Level 1

72 points

Cannot send iMessages on my Mac but can receive them

I changed my main Apple ID email address yesterday, and also changed from my iPhone 5C to a iPhone SE.

Once I did changed my Apple ID email address, I had to sign out of all my devices, and sign back in with the new email cause I was getting error since the apps were trying to log in with the old email.

After that, everything was working on all devices except 1 thing. I cannot send iMessages from Messages on my Mac. iMessage is working on my iPhone correctly. I can receive iMessages on both Mac and iPhone. I can even send SMS (non-imessage) messages on my Mac. Really, all I can't do is to send iMessages from the Mac.

What I did :

- Restarted my computer
- Log out and back in of Messages on the Mac
- Log out and back in of iCloud on the Mac
- Deleted Messages related Preferences files
- Deleted Keychain passwords that were using the old email

Not sure what else to try. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm running El Capitan by the way (10.11.4) on a 2012 15 inches Macbook Pro.

MacBook Pro, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on Apr 11, 2016 6:18 AM

Top-ranking reply

midonz

Level 1

13 points

Posted on Feb 20, 2018 12:07 PM

Try this:

1. go to Keychain Access app in the Utilities folder

2. under the File menu, choose *Lock Keychain "Login"*

3. go to the File menu again and choose *Unlock Keychain "Login"*

4. enter your password when prompted.

I'm on Sierra. I could receive messages on all my devices but after an OS security update I could not send or reply in Messages on my laptop. I finally got a useful error message (STKeychainErrorDomain error -25299) from a third-party app (Airmail3) indicating it had a problem accessing the Keychain. They sent me to a lengthy Apple help forum about rebuilding my Keychain. I started with the easiest possible suggested fix (above) and (ridiculously) it solved all my problems.

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111 replies

Axel Foley

Level 10

150,972 points

Aug 23, 2018 8:16 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

For the past 16 days the issue of my 2015 MacBook Pro was not able to send iMessages however was able to receive them. MacBook was also able to send and receive SMS messages. Just couldn't send the iMessages. I began with searching for a solution on the web via google. Read some very good information on this subject but nothing worked. I have gone through all the normal restart / reboot / sign out of iCloud / sign out of messages and FaceTime on all devices. I have gone through the extremes as well by restoring all 4 of my devices from back up as well as new. Yeah no kidding. Called Apple Support which tried its best to help and I had another call scheduled today with their level 3 team to address this issue.

And then I began reread the this forum again to see if I missed something. I had. I missed reading the solution provided by cabrownfromottawa. I followed the directions as they were written. This quick fix WORKED! Still not sure how a line in the keychain appearing to be meant for FaceTime fixed this issue for the Messages app. I am certain that this has to do with proper registration of a given device on the Messages server however am surprised and happy that this fix worked. Thanks cabrownfromottawa for checking in and posting.

rniev022

Level 1

4 points

Dec 13, 2017 6:43 PM in response to marclarin

Hi,

Check the “Text Message Forwarding” setting on iPhone to make sure it’s turned on.

Mar 31, 2018 7:58 AM in response to midonz

I had the same problem and this SOLVED it.

Thanks Ralph. Really appreciate it

Sep 14, 2017 12:29 PM in response to bohitomi

Hi,

What have you tried so far ?

I am about to go Off line where I am and a reply may be nearer to 24 hours away.

8:29 pm Thursday; September 14, 2017

 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 10.x and an iPad (2)

Dec 7, 2017 4:47 PM in response to marclarin

This symptom is closer to what I was first experiencing. After going through the various "stop/start Messages" dances, the symptoms changed. What happens now is that messages I get seem to be showing up on different platforms (I think it's whichever Apple thinks I'm using) but not the other devices. Additionally, the messages I send don't get copied into the threads on the other devices. YET, all my devices are getting and sending messages in one form or another.

Notably, this all started with the most recent OS upgrades, which hit my Mac, iPhone, Watch and iPad on about the same week.

Dec 14, 2017 12:27 PM in response to rniev022

Hi,

You do realise that Text Forwarding is sending SMS items from and to the iPhone so it can pass it on via the phone's carrier service ?

iMessages are not SMS.

The Original Poster even says have can send SMS.

8:27 pm Thursday; December 14, 2017

 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

Apr 2, 2018 10:53 AM in response to kenny0000

Hi,

You're welcome.

6:53 pm Monday; April 2, 2018

 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

rleewf

Level 1

4 points

Jul 25, 2018 9:40 AM in response to cabrownfromottawa

I have had this problem for several months and have searched at various times and tried suggestions for a fix. Was looking today and saw this. It worked. My problem originally began after an update. Thank you! So happy!

BenBaba

Level 1

4 points

Aug 26, 2018 3:45 PM in response to midonz

I have to laugh. I had the same problem, Cannot send iMessages on my Mac but can receive them, and I tried your trick of unlocking and then locking Keychain Access. Magic, my problem solved. Thank you for the tip!

Sep 17, 2018 3:38 PM in response to midonz

midonz's solution worked for me. The problem just started out of the blue. I had not changed my login nor upgraded the OS. Nothing. So I don't know why it started happening. Luckily I found this post quickly and helped me not waste tons of time trying to figure it out. I bumped his solution up with another 'Helpful' point. Thanks.

Nov 14, 2018 10:27 AM in response to marclarin

Regarding this suggestion, the first in the thread:

midonzLevel 1 (13 points)

by midonz Feb 20, 2018 12:07 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

it worked perfectly for me and saved me so much time. Thanks!!

Nov 21, 2018 7:13 PM in response to marclarin

I had this issue of not being able to send the iMessage using my Mac even though I was able to receive them. I followed the above listed very simple steps and it is working perfectly now. Thanks for the instructions.

Nov 21, 2018 8:32 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

✅ BINGO! Thanks a million for posting your solution! I referred another user to it. After much adieu including locking and unlocking the Login Keychain, all to no avail, your solution fixed this problem for him, much to his relief.

Jan 8, 2019 7:00 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

I've read the user forums often but have never responded. But I have to point out that for this problem, I tried several solutions offered in this thread, and this is the one that worked for me. Thank you!

Feb 8, 2019 1:00 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

Thank you so much!!! This was driving me crazy and everyone else's answer was so long and convoluted, I gave up!!!

Works like a charm now! I'd be at my computer, receive an iMessage and could not answer. It would always say...undelivered!

Thanks again!

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Cannot send iMessages on my Mac but can receive them