Transfer all messages threads from old mac to new mac?

Hi,

You need to Migrate ~/Library/Messages (this has the chat.db items that summarize iMessages and Saved Chats)

That is the Contents of Messages folder

And also ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages (this holds the Saved chats if you save them in an Archive Folder)

Contents of this Messages folder.

They also have the Attachments and Alias to the Attachments folder.

9:31 p.m. Friday; August 7, 2015

Dear Ralph,

when I do this, I only have all the peoples in the left, but the chatting thread is empty...

Could you help me ?

Couldn't it be more simple to find a way to sync the entire message library from the iPhone directly to the Messages app ?

Thank you.

Hi,

You are talking about using two different Operating Systems and different ways of storing what looks like the same info.

Your could ...

get a Utility that will read and extract info from an iTunes back up of your iOS device.

To be clear.

The two different Messages folders work in conjunction with one another.

If you used iChat before Messages and Saved chats then the Archive folder (deep in the Containers path) is the one that started life in your Documents Folder as "iChat" that stored all your Saved chats.

During various OS X 10.x variations the folder have moved to be called Archive and to the Messages folder then to it's current Location.

What has changed is that the three chat.db items that are only ~/Library/Messages deep hold the summary of the iMessages chats AND the location info for the Archive folder so that Chat can be displayed.

Migration works as it make your the Owner (on this computer) on the way and gives you the correct Read and Write permissions as well.

Dragging and therefore copying the files (folders to get the contents) to the new computer means they tend to be still "owned" by the User on the old computer even if you are "Nathan" on both computers.

8:42 p.m. Saturday; August 8, 2015

In fact, I changed the permissions, and extend those permissions to the inners folders, but I still can't retrieve my previous messages...

Do you know an app that can retrieve ichat.db from an iphone backup ?

Thank you.

Hi,

I know that there are some out there but I have not tried them (or even learned their names).

8:47 p.m. Sunday; August 9, 2015

dear ralph,

i have a similar problem:

i just deactivated in my messages-app on my macbook pro the account i used for years, because i had serious problems to activate the SMS-forwarding on this macbook.

in between, i used a little software to get all my caches cleaned (onyx).

i reactivated the account in the messages app. the app behaved like freshly installed, but was able to remember my cellphone-number – which made me wondering.

well, i managed after several restart-orgies on both machines (iphone/macbook) to activate the SMS-forwarding – success!

BUT and now i come to my question: ALL conversations are gone on the macbook. it is a completely empty app.

because i don't see them in any way, i assume, that the archivefiles are emtpy, because they all hav date of birth from today.

how do i manage to get the messages from the iphone back into the messages app?

greets flo from germany

If the database files are empty, there is no way to transfer the messages from the phone to the Mac.

Hi Flo,

There are places to look and things to try but Eric might be right in the long run.

Open Finder window and use the Go Menu whilst holding down the ALT key.

Select the Library that appears and navigate to Messages.

The three chat.db items are where the iMessages are stored.

They could be blank (Try Opening With TextEdit).

They are not the most user friendly when viewed in TextEdit but it will let you see the content.

IF the Finder window is in Cover Flow mode then the Modified Column can be displayed (Finder > View Menu > Show View Options) and this may give clues as to when these files were updated.

If they are blank it would be unusual but you might ( I stress Might) be able to replace them with ones from a Time Machine Back up.

Before you do that check you Own the files.

Right CLick each one and choose "Get Info"

In the Panel that shows scroll to the bottom.

Your short name should be there and your should have Read and Write permissions.

You should Own the files as well and to check you have to Unlock the Padlock and then use the cogwheel type icon.

The phrase "Make yourshortname (Me) the Owner" should be greyed out to show you Own it.

If you "Save on Close" any Chat (iMessages, Bonjour, AIM, Jabber and/or Yahoo) are saved to ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive where they are in dated folders.

Again the Modified Column should help pin down if the content has been changed (you need to be looking at the last level folder as opening a file manually also changes the date of the containing folder).

If these appear to be missing then you could try replacing them from a Time Machine backup.

The reason I am sceptical about whether it works is the app runs a process that "updates" the links to these files when it is updated.

This means at Upgrades and when you restart the app again for the first time and on the occasional Updates Messages has in some OS X Updates.

There is no easy answer to this and as Eric says it still might not work.

7:16 pm Friday; September 2, 2016

hi ralph,

thanks for your detailed and quick reply !!

unfortunately, i don't use the timemachine (got some different backupsoftware that allows me to sync data between more than 2 devices, synk pro).

so i don't have the old files from my macbook, BUT: i guess i got a pretty actual set of files on my mac pro at home. i will try it with these ones (same macos-version as on the macbook).

but because i am in zurich right now, i get back to the mac in augsburg on monday. so i have to wait till then.

... until yesterday, the macpro was the only one, that was able to use the SMS-forwarding.

right now, the forwarding list in the iphone lost the mac pro again, and there's only the macbook visible (and it took mit 15 trys and a reboot to make the iphone accept the connection pincode and the forwarding get to work).

allow me the sidequestion: when i understood right ... then it's possible to use the sms-forwarding on more than one device? until my semi-successful-experiments this afternoon i never was able to activate this forwarding on more than one device at a time ...

flo

Hi,

On the iPhone in Settings > Messages > Text Forwarding you should be able to set several devices - be they iPads of other computers.

The devices have to be on the same LAN - so a computer at Home whilst you are away will not show the SMS Messages until the iPhone is back home as well.

If the two computers are on two different Networks (LANs) then they might not sync the SMS side at all even though the iPhone might be joining each network when you move.

7:52 pm Friday; September 2, 2016