Messages App Not Sending Texts On Mac

iMessage is an instant messaging software developed by Apple. It allows you to send and receive text messages, videos, and photos. On top of that, it has another function which you will surely like. Thanks to Apple’s Continuity feature, you can now sync iMessage between iPhone and Mac, which means you can have conversations all across your iDevices. However, other users found that the iMessages sent from iPhone are not being synced onto Mac, and vice versa. This problem is due to a communication issue between iPhone and Mac. So we’ll look at some various methods to help you solve this issue. You may refer to the solutions below for detailed instructions.

How to Fix Messages Not Syncing between iPhone and Mac

Aug 20, 2018  How to customize Notifications for the Messages app on Mac. Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen. Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu. Click on Notifications. Scroll down and select Messages. Click the alert style you'd like to see. Mar 05, 2020  If you’re trying to send group MMS messages on an iPhone, go to Settings Messages and turn on MMS Messaging. If you don't see an option to turn on MMS Messaging or Group Messaging on your iPhone, then your carrier might not support this feature. Make sure that your device has enough space to receive images and videos.

Solutions to Messages Not Syncing between iPhone and Mac

If you cannot send and receive messages from either your iPhone and Mac, there must be something wrong with the communication in Apple’s Continuity feature. To solve this issue, you have to ensure that all your devices have enabled phone number and emails as ways to send and receive messages. Also, you have to make sure that all devices are using the same Apple ID. After following these steps, you should be able to solve Messages not syncing between iPhone and Mac. Here’s exactly how it is done.

Iphone
  • Navigate to your iPhone settings, scroll up to see “Messages” and tap on it.
  • Next, tap on “Send and Receive”. From there you’ll see your Apple ID. You have to take note of it as you need to make sure that it’s the same Apple ID you are using on your Mac. You will also see all of your phone numbers along with emails which you are using for messages.
  • Check or uncheck them depending on whether you want to use them for sending and receiving messages or not.
  • Now on your Mac, open the Messages app. Click “Messages” at the upper left corner and then choose “Preferences”. Click on “Accounts”. From this interface, select all the emails and phone numbers you want to be associated with iMessage.
  • After these steps, you may need to restart Messages. Simply go to Settings on your iPhone and then toggle iMessage to OFF. Then, toggle the switch again to turn it ON.

How to Sync Messages from iPhone to Mac

1. ApowerManager

In case iMessage not syncing between Mac and iPhone still, you may sync your messages from or to Mac using ApowerManager. It is a well-known data transfer utility, which supports various files including iMessages, text messages, contacts, music, etc. With just a few simple clicks, you will be able to sync your iMessage onto your computer using this tool. It transfers files to PC in an instant and retains the original quality of the data. Aside from that, you can use this tool to backup your device either from Mac or Windows PC. Therefore, if you lost files for some reason, you can still get them back. Now let’s see how to sync messages from your iPhone to Mac.

  • Download the program on your computer and install.
  • Get its mobile version from the App Store on your iPhone. Then launch the app on both devices.
  • After that, use a USB cable to connect your iPhone to Mac. When a prompt appears, click on “Trust” to build connection.
  • Go to “Manage” tab and select “Messages” from the sidebar menu.
  • Next, select all of the messages you want to transfer and then click on the “Export” button at the top of the interface. You should see your messages on Mac after following the above steps.

2. EaseUS MobiMover

Another tool to solve issues regarding iMessage not syncing between iPhone and Mac is MobiMover by EaseUS. Similarly, it allows you to transfer data from your iOS device to Mac and Mac to iPhone. This is ideal if you want to move data like messages, contacts, notes, and calendars from your old iPhone to new one. Moreover, this comes with a user-friendly interface that even a beginner can use to sync contacts from iPhone to Mac. So read on for the step-by-step procedure on how to sync iMessage using this program.

  • Download and install the desktop program on your Mac.
  • Launch it and link your device to Mac using a lightning cable. A notification then will appear on your iPhone asking to trust the computer. Simply click on “Trust” to proceed.
  • Once connected, select the “iDevice to Mac” option from the main interface.
  • Then, choose “More” and put a check mark on Messages.
  • Finally, click the “Transfer” button to begin copying messages from your iPhone to Mac. Once done, you should see the messages exported on your Mac.

Conclusion

Thanks to the Apple’s Continuity feature we are able to send and receive messages across iDevices like iPhone, iPad, and Mac. However, if you ever encountered the problem that your messages don’t appear on either your Mac or iOS device, you can try to fix it using the above-mentioned ways.

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Apple’s iMessage service is a brilliant and excellent way of keeping in touch with other Apple device users without incurring additional charges from your network provider. One of its most useful features is the ability to send and receive messages from any device connected to your iCloud account, including your Mac.

Sometimes, however, it can be a little bit too much. If you’re in an office with your iPhone, iPad and Mac and all of of them alert you to an incoming message, with a slight delay between them, the sound of all those alerts can be, well, let’s say a distraction.

How to delete an iMessage conversation

Messages is an Apple app that’s installed as a part of macOS, so you can’t simply delete it. You can, however, delete individual messages and attachments. The easiest way to do that is to use CleanMyMac X’s Privacy tool, which allows you to specify which conversations and attachments you want to remove and then delete them all in a click.

Tip: if you need to delete or uninstall other, non-Apple apps, don’t just drag them to the trash — they’ll leave lots of files behind on you hard drive. It’s best to use a dedicated uninstaller tool, like CleanMyMac X. You can download CleanMyMac and try it out for free here.

Fortunately, you can turn iMessage off on your Mac either permanently, or just for a little while so you can get some work done.

How to deactivate iMessage

  1. Launch the Messages app on your Mac.
  2. In the Messages menu, click Preferences.
  3. In the left hand pane, click on the account you want to turn off.
  4. Uncheck the box next to Enable this account.

That will stop you receiving messages from showing on your Mac and means that if you want to turn them back on again, all you have to do is check that box.

Alternatively, if you want to turn them off permanently, you can sign out of your iCloud account in Messages altogether. This will only affect the Messages app and won’t stop you, for example, using iCloud Drive or Photos with iCloud. Effectively, it deregisters iMessage from your account.

How to sign out of iCloud in Messages

  1. Launch Messages.
  2. Click Preferences in the Messages menu.
  3. Choose the account you want to sign out of in the left hand window.
  4. Press Sign out next to your Apple ID.
  5. In the pop-up window that appears, confirm by clicking Sign Out.
Messages won

If you sign out and later decide that you want to use Messages on your Mac after all, you can add your account by going to Messages > Preferences and clicking the ‘+’ at the bottom of the Accounts pane, then type in your Apple ID and password. If you have two-factor authentication turned on, you may need to type in the passcode sent to your trusted device.

There is another option, if you want to be able to send messages from your Mac but don’t want notifications.

Messages Won't Send On Mac

How to turn off notifications

  1. Click on the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
  2. Choose the Notifications pane.
  3. Click on Messages in the left hand sidebar.
  4. Click ‘None’ and uncheck all the tick boxes.

Now, you’ll still be able to send and receive messages, but won’t be pestered by annoying alerts.

If you want to disable iMessage on your Mac because you’re selling it or giving it away, you’ll need to sign out of iCloud altogether, in addition to signing out of Messages.

Messages App Not Sending Texts On Mac Free

  1. Click on the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
  2. Click on iCloud.
  3. At the bottom left hand corner of the window, click Sign Out.

How to fix Messages when it’s not working properly

If the reason you want to de-activate iMessage and stop messages showing on your Mac is that it’s not working properly or that they’re not syncing properly on your iPhone, or iPad, there are a few things you can try.

  • Turn off iMessage using the steps above, then turn it back on again.
  • Sign out of Messages, using the steps described earlier, then sign back in again.
  • Make sure you’re using the same phone number on your Mac as on your iPhone.
  • Make sure the email addresses you’ve enabled in Messages on the Mac are those associated with your Apple ID.
  • If you have more than one Apple ID, make sure you’re signed into the same one on Messages on all your devices.

If Messages from your friends aren’t displaying their name or photograph correctly, go to the Contacts app in your Applications folder and search for their name. Check that the entry has the phone number or email address they’re using for Messages. If not, add it.

It may be the case that you want to block specific people from contacting you via Messages, rather than switch it off altogether. Here’s how to do that:

Sending Texts Online

  1. If the person or company you want to block isn’t already in your Contacts, go to the Contacts app in the Applications folder. If they are already in your Contacts app, skip to step 3 (you’ll know if they are, because Messages will display their name instead of just a phone number or email address)
  2. Click ‘+’ and New Contact then fill in the details on the contact card. Remember to include the phone number or email address they’ve been messaging you from.
  3. Launch Messages and choose Preferences from the Messages menu.
  4. Click on the Account you use for iMessage.
  5. Click the Blocked tab.
  6. Click ‘+’ at the bottom of the window. You’ll see a window slide down that has your Contacts in it. Start typing the name of the contact you want to block into the search box.
  7. Click on the name when it appears.
  8. You will now see that all their phone numbers and email addresses have been added to your blocked list.

As you can see, while you can’t uninstall Messages on your Mac, it’s easy to turn it off or disable it. Alternatively, you can just turn off notifications so it carries on working but doesn’t disturb you. If you need to delete the messaging history and all the attachments, you can do that too, using a dedicated app like CleanMyMac X.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!

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