"An error occurred during activation. Try again." Why can I not sign into imessage?

Hi,

The iOS device seemingly knocks the Mac Version Off Line when you try to send iMessages ?

This might be what it looks like but what it might be is confirmation that the Mac version is not logging in properly.

Do this with the app Quit.

I would go to the ~/Library/Preferences and delete com.apple.imagent.plist

This is the .plist for the helper app that also lists the Account you use in Messages.

However this app (IMAgent) start up when the computer does so we must stop and start it to make it create a new .plist.

Open Activity Monitor in Applications/Utilities

Scan the list for imagent (it will be in lower case and have no iCon).

Most likely if the PID numbers are in order down the left then the item will be below the Finder (but not always).

Highlight it and then use the Quit item top left of the Window.

It will tend to restart again itself straight away if FaceTime or Messages is active.

Restart Messages

7:19 pm Tuesday; June 17, 2014

Hi Ralph,

I followed exactly the procedure you suggested in your last message but it still doesn't work. Same problem as before.

Just a couple of things to be more precise:

1. I agree with you, I don't think that the iOS device knocks the mac version off because the mac version never works properly even if never knock it off with the iOS device.

2. When I quit the imagent process from the Activity Monitor it automatically restarted even if facetime and message were quit.

Let me know what you think.

Hi,

The IMAgent item will restart of it's own accord and sometimes very quickly indeed.

However it should recreate the .plist and force a fresh Login to all the Accounts it is "listening" for at this point.

Ok lets try it this way.

In the iMessages account Sign Out of iMessages and then Quit the app.

In Applications/Utilities open the Keychain Access app.

Find the item that reads "IDS: yourAppleID-Auth Token" and delete it.

Restart the Messages app and Re-add the Apple ID (possibly just the password).

9:18 pm Tuesday; June 17, 2014

Hi Ralph,

sorry to get back to you so late. I tried what you suggested in your last post but now I can no longer login with my account. I get the following message:

What should I do?

Thanks a lot!

Hi,

In the Contacts App does the My Card (use the Card Menu to reveal) show your details ?

At this point a reinstall will not sort this as it is your Users folder rather than the app that is causing the issue.

Read thorough before starting.

Whilst this is time consuming I would do it this way.

Quit all apps.

Create a folder on the Desktop (It will be a holding pen for a while)

Open this folder in one Finder's window and another window for ~/Library/Preferences.

Move everything that is in the Preferences folder to the Desktop holding pen one.

Now start up Messages.

The ~/Library/Preferences should create several .plists

com.apple.ichat.plists

all the com.apple.ichat.(Account).plist ones

The iMessages ones (madrid, imessages.bag and probably imservice.imessages.plist)

IMagent.plist

It may create others where it links to other apps.

Fonts, Contacts/Address Book, Internet Accounts and so on.

Does iMessages now login ?

If it does you can start putting back the original.plists

Start with the ones for third party and Apple apps that you did not have open that would have nothing or little to do with Messages

Office related ones, iWorks related items, iTunes, iPhoto, iWeb if you uses it, any games you have, Maps, Google Earth, Any third party browser, Safari's .plist And basically everything above and below those that start com.apple....

Next move any that you are sure relate to apps you no long have on your computer to the Trash.

Now Quit and restart Messages.

Does it still log in the iMessages account ?

Now move half of the remaining .plists back to the Preferences folder.

Recheck Messages by Quitting and restarting.

Again half of the remaining ones in the Holding pen folder.

Hopefully you can continue this and check Messages works until you are moving just a few files and you can pinpoint the one causing the issue.

You should leave the focus/highlight on the Moved files so you can move them back if there is an issue and then try a lesser move to try an isolate the rouge .plist

I would not worry about the .lockfiles as they contain zero bytes.

8:50 pm Sunday; June 22, 2014

Hi Ralph,

again sorry for the delay in my answer, but I'm quite busy lately.

I tried to follow the procedure you suggested in your last post and I'll try to summarise the outcome citing point by point your text.

"In the Contacts App does the My Card (use the Card Menu to reveal) show your details ?"

Yes.

"

Quit all apps.

Create a folder on the Desktop (It will be a holding pen for a while)

Open this folder in one Finder's window and another window for ~/Library/Preferences.

Move everything that is in the Preferences folder to the Desktop holding pen one.

Now start up Messages.

The ~/Library/Preferences should create several .plists

com.apple.ichat.plists

all the com.apple.ichat.(Account).plist ones

The iMessages ones (madrid, imessages.bag and probably imservice.imessages.plist)

IMagent.plist

It may create others where it links to other apps.

Fonts, Contacts/Address Book, Internet Accounts and so on.

Does iMessages now login ?"

When I do this held below is an image with the files that are created in ~/Library/Preferences

Concerning login the situation is slightly more complex and depends on whether when I start the procedure I was previously logged in or not. If I was previously logged in and try to login after removing all files from ~/Library/Preferences I'll successfully login. On the contrary if could not login before the procedure (removing all files from ~/Library/Preferences) I will not manage to login.

I previously had the problem of login but could solve it with a PRAM reset. Now every time I have a problem of login after a PRAM reset I always manage to log back in. However, the problem is that in all cases even after login I cannot send and receive iMessages on the mac. I can see that login was effectuated on the mac because on my iPhone and my iPad I receive the message that my telephone number and my e-mail (of iMessage) are being used on a macbook pro. So I assume I'm correctly logged in.

Interestingly, if I try to logout and back in several times from the mac and from the phone at some point I will get refused login on the mac. Furthermore, if log out and back in on the phone while I'm logged on the mac, I will get asked for my password on the mac.

In summary, there is a problem of login since this does not appear to be stable but more importantly from the mac I cannot neither send nor receive iMessages. Interestingly, if I try to send an iMessage from the mac it will initially appear as sent (even if the receiver never receives it), but then after logout and log back in I will be able to see that the iMessage was not sent (see picture below). Also importantly, for this I need to completely log out of my session (i.e. logout my user or switch off/on the computer).

I hope my problem is more clear now and it does not seem to come from some files in ~/Library/Preferences. Can you suggest some other solutions? Also I remind you that everything works well on the guest user account on my mac, so as you suggested there must be somethings in my settings that generates the problem. Is there a way of coming back to the factory settings without disinstalling all programs and deleting all data on the mac?

Once again thanks a lot for your time and help.

Hi,

This is being a slippery customer.

The presumptions is that in the normal course of things an iMessages account that gets "Not Delivered" in Every chat/conversation that is going on in the iMessages account means that the app/Computer/iMessages account is not logged in properly.

The fact we deleted All the Preferences (.plists) and still had the problem suggests or points more towards the app again.

However the App works in Other Mac User Account logins - meaning it is OK

Can you check this ?

In Messages > Preferences > Accounts > iMessages account can you click the Details button.

You will be required to "Sign in" to see the details.

When the pane loads what is the region or Country that is shown ?

Is this covered by the System Preferences > Date and Time time server if set to Automatic ?

Also double check the Time Zone in the Date and Time Pane and does this agree with your router ?

8:47 pm Sunday; June 29, 2014

Hi Ralph,

the country of my account is Italy which is well covered by the time and date server (set to automatic). Currently, I'm not living in Italy but in France which is in the same time zone, do you think this could be the problem?

Concerning agreement with the router, I can tell you that I have the problem when I'm connected from home and from work that of course use different router/access to the web.

Any idea?

Humm,

So you will effectively have a French IP address from a French ISP and Messages is still set to Italy ?

Messages will use a variety of techniques, across the various services it can join, to make sure that you are the person calling your Buddy or Contact.

iMessages uses the fact the Serial Number is on the Logic Board to confirm that it is your Machine that is sending the iMessages.

this tends to be coupled with the use of the Region or Country shown in the Detail Screen.

Being the UK use the same Time Server but is in one Time Zone I had presumed it tied in with Date and Time.

I had not considered it might be ISP and IP addresses linked to the Country setting.

8:00 pm Monday; June 30, 2014

I'm not sure I follow this... my phone uses a french number and my ipad uses the same router but my apple account is set to Italy and yet they work perfectly. Furthermore messages has been working until recently (a month ago) and it works on the guest user account, how can it possibly be a mismatch between the set countries?

Hi,

When you set up the iMessages account in Messages in the Guest account what Country does it get given at that point ?

Mine is set to the United Kingdom as the default choice which I guessed was linked to the Location I had used in System Preferences > Date and Time > Time Zone tab.

8:42 pm Monday; June 30, 2014

Hi Ralph,

the country set is linked to the apple account. My account is an Italian one as I purchase items from the Italian apple store. Messages uses the apple account and as such it displays the country of the account, Italy in my case. In any case, I went to see what ate the country and date and time settings in my guest user account where iMessaging from mac works and these are exactly the same as in my user account. I conclude that the problem cannot come from this and must be related to something in my account, but what?

To provide you some additional symptom that I observed since I started having the problem,

1. every time I login in my account (the mac user account) I get asked the password for iCloud, this was not the case before;

2. often (but not always) I get re-asked my apple ID password in messages on the mac when I send an iMessage from the phone, this is also weird and was not the case before.

I'm really desperate what do you suggest to get messages on my mac back to a working state?

Thanks a lot!

Hi,

I actually have the System Preferences > iCloud Keychain items turned Off myself.

Other than syncing my Contacts and using the Mail service I have nothing else On line in iCloud.

I have no other suggestions.

8:14 pm Wednesday; July 2, 2014