Can no longer login to Messages or FaceTime on MacMini

This could be a complicated problem to solve, as there are many possible causes for it. Please test after taking each of the following steps that you haven't already tried. Back up all data before making any changes.

Before proceeding, test on another network, if possible. That could be a public Wi-Fi hotspot, if your computer is portable, or a cellular network if you have a mobile device that can share its Internet connection. If you find that iMessage works on the other network, the problem is in your network or at your ISP, not in your computer.

Step 1

Check the status of the service. If the service is down, wait for it to come back up. There may be a localized outage, even if the status indicator is green.

Step 2

From the menu bar, select

 ▹ System Preferences... ▹ Date & Time ▹ Time Zone

The nearest city to where you are should be selected on the map.

Step 3

Sign out of iMessage and FaceTime on all your Apple devices. Log out and log back in. Try again to sign in.

Step 4

Restart your router and your broadband device, if they're separate. You may have to skip this step if you don't control those devices.

Step 5

Follow these instructions to display the machine's serial number. If the number is missing or invalid according to this web form, take the machine to an Apple Store or other authorized service center to have the problem corrected.

Step 6

Take the steps suggested in this support article. If you don't understand some of the steps or can't carry them out, ask for guidance. Note especially that the email address associated with your Apple ID must be verified. If the address is in the obsolete domain mac.com, you'll have to change it.

Step 7

From the menu bar, select

 ▹ System Preferences... ▹ Network

If the preference pane is locked, click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock it. Then click the Advanced button and select the Proxies tab. If the box marked SOCKS Proxy is checked, uncheck it. You don’t need to change any other settings in the window. Click OK and then Apply. Test.

The result may be that you can't connect to the Internet at all. Revert the change if that happens, or if iMessage still doesn't work. Remember that you must Apply any changes you make in the preference pane before they take effect.

Step 8

Select from the menu bar

 ▹ System Preferences… ▹ Flash Player ▹ Storage

and click

Block all sites from storing information on this computer

Close the preference pane.

Step 9

Make sure you know the ID and password you use with iMessage. Launch the Keychain Access application in any one of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

Use the search box in the toolbar of the Keychain Access window to find and delete all items with "iMessage" or "com.apple.idms" in the name. Log out and log back in.

Step 10

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

If iMessage worked in the guest account, stop here and post your results.

Step 11

Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound outputand Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. After testing, restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and test again.

If iMessage worked in safe mode, but still doesn't work when you restart in "normal" mode, stop here and post your results.

Step 12

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.apsd.plist

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Move the selected item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Restart the computer and empty the Trash.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Step 13

Reset the NVRAM.

Step 14

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).

Step 15

Reinstall OS X.

Step 16

If none of the above steps resolves the issue, make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or contact Apple Support. When you set up a support call, select "Apple ID" as the product you need help with, not the hardware model. That way, if you're not under AppleCare, you may be able to talk your way out of being charged for the call.

i had that problem and i turned off all my devices except lap and signed out of iCloud changed my password and then signed back in ...hope that works for u

Hi,

Linc's 16 point list is everything that has worked for some at some stage in the past.

1-4 are basic set up things.

Item 5 is important.

If the Serial Number is not shown then iMessages will not login to the Server.

It can be missing is the Logic/Motherboard has been replaced. It has a chip on it that can hold the Serial number if someone remembers to put it there during the Repair.

If it is Missing a trip to the Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) is needed to correct the issue.

Step 10 can be useful.

I have a Mac User account called Test already set up on my computer.

I can set up Messages with the iMessages ID there.

If it works there I know my regular account (mostly the .plists) are likely to be the places to look.

If it does not work then it is more likely the ID (Apple Server end) is the issue.

I tend to do 11 and then 13. (Safe Boot and NVRAM reset)

The Apple Push Services item could be useful if other apps that also use Push show issues as well.

I then tend to suggest Linc's item 16

Apple Support is the same as Apple Care.

The Level 1 responders are Script led looking to solve Apple Care Hardware and Software issues.

You have an Apple ID issue (if 5, 11,13 and 10 don't suggest it is your Mac User account).

This is free to fix and will tend to get you set up with a Level 2 person.

You are likely to still be asked to try everything in Linc's List

Updating, Upgrading or Reinstalling will not help. If you do it Linc's way you will have found this out.

Apple are aware that this issue of blocking a Mac's use of the iMessages Apple ID can arise for some people.

However judging by what other people post back they are not sure of the triggers.

They may ask you to do some data gathering.

At some point they will involve the Engineers who seem to be the only ones now you can reset your Apple ID on the servers to let your Mac use the ID again.

Posts back from other report anything from 24 hours to 5 days as being quoted to them.

To a certain extent the call to Apple Support and what you agree to do is up to you and has to be balanced between helping everyone/Apple solve the issue and resolving the issue so things can move on for you.

A reminder that this post highlights the things that "prove" it is the iMessages Server blocking your Mac's Use of the Apple ID for iMessages.

Linc's list takes into account that the issue could be related to other things.

10:06 pm Tuesday; July 26, 2016

FWIW, I use Messages constantly from a desktop Mac, over the past 3 years I've lost the use of Messages and Facetime after around every 3-4 months, I spent hours and even days troubleshooting it when it first occurred, eventually a PRAM reset solved it. It is still happening around every 12 weeks or so (last time was last week) a PRAM reset solved it again.

hi,

Time to investigate what the NVRAM Resets and check those items to see which one is failing regularly.

8:35 pm Wednesday; July 27, 2016

I had this problem with my MacMini after the latest El Capitan update and iOS updates on my 2 iPhones, and 2 iPads (I have a device one each for personal and business). These updates were done across these devices between October 17 - 2016, and November 1, 2016.

I sat down in front of my MacMini with my 4 devices. I closed the app on each device, and then went to Settings on each device and turned off iMessage.

I "Quit" Messages on my MacMini.

I did not log out of iMessage on each device. I only turned it off.

Then, I sequentially turned on iMessage on each device, and scrolled down to "Send & Receive" on each device. I ensured that the correct phone numbers and emails were selected for "can be reached at", and then I scrolled down further and ensured each device had the correct phone number selected to "start a new conversation."

This fixed the problem.

A similar set of problems recently plagued my mid-2014 MacBook Pro, persisting from El Cap v10.11.4 through 10.11.6. The affected applications included Mail, Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Notes, KeychainAccess, et. al., as they related to an iCloud account. Mail would not allow access to or even display iCloud email and all attempts to sign out, delete, and recreate same produced an alert panel indicating "this account already exists." Messages and FaceTime exhibited similar behavior and were all but useless, though Messages would send and receive SMS messages. Affected Apple apps would not retain settings, repeatedly asked for passwords to be reentered and similarly affected sites visited with Safari*, Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Office installations.

*note: login to my iCloud account using Safari browser was unaffected.

Curiously, the same problem did not afflict either my late-2008 MacBook (also running El Cap versions 10.11.4 and its upgrades) or an iPhone 6. Nor did the problem occur in a test user account set up on the same mid-2014 MacBook Pro using the same AppleID and iCloud login credentials. For five months and countless hours on phone calls this issue defied solution by senior Apple tech support staff members, who, I'll add, were uniformly patient, polite and keen to work the problem but clearly hamstrung by understaffed software engineering teams on whom they rely for diagnostic routines. [e.g. after a 10-day hiatus, a clearly preoccupied engineer suggested Tech Support ask me, "Would you be willing to try a beta version of Mac OS Sierra?"]

At that point frustration (read: desperation) prompted a fresh call to AppleCare's main number, pointing out the complete lack of progress under the original Case ID number. A new Case ID was assigned, my call was quickly routed to an someone with demonstrably greater experience, and within 2 hours the problem was solved. In general terms, the issue was attributed to a conflict between my original mac.com mail account [a vestige of the iChat/MobileMe era] and my iCloud account, both of which used the same email address and aliases. While they were able to coexist peaceably for nearly two years on this MacBook Pro (and still do on an older MacBook and an iPhone 6), an unknown conflict eventually brought the iCloud-related applications and disrupted the operation of KeychainAccess, application settings, etc.

By deleting the offending mac.com mail account, aliases, and so forth from System Preferences>Internet Accounts, my iCloud-related applications fell back into line. As it was explained to me, email for both iCloud and mac.com accounts all eventually derive from the same IMAP database since the email addresses (and aliases) are identical. This sounds theoretically plausible, however, I'm uncertain whether its quite that simple in practice as there seem to be some gaps in my stored email; ibid with respect to Messages, FaceTime, et. al. Nevertheless, it appears as though full functionality is restored and have worked more or less 'normally' for about 3 weeks now. I'd recommend a call to AppleCare first unless you're more confident than I was just where and how to retrieve years of accumulated correspondence data.