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

Mar 14, 2019 1:37 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

I am so very happy to have found this! Worked for me too! Yay! Thank you!

Apr 9, 2019 3:31 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

Thank you!!!

May 30, 2019 6:53 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

EVERYONE this is the answer you're looking for!!

a.mxna

Level 1

4 points

May 31, 2019 4:06 AM in response to marclarin

OMG!!! THIS WORKED!! I tried the unlock and lock thing in keychain access but it didn't work, so then I tried this and my messages are delivering. Thank you so much!!!

Jun 13, 2019 8:50 AM in response to cabrownfromottawa

This worked brilliantly for me. I spent an hour and a half with apple last week and they couldn't sort it. Thank you.

Jul 26, 2019 1:36 PM in response to marclarin

I've tried everything for the last two weeks. The response from cabrownfromottawa is the only thing that worked -- Thanks!

cdwin

Level 1

4 points

Feb 2, 2017 5:50 PM in response to marclarin

Did you ever find a solution other than ditching your old user account? I'm seeing the exact same symptoms. Can't send imessage, but will send SMS. I even tried with different apple ID's. The only solution I found was to setup a new user, and all the problems went away. I just hate to go through the process of reconfiguring all my settings and preferences, but maybe that is the best solution...

Apr 11, 2017 6:58 AM in response to Linc Davis

I think the last update I received for Sierra must have reset something because that is when it stopped working. I just followed the steps above signing out of all accounts and signing back in and it immediately started working again. Thanks so much!

Kat2281

Level 1

0 points

Oct 20, 2017 7:26 PM in response to marclarin

Check the messages on your phone. I noticed that my MacBook was turned off to send messages but was turned on to receive them. go to settings, messages, Text message forwarding. This should show all devices that can send and receive messages. If the computer is in the off position click it to the so that the slide turns green.

Coastman

Level 1

4 points

Mar 9, 2018 5:11 PM in response to midonz

I started having this same issue a few days ago (March 2018) - not able to send texts from my iMac, though I was receiving them there along with my other devices. I tried a few of the suggestions posted earlier in this thread but they didn't work. Then I tried midoz's suggestion and it solved the problem.

Jan 27, 2019 8:15 AM in response to marclarin

Well that was a lovely way to spend the day. Turns out that although in Settings on my iPhone I showed a login at my main Apple ID, under >Messages >Send & receive the login Apple ID was an older ID I'd not used for a couple of years. Can't get my head around why or even how that works. All fixed & working now thanks to Linc Davis' response below.

This raises another issue - why can we not delete an Apple ID we prefer to not use any more? Or can we now do that?

lauralt

Level 1

4 points

Mar 7, 2019 5:33 PM in response to cabrownfromottawa

THANK YOU for taking the time to post your response here. Deleting com.apple.facetime: registrationV1 from Keychain Access worked!

I have been trying everything to get iMessage back on my MacBook after getting a new phone/phone number and having to reset my AppleID.

This worked immediately.

So thankful :)

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Apr 11, 2016 9:47 AM in response to marclarin

What happens when you try to send a message?

marclarin Author

Level 1

72 points

Apr 11, 2016 10:22 AM in response to Linc Davis

The little red exclamation mark icon appears right away next to my message. If I click on it, and try "resend", it's not working either.

Again, I can send SMS to people who are not using iMessage. But I just can't send iMessages.

Thanks

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Apr 11, 2016 10:43 AM in response to marclarin

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

Set up SMS and MMS with Continuity

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.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Cannot send iMessages on my Mac but can receive them