Messages app shows wrong timecode for messages sent and received
Well, I had hoped that upgrading to Mojave would fix this issue, but it has not. In fact, as of today, it's worse.
First, my iPhone 6s (iOS 12) and iPad mini (iOS 9.3.5) both send and receive messages (iMessages and SMS messages) perfectly. There has never been even a hint of a problem on those two devices.
My 2017 iMac, on the other hand, has been showing the wrong timecode for incoming and outgoing messages (iMessages and SMS messages) for weeks. Almost every time, the messages display with a timecode from the future. As I write this, I have several conversations that are marked with messages from tomorrow afternoon. It seems to have started around the time Apple turned on iCloud syncing for Messages, but I've tried to work with that setting turned on and off and it doesn't help.
When the iMac is off or sleeping and I am communicating strictly with an iOS device, everything works.
When I eventually return to the iMac, those messages sent or received while it was asleep will appear with the correct timecode in the correct order in which they were received on the iOS device. However, if I then use the iMac to send or receive any new messages, those messages will be assigned some arbitrary timecode. At the same time, the iOS devices will display those messages with the correct timecode.
The iOS devices will not display any notifications that a message has been received as long as the iMac is awake. Most of the time, the iMac will not display any notifications that a new message has been received.
This happens even if the macOS app is not running.
At first, this issue seemed to be limited to my personal user account. I logged into the admin account and Messages seemed to work perfectly, so I assumed it was a defect in the user account. However, as of today, when I log into the admin account, the messages display the exact same incorrect timecode as shown in my personal account, so I know those timecodes have somehow transferred between iMac accounts, but they have not (yet) transferred to the iOS devices.
Confused yet?
After requesting help with this issue, I've tried a few fixes, none of which have worked.
- Tried resetting permissions for the user account. Temporarily fixed the issue, but it returned two days later. Subsequent resets had no effect.
- Tried resetting the PRAM/NVRAM. No change.
- Turned off/on iCloud Message syncing. No change.
- Turned off/on the computer's automatic clock syncing. No change.
- Upgraded the OS to Mojave. No change.
- Tried deleting ~/Library/Messages/chat.db and reloading all messages from iCloud. No change.
As you might guess, this issue make Messages unusable as long as my computer is turned on. I suppose I could turn off Messages in iCloud and delete the account in the Messages app so that I will not be able to receive or send any messages from the computer, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having the feature.
I need solutions.
