overseas (military), Where I'm stationed, I have a lot of internet access, so I recently updated my OS to Mountain Lion in order to use Messages (have easier access to ethernet than wifi). For the past couple of weeks, my Messages account has been communicating with other iPhones back in the states using my phone number. Today I came back and Messages was asking me to re-sign back in with my apple ID. When I did, I was notified by some one I was talking to, that a new conversation had been started on their phone using my email. I went into preferences, for Messages and my phone number was not there. I tried adding it, but all I got was "an email has been sent to the device, follow instructions to complete verification," with no email actually being sent.

I found a wifi spot, went on my phone (iPhone 5), went to Settings -> Messages, 1 of 2 things were wrong. My iMessage was now waiting for activation (it was already activated) and my phone number under "Send & Receive", was now greyed out.

I did the whole sign out and sign in thing, it didn't work. Then I backed up my phone and completely reset it. Once everything was re-stored, I got the message on both my phone and through Messages that my phone number was now receiving messages through iMessage. In Messages preferences, my number was selected as primary, and was how all new conversations were going to through my phone number. Great news, it's fixed right? Wrong. About an hour later, I went back, my phone number was not there and my iMessages were being sent using email. Back to the same issues.

I followed this thread's advice https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4386276?start=0&tstart=0 with no luck.

Please help, any other advice would be great.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), iPhone 5 iOS 6.0.1

Posted on Dec 14, 2012 3:07 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 15, 2012 2:21 PM in response to thereal50

HI,

As you can see in the other thread you linked to I had no luck with adding the Phone Number as Email in the Mac Messages app.

I am not sure if this was because it did not have a Country code or the spaces in the "right" place.

The iPhone Number only showed up after I restarted the Messages app.

That was because I did it this way.

Updated the Mac to OS X 10.8.2

Update the first iPhone to iOS 6

The Restart then gave me the Message/alert that the iPhone was using the iPhone Number and the Apple ID I was using in the Mac Messages app.

The above was using the Apple ID I use for Signing in here and with iTunes but has also been linked to an iCloud ID.

I used the @me.com ID on a Second iPhone.

It registers this separately but the next day when I Logged in to Message again I got another Alert saying it was Adding this Number and this Second Apple ID as Aliases. I said no but the number and the ID were listed just not ticked as active.

That leads me to what I did next (which is then what I think you meant by Log out > Log in).

On the second iPhone I removed the Apple ID. (You get the warning Alert I mentioned in the other thread)

I then Turned Messages OFF (I left SMS on)

I then waited for a while to ensure full log out of the iMessages server (As they must cope with minor drop outs al the time).

Then I turn Messages back on and checked the iPhone Number got ticked (after a wait) as the only "Contact ID" in Send and Receive. (It remains greyed out)

Then I re-added the Apple ID.

At this point I restarted Messages on the Mac

Said no to adding them as Aliases.

The Number did not show Up on the Mac version although the iCloud @me.com name persists but is not active.

The com.apple.imservice.iMessage.plist that stores not only the Apple ID used but the Aliases as well seem to store the Aliases as the ones in use and well as what it calls the "Vetted" aliases which includes the ones not in use.

Part of the Info is the Country code for the Area your iPhone works in.

What I don't know is if International roaming plays and issue here.

10:21 PM Saturday; December 15, 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

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Answer 2

thereal50 Author

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Dec 21, 2012 1:15 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Thanks for the reply, I re-traced the steps you just layed out, still no luck. I'm not roaming, phone is in airplane mode. Now I would completely understand that common sense applies; I'm out of the country in airplane mode, my phone won't be sending messages... problem solved. But for the first two weeks out here, my phone number was still the primary for sending and receiving messages. Weird?

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Answer 3

Dec 21, 2012 12:27 PM in response to thereal50

Hi,

Now I am not sure you are not running into a "safety" feature of the whole process.

I have two iPhones. Both are hand-me-downs from other family members having upgraded.

Although I replaced both SIM cards with Pay-as-you-go ones I don't know what happens to the numbers that were being used.

I can imagine though there is a situation where a safety feature kicks and "protects" the iPhone Number if the iMessages server has not "heard" from the iPhone in a while.

8:26 PM Friday; December 21, 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

Reply