Messages: "Your message could not be sent"

Question

Level 1

8 points

Messages: "Your message could not be sent"

I am on a MacBook Air (see specs below), and I have Messages set up on my iPhone and computer. I am obviously on my phone more often than my computer, and every time I open my computer, it takes a couple of minutes for the MacBook to "catch up" with my phone in terms of messages sent and received.

For about 2 - 5 minutes after I open my computer, I get continuous notifications of messages I have already seen and responded to on my phone. Annoying as it is, I just accepted it as part of the territory. However, after installing and using some of the iMessage apps (stickers, GamePigeon, etc.) I started getting the message: "Your message could not be sent. There was an error sending the previous message. Would you like to try to send it again? [Ignore] [Go to Chat] [Resend Message]" (See image)

I have tried clicking all three options, and the pop up continues to show; I'm talking at least 100 times at this point. No matter which selection I make, within 10 seconds, it pops back up.

I have tried signing out of my iMessage account, closing Messages, waiting 5 minutes, and restarting Messages, but the problem persists. Somebody please help!

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.1)

Posted on Dec 25, 2016 6:30 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 4, 2018 11:39 AM in response to Rainfrog

Hi,

Interesting link.

Some things listed in item 9 don't exist.

The "madrid" item does not have the name it has in earlier versions of the OS.

Deleting some of those .plists also stops the processes running making step 10 obsolete.

Many of the steps are covered here When the iMessages account will not Login

Step 5 makes the Location issues look more difficult list the Apple Europe Time Server and the standard Apple Pic for Apple's headquarters as the actual Location.

Step 13 shows the poster removing two Auth Tokens meaning they are deleting two Apple ID items which in turn suggests they have a deeper issue than one ID blocked by the iMessages Servers.

If the account(s) is/are not logging in then it will make no difference whether you delete the singing and Encryption items.

Seeing that iMessages is yet to be an iCloud items I don't see the reason for Step 12.

That said some items like the IDS Auth Tokens are copied from the Login Keychain to the iCloud one.

7:39 pm Thursday; January 4, 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)

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Answer 2

Rainfrog

Level 1

4 points

Jan 3, 2018 5:41 PM in response to evan7191

I know this is an old thread, but I recently had this problem on MacOS High Sierra and got all the way up to a senior person at Apple Customer Support to solve it.

There's a really solid troubleshooting guide for this error here.

Ultimately, what worked for me was to run this command from Terminal:

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

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Answer 3

Dec 26, 2016 11:25 AM in response to evan7191

Hi,

I take it that GamePigeon and Stickers are Add-ons to the Mac version.

I know there is a plugin folder fro this sort of thing like the ChatFX add-on for iChat but I had not been looking for any.

(I looked in the App Store with no luck for "Messages Add-ons" or "GamePigeon" as all one word. I was looking from a Mac)

It sounds like something is not compatible.

If it is an iOS Messages addon the Mac version may not cope with it.

7:25 pm Monday; December 26, 2016

 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)

Reply

Answer 4

Dec 26, 2016 11:36 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Hi,

I did a second search via Google.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/gamepigeon/id1124197642?mt=8 has this written top left under the logo

This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad

7:36 pm Monday; December 26, 2016

 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)

Reply

Answer 5

evan7191 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 26, 2016 11:59 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

So does that mean any messages I send with iOS are going to cause me trouble on Mac? If so, that's something Apple definitely should fix. I know the iMessage apps are for iPhone only, but I would hate to have to turn off messages on my Mac to keep from going insane.

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Answer 6

Dec 26, 2016 12:10 PM in response to evan7191

Hi,

It's not an Apple problem.

The developer has not written things a way that is compatible with the Mac versions (I say versions as there will be people still using the El Capitan and Yosemite versions if not earlier ones).

Expanding some of the info on the App Store info shows this:-

If you are using a beta version of iOS10 and GamePigeon has suddenly stopped working for you - then you should update your iOS to the latest stable version: Settings>General>Software Update. If you are still experiencing problems - make sure you send us an email.

There appears to be no hint to make it compatible with the Mac version.

The "Support" link only goes to the developers site about the app with no support hints whatsoever.

8:10 pm Monday; December 26, 2016

 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)

Reply