Q: Cannot send or receive Messages in El Capitan
I am not able to send or receive messages using the OSX Messages application on my mid-2013 MacBook Air. This morning I was using Mavericks when the problem was occurring, but I have since upgraded to El Capitan with the hopes that my Messages problem would clear up. Unfortunately the problem followed me into the new OS.
Symptoms: In the Messages application, I send a message and a blue processing bar begins to appear at the top of the screen, growing all the way until it is about an inch from the far right side of the screen, but then freezes. Minutes go by (sometimes up to ten minutes) before I receive a message that states "Your message could not be sent. Click 'Try Again' to send this message." A circled red exclamation point appears to the right of the text bubble, and Not Delivered appears beneath the text bubble. Trying again generates the same error.
I have had other people send messages to me, but I do not receive their messages. Thus, this appears to be a problem with both sending and receiving.
Troubleshooting:
- upgraded from Mavericks to El Capitan!
- cleared PRAM (selected cmd alt P R during restart and let it chime 4x)
- In Messages application, selected Messages>Preferences>Accounts and disabled and signed out from my account, then signed back in and re-enabled.
- deleted preferences (plist) files associated with Messages application
- System Preferences>Security & Privacy>Firewall>Firewall Options: verified that Messages is listed to "allow incoming connections"
- System Preferences>iCloud: verified that iCloud is still enabled, though I didn't see anything related to Messages
I may have forgotten to include other troubleshooting steps I completed. I've been working on this blasted problem all day. I have searched the online forums and haven't found any tips that have worked. Please help!! Thank you!
MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)
Posted on Feb 20, 2016 5:21 PM
Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
1. Open the Messages preferences window and select the Accounts tab. On the left is a list of the messaging accounts that you've defined. Select iMessage. Make sure that the Apple ID shown is valid. If it is, check the box marked
Enable this account
if it's not already checked.
2. Sign out of iMessage on all your devices and sign back in. If you've enabled two-step verification for the Apple ID that you use with iMessage, you must generate an application-specific password and enter it when prompted. Test.
Note: iMessage and iCloud are not the same, even if you use the same Apple ID for both. You must sign out of iMessage, not iCloud.
3. Take this step if you have an iPhone linked to the same Apple ID as the Mac.
Follow the instructions in this support article, under the heading
To use Continuity for SMS and MMS with your iPhone and your Mac, iPad or iPod touch
If text forwarding is already enabled on the phone, disable it and then re-enable it.
Quit and relaunch Messages on the Mac.
Credit for this observation to ASC member Apple Advocate.
4. There may be a problem with the Apple ID account.
Click the Support link at the top of this page to schedule a call from Apple Support. You might not be charged for the call if you select "Apple ID"—not the hardware model—as the product you're asking about.
Posted on Feb 20, 2016 7:19 PM
