bravesirrobin33

Q: iMessage suddenly decides to stop working

iMessage works fine on my iPhone 6 and iPads, but all of a sudden on my Mac it won't activate. It worked fine on the Mac until 3 PM yesterday. Got home, opened my Mac and it suddenly stopped working along with FaceTime. I keep trying to enter my Apple credentials and it get the message that there's an error with activation. The credentials still work in the Appl store, within this community, and iCloud itself.

 

Note, I have an issue with iTunes that Apple tried to fix last week which included a refresh of the operating system and the keychain. It fixed the My Account within iTunes for a few days but I eventually got an "error processing your iTunes Store request" again which means I can't buy things through iTunes in my Mac, but it will do app updates. Not a huge deal since I can still buy through my iPhone, but I'm not sure what the reoccurring problem is. My MacBook Pro is an older model - purchased Feb 2012. All updates have been done. But the iMessage thing is a big issue.

 

I was hoping I would wake up this morning and it would have worked itself out overnight. Tried a reboot.

Posted on Jul 2, 2016 5:39 AM

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Q: iMessage suddenly decides to stop working

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  • by bravesirrobin33,

    bravesirrobin33 bravesirrobin33 Jul 3, 2016 5:12 AM in response to bravesirrobin33
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 3, 2016 5:12 AM in response to bravesirrobin33

    I had already tried most of these things. Like I said everything worked fin up until late afternoon on Friday, then it stopped working on the Mac. Still works on the iPhone and iPad.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 3, 2016 7:19 AM in response to bravesirrobin33
    Level 9 (69,991 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 3, 2016 7:19 AM in response to bravesirrobin33
  • by Ralph Johns (UK),Helpful

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jul 3, 2016 3:22 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 9 (72,994 points)
    Applications
    Jul 3, 2016 3:22 PM in response to Eric Root

    Hi,

     

    If you have one try the same details in Messages in  another Mac User Account.

     

    I created a "test" Mac User Account for  this purpose.

    Others have previously enabled the Guest account and trig when logged in to that account.

     

    Does the Apple ID work there ?

     

    I am late to this particular party but this site show no issues in the time frame it can still see in the time line http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/
    That does not mean there weren't any just that the numbers did show up.

     

    If it was working but now does not and it does not work in another Mac User account it is likely that the Apple ID for use in iMessages on this Mac Only have been blocked at the iMessages server.

    Each Mac Login requires the Apple ID, the Password and the Serial Number making it a device specific Login.

     

    Whilst repairs to the Logic/mother Board can leave you without the Serial Number there have also been specific events for some uses that seem to trigger this.

    Upgrading to El Capitan (for early adopters) Up dating to 10.11.3 and 10.11.5 for others.

     

    However there are others like yourself that seems not to fit any of those patterns and be completely random.

     

    If it does work in another Mac User Account the IMAgent fix (last link  by Eric) may fix the issue in the original account.

    If it does not work then Contacting Apple Support and jumping through some of their hoops in the only fix.

     

    Basically you need to get to speak to the Level 2  about your Apple ID issues on the iMessages Server fro your Mac and ask them to reset it.

    They will try to ask you to try various things.

     

    You do NOT need to Upgrade, Update or Reinstall.

    Insist that they reset the server for your Mac's use of the Apple.

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:28 pm      Sunday; July 3, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by bravesirrobin33,

    bravesirrobin33 bravesirrobin33 Jul 3, 2016 3:25 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 3, 2016 3:25 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Thanks, I logged in with the guest account and got the same message "error activating account".  Sometimes it goes through for like 3 seconds like it's going to work, and then turns red and says there's an error.  So right no, iMessage and FaceTime won't work on the Mac, and won't work in iTunes not he Mac. I'm going to talk to the guys at the Mac store because they thought they fixed the iTunes problem and I think it's all linked to the same issue.

     

    Thanks!  I tried the fix in the Activity Monitor, but that didn't work either.

  • by bravesirrobin33,

    bravesirrobin33 bravesirrobin33 Jul 4, 2016 8:26 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2016 8:26 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Level 1 support: okay, you'll need to reinstall your operating system from scratch. Me "um, no"

    Level 2 support: I just had one of these last week, I looked in the system and your Mac has been deregistered from iMessage and FaceTime. I'll get in contact with our engineers and get back to you.

     

    This is not a well-known issue and if people don't know what to ask for they could waste a lot of time. If I had spent a whole day reinstalling my operating system to find it still didn't work, I would not have been a happy camper.

     

    Thanks for the tip!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jul 4, 2016 11:16 AM in response to bravesirrobin33
    Level 9 (72,994 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 11:16 AM in response to bravesirrobin33

    4thanx.gif for the 1helpful.png   Points

     

    I think it will end up being two issues as each server can block the account/Apple ID separately.

    3Sigcopy2.png

    7:15 pm      Monday; July 4, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jul 4, 2016 12:01 PM in response to bravesirrobin33
    Level 9 (72,994 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 12:01 PM in response to bravesirrobin33

    Hi,


    Glad it helped.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:01 pm      Monday; July 4, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by bravesirrobin33,

    bravesirrobin33 bravesirrobin33 Jul 4, 2016 1:04 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2016 1:04 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Their fix worked for iMessage and FaceTime.  iTunes "My Account" still doesn't work; however, that isn't has important to me as iMessage. I'm going to call the engineer back and let her know.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jul 4, 2016 1:13 PM in response to bravesirrobin33
    Level 9 (72,994 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 1:13 PM in response to bravesirrobin33

    Glad to hear you are making progress.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:13 pm      Monday; July 4, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)