Apple’s proprietary chat platform iMessage is available on all of its devices and platforms, even the Apple watch! Apple makes this really secure, useful free service available to everyone who uses its various devices, which also supports regular text messages.
It is not uncommon for iMessage to fail, especially on the Mac. Some of the issues are minor, such as images not loading properly after iMessage idles too long on a sleeping Mac, while other issues are more serious, such as Imessage refusing to operate on the desktop.
It is not a bad idea to examine the problem before assuming the worst. Can you confirm that iMessage isn’t working with everyone or is it just not working when you message one contact?
To find out if it works for anyone, send a few messages to a few different people you know who use iMessage.
If you have trouble sending a message to a single contact with iMessage, the problem probably lies with them. Meanwhile, if iMessage is not working with any of your contacts, and you know they use iMessage, the problem is probably with your device. Using this guide, you can troubleshoot iMessage problems on Macs and fix them.
Also Read: How to customize the mouse cursor on your MacBook?
If iMessage isn’t working on your Mac, here’s how to fix it
- Reboot your device and Restart iMessage
- Ensure that your internet connection is working properly
- Making sure macOS is up-to-date
- Choosing the right time zone
- Delete the message cache
Reboot your device and Restart iMessage
The first thing you should try if you are having issues sending iMessages on Mac is also the simplest. You may be able to fix iMessage by restarting your Mac and cleaning out the cobwebs. If you restart your computer, you’ll remove all the current software states, including any misbehaving codes. If you do that, you might be able to get iMessage back to work on your Mac.
You can restart your Mac by following these steps:
- In the top left of your Mac display, click on the Apple menu, featuring the apple logo.
- You can restart your Mac by clicking the Restart button.
- After the macOS has booted up again, open the iMessage app and try sending another message.
Ensure that your internet connection is working properly
Unlike regular text messages, iMessages are sent via the internet. It is, therefore, necessary to have a working Wi-Fi connection or good cell reception with mobile data available to use iMessages. To test your internet connection, open a web browser and load a new webpage.
It would make sense if you are not able to access the internet on your iPhone or Mac if you are not able to use iMessage. You might try connecting to a different wifi network or checking your mobile data balance.
It is strange that iMessage does not always allow you to activate the service over WiFi. If you are trying to use iMessage for the first time and can’t get it to work at all, try disabling wifi and activating iMessage over cellular data instead.
Making sure macOS is up-to-date
iMessage may not work properly if you are running an older version of macOS.
The following steps will guide you through updating macOS to the latest version:
- Go to the Apple menu, and then select System Preferences
- You can check for updates by clicking the software update button
- Whenever updates are available, click the update now button to begin installing them.
Choosing the right time zone
You can verify when and where a message was received on your Mac. When it notices that a message is coming from the past, it will slot it far back in the chat history and you won’t see it. Your Mac will also prevent you from receiving a message if it seems to be coming from the future.
It could be that your time and date settings have been changed if you are not receiving messages on Mac, or the app is giving you notifications of new messages but not displaying them. You can check it by following these steps:
- Click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your Mac’s menu bar
- Choose “Date and time”
- You will need to enter your password after clicking the lock icon at the bottom of the window
- Make sure the “set date and time automatically” option is enabled under the date and time heading
- Make sure your Mac is secure by clicking the lock again
That should resolve the issue. Ensure the date and time are correct before closing the window to ensure this setting works properly.
Delete the message cache
If you are having problems with iMessage on Mac, perhaps you just need to clear your cache. Keep in mind that for iMessage, the cache is your message history, so you might lose your chat across devices. A more thorough method to delete a chat is to delete the cache in the finder.
You can also delete the chat in iMessage by clicking the X icon next to the profile picture when hovering over the chat you want to delete. The steps are as follows:
- You need to open the finder application on your Mac
- You can do this by pressing command plus shift plus G on your mac’s keyboard
- Please enter the following into the text box that appears: ~/library/Messages?
- Delete the files chat.db, chat.db-shm, and chat.db-wal in the message folder
- Delete your iMessage cache permanently by emptying your mac trash folder
It’s as simple as that!
Conclusion
That’s all you need to know about fixing “iMessage not working on Mac“. Hope one of these methods works for you out of the options listed above. By the way, you can export text messages or iMessages from an iPhone to your computer, regardless of whether it is a Mac or PC. If the issue still persists, you might have to contact Soldrit, MacBook Service Center in Bangalore, so we can investigate further.
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