Unable to activate imessage even after clean install.

No wifi on this model, so only Ethernet direct to a port on a airport time capsule, which in turn connects to my cable service, a corporate 120Mbps down / 30Mbps up comcast link. Nat on the cable router, private subnet behind it, time capsule in double nat mode. Etrecheck attached.

EtreCheck version: 2.6.6 (226)

Report generated 1/12/16 8:52 AM

Runtime 1:54

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

Mac Pro (Early 2009)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

Mac Pro - model: MacPro4,1

2 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon CPU: 8-core

32 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

DIMM 1

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 2

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 3

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 4

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 5

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 6

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 7

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

DIMM 8

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1066 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 - VRAM: 512 MB

HP LP2065 1600 x 1200 @ 60 Hz

HP LP2065 1200 x 1600 @ 60 Hz

System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 (15C50) - Time since boot: about 2 days

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GH41N ()

OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD disk0 : (480.1 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

MacProBoot128 (disk0s2) / : 479.24 GB (243.68 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 disk2 : (2 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

disk2s2 (disk2s2) <not mounted> : 2.00 TB

Boot OS X (disk2s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 disk4 : (2 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk4s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

disk4s2 (disk4s2) <not mounted> : 2.00 TB

Boot OS X (disk4s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 disk3 : (2 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk3s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

disk3s2 (disk3s2) <not mounted> : 2.00 TB

Boot OS X (disk3s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 disk1 : (2 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

disk1s2 (disk1s2) <not mounted> : 2.00 TB

Boot OS X (disk1s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

eSATA-2 ExternalRAID disk6 : (9 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk6s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

gcsarchive2 (disk6s2) /Volumes/gcsarchive2 : 9.00 TB (9.00 TB free)

spsata_pm_name ()

spsata_pm_name ()

spsata_pm_name ()

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

General USB Flash Disk

Mitsumi Electric Hub in Apple Extended USB Keyboard

Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse

Mitsumi Electric Apple Extended USB Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Firewire Information: (What does this mean?)

LaCie Rugged USB3-FW 800mbit - 800mbit max

EFI (disk7s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

GCS SSD4 (disk7s2) /Volumes/GCS SSD4 : 499.76 GB (129.20 GB free)

Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/Applications/Utilities/DiskWarrior.app

[not loaded] com.alsoft.Preview (4.2) [Click for support]

/Applications/Utilities/Transmit.app

[not loaded] com.panic.TransmitDisk.transmitdiskfs (4.0.0 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.crashplan.engine.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.amazon.music.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

iTunesHelper Aplicación (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Aplicación (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

AdobeResourceSynchronizer Aplicación Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat DC/Adobe Acrobat.app/Contents/Helpers/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

CrashPlan menu bar Aplicación (/Applications/CrashPlan.app/Contents/Helpers/CrashPlan menu bar.app)

TransmitMenu UNKNOWN (missing value)

EvernoteHelper Aplicación (/Applications/Evernote.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/EvernoteHelper.app)

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[running] 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper

[running] com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.98592.EC11750F-22D7-4F6E-800B-4746AC81EE93

[running] com.adobe.accmac.78112

[running] com.agilebits.onepassword-osx.45472

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000009.EtreCheck

[running] com.brother.scanner.ica.229472.0B9E1DA1-7227-416C-B977-91AB9CA007BC

[running] com.code42.b42menuextra.97632

[running] com.evernote.EvernoteHelper.56672

[running] com.getdropbox.dropbox.55072

[running] org.mozilla.firefox.19552

Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.267 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.009.20077 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.009.20077 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.267 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.5.9 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin101750: Version: Unknown

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.41105.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

User internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 [Click for support]

Safari Extensions: (What does this mean?)

1Password

Evernote Web Clipper

3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?)

Flash Player [Click for support]

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Skip System Files: NO

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

MacProBoot128: Disk size: 479.24 GB Disk used: 235.56 GB

Destinations:

Data [Network]

Total size: 3.00 TB

Total number of backups: 31

Oldest backup: 12/6/15 9:32 PM

Last backup: 1/12/16 8:01 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 3.00 TB > (Disk size 479.24 GB X 3)

GCS TM USB [Network]

Total size: 5.00 TB

Total number of backups: 35

Oldest backup: 7/27/15 9:31 PM

Last backup: 1/12/16 6:40 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 5.00 TB > (Disk size 479.24 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)

10% WindowServer

9% firefox

2% Finder

2% kernel_task

1% AdobeCRDaemon(3)

Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

1.63 GB kernel_task

1.63 GB mds_stores

754 MB firefox

492 MB softwareupdated

360 MB Finder

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

21.00 GB Free RAM

11.00 GB Used RAM (5.17 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Jan 10, 2016, 09:44:20 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/DesktopServicesHelper_2016-01-10-214420_[redact ed].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Jan 10, 2016, 04:17:30 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/backupd_2016-01-10-161730_[redacted].cpu_resour ce.diag [Click for details]

Jan 10, 2016, 11:34:10 AM Self test - passed

Linc Davis wrote:

I've had repeated calls to Apple Support

And what did they tell you—that you could never use iMessage?

More or less. It became an exercise in diminishing returns. We created new user accounts - no change. So they suggested a clean install. I did that later when I had the time. They also suggested waiting for another major OS release to see if anything changed. It didn't. It's not the end of the world, just inconvenient and puzzling. I've never heard of anyone having the problem with other apple id-related services working ok, just not imessage.

You are right that it's not clean. I indeed had installed OSX on one of the external re-formatted RAID arrays a few days ago and tried there. By default, Apple turns the firewall off, and that was the case on the new install. But I turned it on, however, for safety, and that is it's state on my day-to-day OS install you saw in the EtreCheck log above. I always configure the firewall to NOT block incoming connections, to ignore incoming ICMP-based probes, and to permit properly certificated software to receive incoming connections. I'm not sure I am consistent with my other devices -- I need to chase that.

Just as a quick test, just now I turned the firewall off on my server, and tried enabling my messages account. As it has done from time to time (which I have not mentioned before), it enabled and showed the configuration panel one would expect --- but alas, only for a few seconds, and then once again failed by reverting back to the error (images attached). This is without any action on my part. It happens regardless of the firewall settings, and maybe once in 10-20 tries. It may be correlated to reboots or some other type of reset, but I've not been able to pin it down. In any event, this time it was with the firewall off. And my other devices are connected via wifi to the same apple time capsule (this server is cabled). It's bizarre.

You are making me want to do a little more network digging. According to this article, Apple appears to use TCP port 5222 for messages. However, it's defined only as "ichat and Jabber", so it's not authoritative. I can set up a sniffer and find out. And then try sending test packets to and from this server through the Time Capsule and to another, properly messaging MacBook. I think I'm way off to the side for most of the people helping at Apple Support, even tier 2. Not sure where to take it next.

Well, since the other devices on my network -- a variety of Mac laptops and ipads and iphones all are able to message through that network using three different Apple ID accounts, I had ruled that out empirically. But to eliminate all of the local network gear, I moved the Mac Pro to a built-in switch on a Cisco router that tunnels via VPN back to a corporate network, over which I've run Messages before with a work laptop. That cuts out any port filtering or ACLs or any other esoteric network settings I've made locally and inherits those of the corporate network. Same exact result. The problem is not the network. Sigh.

Thanks for that, William. It's good to have the link, and the info on ports and settings -- I kind of went to the extreme of bypassing everything and still I have the problem. It's pretty much isolated to the server. I can't fathom it at this point. 😟

MrHoffman wrote:

How many routers, subnets and/or vlans do you have here?

I knew that question was coming LOL. It's complicated -- I teach computer networking at a university, designed worldwide backbone networks for a major carrier for many years, and work for a networking equipment manufacturer.... I'm doomed genetically to a complicated network. To answer your question, here's the network. In my defense 😊, when I moved the MacPro over to the 881, I bypassed everything on the network. I've tried moving other working devices to the same physical port the MacPro is using, to try and get them to break, with no luck.