Can't login to iMessage

there may be multiple separate issues and causes being discussed here. i'm running el capitan. my machine just came back from apple repair. upon getting my machine back, i found my iCloud account in messages was logged in but said "inactive" under the account in the list that appears on the left column from Messages>Preferences>Accounts. everything else associated with iCloud was working fine. this was not merely a problem of not being able to log into iCloud.

i tried "sign out" from Messages>Preferences>Accounts, then signing back in. no effect. i couldn't find any other settings or controls that had any bearing on this issue. some older advice i found indicated that the problem could be fixed by re-setting my iCloud email account to be in the United States, but the setting for this apparently no longer exists in El Capitan.

then i got directed to this thread from another apple discussion and i tried step 9. i did not reboot, reset NVRAM, boot into safe mode or multiple other things various other sites recommended. just step 9 and restarting the messages app fixed it for me.

i despise "sacrifice a chicken" type suggestions on how to fix things (reset PRAM, etc.), but in this case, it definitely worked.

I have the same issue and even I reseted the macOS but that make no difference. I have tried to contact Apple support but it seems that they can’t help also.

Can’t connect my phone to my mac is really annoying because I cant use hand off and universal clipboard

I am also unable to sign into iMessage on my Mac Air and am receiving the same error stating "Could Not Sign Into iMessage". Ive changed my password associated with my apple id thinking that was it, and that works for the App Store and iTunes, but not for iMessage.

iMessage is also now awaiting activation on my phone for some reason.

is iMessage down?

I too am having the exact same issue as the above-two posters. Any update on this?

This could be a complicated problem to solve, as there are many possible causes for it. Test after taking each of the following steps that you haven't already tried. Back up all data before making any changes.

Before proceeding, test on another network, if possible. That could be a public Wi-Fi hotspot, if your computer is portable, or a cellular network if you have a mobile device that can share its Internet connection. If you find that iMessage works on the other network, the problem is in your network or at your ISP, not in your computer.

Step 1

Check the status of the service. If the service is down, wait tor it to come back up. There may be a localized outage, even if the status indicator is green.

Step 2

Restart your broadband device and your router, if different. You may have to skip this step if you don't control those devices.

Step 3

From the menu bar, select

 ▹ About This Mac

Below the "OS X" legend in the window that opens, the OS version appears. Click the version line twice to display the serial number. If the number is missing or obviously invalid, take the machine to an Apple Store or other authorized service center to have the problem corrected.

Step 4

Back up all data, then take the steps suggested in this support article.

There are five steps in that article. Please take all of them. If you don't understand some of the steps or can't carry them out, ask for guidance.

Step 5

From the menu bar, select

 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Network

If the preference pane is locked, click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock it. Then click the Advanced button and select the Proxies tab. If any proxy options are selected, make a note of them and then deselect them. You don’t need to change the bypass or FTP settings. Click OK and then Apply. Test. The result may be that you can't connect to any web server. Restore the previous settings if that happens.

Step 6

Reset theNVRAM.

Step 7

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

If iMessage worked in the guest account, stop here and post your results.

Step 8

Boot in safe mode and log in. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including Wi-Fi on certain iMacs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and test again.

If iMessage worked in safe mode, but didn't work when you booted out of safe mode, stop here and post your results.

Step 9

According to one anecdotal report, Flash Player may interfere with iMessage, though I don't know how and can't confirm. To test this theory, select from the menu bar

 ▹ System Preferences… ▹ Flash Player ▹ Storage

and click

Block all sites from storing information on this computer

Close the preference pane. If this action solves the problem, please post your results.

Step 10

Reinstall OS X.

Step 11

If none of the above steps resolves the issue, make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or contact Apple Support.

Hey,

Step No. 9 of Linc Davis' post solved the problem for me. I did nothing else, (except rebooting a few times) because the flash-player updated itself in the last few days and I thought well - the problem with iMessage occured roughly since then.

So for me flash is the culpri. Steve Jobs was right. 🙂

Regards,

Rainer

BINGO! That Step #9 worked for me too! I didn't do anything else except #9, restart my computer and then it asked for my password for iMessage and would I liked it stored in my keychain. Praise! 😉

Step #9 it is!! Block Flash, close the preferences, reboot, and it's done. 🙂

to put more evidence in the update being buggy, my iMac is working fine w/ iMessages, and has not had the most recent Flash update yet. my issue took place on my MBPro.

thank you!!!

Roy Trenneman: [picking up the phone] Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Rebooting solved the problem for me.

#9 also seemed to work for me after restart. thanks!

my situation seems very similar to KevinOpp. Problem was on the macbook pro. Imac was working fine.

Step #9 did it for me also.

Step #9 did it for me. Well, I also did a restart but I don't think the restart was necessary. Thank you!

Same issue here.

The kicker is that I try my wife's Apple ID and it works.

Mine just keeps asking and asking for my password.

Any help would be appreciated.

This also applies to FaceTime

#9 worked for me after a restart. So not sure if it was Flash or the restart. I did #9 and no change with iMessage. Did the restart and it worked. Did install Flash update quite a few days ago. But I know even yesterday I was iMessaging with no problem. This morning wasn't working, asked me to sign in, and got the server not responding message. So either #9 or the restart or both.