“Since the update to iOS 11 and Mac OSX High Sierra, I seem to be having trouble with iMessages appearing on my Mac. They come through to my iPhone and iPad but not the Mac! Settings are all correct. Anyone else having this or know of a fix?”
Do you have problems sending and receiving messages using your iPhone, iPad or Mac? In this tutorial, we check the causes of iMessage failure and suggest simple troubleshooting tips to help you solve the problem when the service stops working.
iMessage – access via Messaging on iOS or MacOS – allows users to send messages to other people using iPhones, iPads, and Macs for free. iMessages are marked with a blue bubble, while ordinary text messages (which may be necessary to send depending on the terms of the phone contract) are green.
There are many reasons why iMessage may stop Working – this may be a server problem, a software problem or settings may need to be adjusted. We will analyze all the most common problems and probable causes, as well as some simple fixes.
For further read – See how to Use iMessage On PC; Here’s How To Make It Work, How To Send YouTube Vidoes in iMessage on iPhones and iPads
Basic activities related to solving problems
Before we get into specific difficulties, review the nine simple troubleshooting steps that best solve Common iMessage problems.
Check if the Apple iMessage server is turned off
The first possibility is that the server running the iMessage protocol can mean that iMessage is not “Not working for anyone. It’s rare, but it happens from time to time. For example, the system disappeared on February 15, 2017.
You can check if any of Apple’s internet services are experiencing disruptions by checking the system status page.
On this site, Apple informs you about all services planned maintenance work, as well as reports on recently solved problems in the Services. However, if your problem has just appeared, remember that the frequency of updating the site is going to be measured in minutes, not seconds – maybe up to 30 times – so the problem has not yet been noticed.
Even if the Apple System Status site suggests that everything is fine, the failure may be localized. As an alternative to the Apple website, you can try to detect the detector down, which includes a graph containing detailed 24-hour downtime reports and even a downtime map to see if you are in your area.
You could also look for the word iMessage and related terms on Twitter; If many people talk about the problem, clearly not only you.
If iMessage is turned off, you should still communicate with friends via plain text; Instead of writing iMessages of blue bubbles, you will be automatically transferred to texts with a green bubble.
Make sure you have a connection (and enough)
iMessage needs a data connection To work, so you need to be sure that you have 3G or 4G access or a good WiFi signal. Without a wireless or wireless connection, your iMessage will not send.
See if you can browse the internet by doing a quick search in Safari. If you do not see any results, you will identify the main problem.
If you do not have a good 3G or 4G connection, you can try switching on and off airplane mode to see if you can improve the reception. Swipe from the bottom of the screen of your iPhone or iPad, and then select and deselect Airplane mode – airplane icon.
Even if the cellular connection is great, it may not have enough data. Do you have any chance to use all data for a month? Are you even sure that the data is included in the contract? Contact your network operator to check. (Read about how to save data on your iPhone here).
Alternatively, you can try to access a nearby Wi-Fi network, select Settings> Wi-Fi and try to check if there is a free Wi-Fi network nearby.
If the Wi-Fi connection seems to be at fault, turn off WiFi and use 3G / 4G.
If none of these hints works, Network Settings. Click Settings> General> Reset> Reset network settings and check if this solves the problem.
If you still do not have a connection to the data and there is no WiFi available, you should press and hold the undelivered message and select “Send as text message” from the available options. A text message should run over a GPRS connection.
This last tip will only work with the iPhone. For more information about how to do this, read – To send a text when your friend does not receive your iMessages.
Make sure iMessage is turned on and set correctly
Check if you set up sending and receiving iMessages messages by selecting Settings> Messaging and check if iMessage is enabled.
Also, check that your phone is set up correctly to receive iMessages – go to Settings> Messaging again and check the addresses and mobile phone numbers listed in the Send and receive options.
Turn off your mobile phone or email address from the list of places you can send and receive. We suggest trying to eliminate whether iMessage works only with a mobile number or just an email address.
Also, check, use your iPhone again.
Turn messages off and on again
As with all good troubleshooting articles, one of the basic tips is to disable and restart. You can start by double-pressing the home button and jump to the Messages application before resuming it. If the application hangs on your phone, it can solve the problem.
If it still does not work, you can restart the iMessage service by going to Settings> Messaging and turn off iMessage, then turn iPhone off by pressing and holding the On / Off button, slide off, and then wait for the iPhone to restart. After restarting your computer, go back to Settings> Messaging and re-enable iMessages.
Log out of the Apple ID and log in again. You can do this in Settings> Messaging, then tap the Send and receive button, at the top of the page tap on your Apple ID and select Logout. Then log in again and check if the problem solved the problem.
Delete some messages
If the Messages app has a lot of photos and videos, it can slow down.
To delete messages, you can move from right to left to a message in the Messages list and choose Delete. You can also click the Edit button in the upper left corner and delete such messages.
There is also a new option “delete messages automatically after 30 days” in Settings> Messages. Look for Message history and tap Keep Messages – you can choose Forever, 1 year or 30 days. Before you decide to delete messages after 30 days, make sure you do not want to lose important messages! (For additional advice, we have information on how to download deleted text messages.)
During your stay here, you can also change settings to send low-resolution images that take up less space. Open Settings> Messaging and enable the Enable low-quality mode option. (This is the last option, just at the bottom of the page).
Check if the iOS system is up to date
If the software is not up to date, an error may occur in stopping It works properly. To check if an updated version of iOS is available (and if it is, download and install it), go to Settings> General> Software Update.
Check the network settings
Make sure that this is not a problem with the network settings.
Go to Settings> General> Reset> Reset Network Settings. You must re-enter your password after this.
Try turning off Wi-Fi Assist. Wi-Fi Assist switches to a mobile signal when it is stronger than the local WiFi network. Disabling it worked for some people. Open Settings> Data for mobile phones and scroll down to Wi-Fi Assist and turn it off if it is on.
Check the time zone settings
Go to Settings> General> Date and Time and make sure your time zone is set automatically. Set automatically to ON. You can solve problems related to iMessage for some users.
Reset all settings
As a last resort, you can do a general reset and help; In Settings, go to General> Reset.
If you’re still having problems, it’s probably time to meet a genius at the Apple Store. Here’s what.
Below we look at some specific problems with iMessages – find out if you have any problems with the service, or if you discover your own patch.
iMessage cannot be activated
After configuring the iMessage service, you must activate the service and sometimes it does not match. We have seen firsthand that sometimes, at certain times and on some devices, iOS simply does not want to start.
Here are some of the error messages you can get when activating iMessage:
- Unable to log in, check network connection
- / Li>iOS often advises you to try again and warns you that activation may take up to 24 hours, but we have not yet experienced a situation where we just had to solve the problem.
Apple recommends many of the troubleshooting steps described above, such as checking the WiFi/data connection, making sure that the date and time are set correctly (date and time are really important for iMessage!), Changing iMessage Turning the device on and off, restarting devices etc.
The only thing that the company does not mention is the issue that this problem may be a device – and not specific to the account; I once failed to run iMessage on an iPad, but I successfully configured it using the same Apple ID and password on the new iPhone. This is not very helpful, but it’s good to know that you can still use iMessage on another device while working with Apple’s maintenance problem.
Friend is not Receiving Your iMessages
Can your friend use an Android or Windows device? Because iMessages can be received only on Apple devices.
If you know that your friend has an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you should be able to receive iMessages – but iMessage may not be enabled, or not be registered.
Tell your friend to set up iMessage on your device by going to Settings> Messaging and including iMessage. If they do not have an iPhone, you can enter an email address. (This does not mean that the message will appear in their e-mail, it’s just an ID.)
Note again – Apple says it can take iMessage up to 24 hours.
If you know that your friend has an iPhone, but has stopped receiving your iMessages, you may not have an iPhone anymore. When transferring from an iPhone to another smartphone, you must unregister from the iMessage service. The next case study explains how to solve this problem …
You do not have an iPhone anymore
Before switching to a new smartphone You should first deactivate iMessage on your iPhone, otherwise, you can terminate the missing messages from friends who have an iPhone.
Before switching to a new handset, please follow the following procedures:
- Go to Settings> Messaging
- Turning off iMessage using the slider
After disabling iMessage, text messages sent to the iPhone will be green and not blue.
If you forgot to do so before you got rid of the old iPhone, you can deactivate iMessage using the network tool. You can find it here.
Just enter your mobile number and then -digit the verification code that is sent by SMS (probably not via iMessage!).
How to receive iMessages if you do not have an iPhone
You may still want to use iMessage. But you do not have an iPhone anymore. You can still receive iMessages on your Mac or iPad, but be careful that these messages do not appear on a phone other than Apple.
These messages will be sent using a non-mobile number – probably your iCloud email address.
It’s easy to check what IDs will be sent to the message. On a Macintosh, go to the System Preferences> iCloud section. Log in and click the Contact tab. Check which IDs are listed (and make sure your phone number is not on the list). Check if your friends have these details.
Check the iCloud.com settings on your iPad by going to Settings> Messages> Send & Receive.
You can read more about downloading and sending text messages from your Mac.
Visual effects do not work
If the problem is that some of the new visual effects have been released for the first time In iOS 10, they are not picked up by the recipient, try the following:
Check if your recipient has iOS 10. (or iOS 11, which offers the same effects.) Of course, this had to be iOS 11 beta, but iOS 11 is enough in autumn 2017.)
Your effects will not work unless they are sent as iMessage; If your friend does not have an iPhone or a Mac, he will not see them.
Some effects also do not work if the phone has a reduced motion feature (you can change the setting to Save battery power according to the instructions in this function).
Go to General> Accessibility> Reduce traffic> Off.
The iMessage Group cannot be sent
If you have problems sending messages to groups of people, one of the reasons may be that one of your contacts is no longer an iPhone.
When sending a group message in iMessage, all contacts will be displayed in blue until you add someone who does not have iMessage. They will all be green because the iMessage group will not be supported.
If the iMessage group belonged to a group and one of your contacts stopped using your iPhone, this would break the iMessage group. To find out if this happens, start a new group message instead of continuing with the old one.
Depending on the operator, you may be able to allow or prohibit group messages in the settings – go to Settings> Messages and check if there is a switch that you may need. (If you’re trying to send group MMS messages, you need to be sure that MMS Messaging is turned on.)
Leaving and connecting to other conversations
You may have problems with Groups because you missed the conversation.
In the Messaging application, select the group message you are trying to answer – If you leave the conversation, the message will be notified. You can not unilaterally return to the conversation – you must have one of the other participants to add you back. Of course, you can just start a new conversation with all the same participants and go from there.
iMessages are lost or accidentally deleted
If you accidentally deleted important messages or updated your iPhone and realized that some messages have disappeared, do not worry – you can recover them.
There are five main ways Back to recovered or deleted iMessages messages:
- Download from iCloud backup
- Download from iCloud
- Contact the telephone service provider
- Downloading from an iTunes backup
- Downloading using a third-party application
We cover all of them in a separate article – How to download deleted text messages.
Messages on iPhone that do not appear on a Mac (or vice versa)
Adjusting the Messaging application on iOS and Mac should enable easy and convenient iMessage conversations on both platforms. Sometimes, however, two applications will not synchronize correctly, and iMessages messages sent from (or received) the iPhone do not appear on the Macintosh computer or vice versa.
Do not worry. This is a fairly common case, but easy to repair. Often the problem is that you have changed your Apple ID password or otherwise logged out on one or another device
Go to settings> Messages> Send and receive. Make sure all email addresses (not just phone numbers) that you want to link to this iMessage account have been selected. (To display addresses, click ‘Use Apple ID for iMessage’ at the top).
Now open the Messages application on your Mac. Click Messages in the top menu bar, then Preferences. Click Accounts, and then select the appropriate email addresses. You may need to provide more details for some of them.
Finally, restart the messages on each device and (hopefully) find out that the problem has been resolved.
For more details, see How to sync iMessage conversations on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
All this can be less flawed in iOS 11, which in turn offers new features in iCloud Messages, which automatically synchronize conversations between devices. More information can be found in our collection of iOS 11 tips.
