How to Fix iMessage

[tholstro]

@tholstro,

Yes without persistent Critical System I/D's (eg: ROM, S/N ... etc) iMessage will not work.
Most likely cause is a NVRAM issue.

Should be no need to make new ID's .. you just need to make sure that NVRAM is working.

That is the correct response when checking S/N at Apples support site.

Cheers
Jay

Considering that my machine has been fine for more than half a year this is odd.

How do I confirm that NVRAM is working?

 

[jaymonkey]

Considering that my machine has been fine for more than half a year this is odd. How do I confirm that NVRAM is working?

@tholstro,

You can test if your NVRAM is working with the following Terminal command :-

sudo nvram TestVar=HelloWorld

This will create a new variable in NVRAM called "TestVar" with the text value of "HelloWorld"
Now Reboot MacOS and then run the following Terminal command :-

sudo nvram -p | grep 'TestVar'

If you see the result "HelloWorld" then your NVRAM is working ok.
If you don't see a result then NVRAM is broken and needs to be fixed.

Cheers
Jay

 

[pikachucraft3]

@pikachucraft3,

iMessage and all of Apples iCloud services work fine on WiFi, Ethernet is not a requirement. You do need however a MacOS compatible WiFi combi card in your laptop, Intel Wifi cards are not supported nor are USB WiFi Dongles, it must be a Broadcom one and it must appear to MacOS as "Built In".

See this Guide for more info :-

Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth [Guide]

Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth [Guide] WiFi and Bluetooth working out of box on macOS with Apple branded Broadcom BCM94360. Enables specific half mini and M.2 BCM94352 on macOS with methods described below. Credit: RehabMan This thread does not support: macOS/Continuity Atheros/Qualcomm...

www.tonymacx86.com

Cheers
Jay

Thx for the info and sry for this late reply, I honestly didn't want to install another WiFi card into my PC because I preferred it in Windows, and also that I probably destroyed a couple screws on the XPS back cover while screwing it while when I was changing the SSD. I did some more digging and found that I am actually able to activate iMessage/FaceTime using the USB WiFi adapter by installing Rehabman's Null Ethernet kext (as the 'ethernet' is only needed upon activation, and I'm guessing that macOS just needs to verify that there is an ethernet device, but doesn't actually rely on it past activation.) Thx again for the suggestion. Hope this helps other ppl.

 

[Gius96]

Hi to everyone, a simple (and stupid) question: if I haven't got an ethernet or a working wifi card on my laptop (it has CNVi wifi card, so I can't replace it), I can't make this services work, right? there is no way to have a wifi stick recognized as built-in wifi...it is all right?
Thanks

 

[jaymonkey]

Hi to everyone, a simple (and stupid) question: if I haven't got an ethernet or a working wifi card on my laptop (it has CNVi wifi card, so I can't replace it), I can't make this services work, right? there is no way to have a wifi stick recognized as built-in wifi...it is all right?

@Gius96,

You can use the Null-Ethernet method ...

GitHub - RehabMan/OS-X-Null-Ethernet: A "Null" (Fake) Ethernet driver for OS X meant to be used when you have no working Ethernet or AirPort

A "Null" (Fake) Ethernet driver for OS X meant to be used when you have no working Ethernet or AirPort - RehabMan/OS-X-Null-Ethernet

github.com

It creates a dummy ethernet adapter that is configured as "built-in" ...

MacOS only needs to see a "built-in" network device with a correct BSD name (en0) in order to authenticate to Apple's online services, it does not matter if the actual method you use to connect is not built-in so you can use a WiFi USB dongle to connect to the internet and access Apples on-line services ...

I haven't tried it myself but many people have reported good success using the method.

I recommend using the SSDT method as it the simplest install and be sure to use a unique MAC Address, I would recommend using the Mac Address of your CNVi card (since it's not used in MacOS) which you can get from windows or you can use an online MAC address generator :-

Random MAC Address Generator - Create Random MACs - Online - Browserling Web Developer Tools

Useful, free online tool that generates random Media Access Control addresses. No ads, nonsense, or garbage, just a random MAC generator. Press a button – get the result.

www.browserling.com

Cheers
Jay

 

[Gius96]

@jaymonkey ohhh oh oh, I did not really expect... iMessage it's working and connected. Incredible

 

[jaymonkey]

@jaymonkey ohhh oh oh, I did not really expect... iMessage it's working and connected. Incredible

@Gius96,

That method has been around for many years but is not used so much these days as we have found better ways to workaround the problem using alternate hardware which we can spoof as "built-In". Unfortunately laptops with CNVi WiFi/BT are tricky and unless the BIOS has an option to configure the CNVi slot as a standard M.2 Type E and the card is not soldered on then the only option is to use a USB WiFi/BT dongle.

Happy that the method worked for you ... good to know it still works.

Clarification on CNVi here :-

Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth [Guide]

Put all files in a folder, compress and attach post on this thread Hello, new to the Hackintosh world, have my new build up and running except for WiFi. All details and requested files in attached zip, let me know if I missed anything. Appreciate any help! Edit: Neglected to mention that I had...

www.tonymacx86.com

Cheers
Jay

 

[vmiyoshi]

I have a question about iMessages in the Cloud. When it was first released I had no problems with it on my then High Sierra install.
At some point it quit working, I thought upgrading to Mojave would have resolved it. Yet I'm still having the same problem.
So here is the run down:

• iMessage works fine on my build with iMessages in the cloud being the only issue
• iMessages in the cloud works fine on all my other devices Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPads
• The issue is nothing is syncing, clicking on sync does nothing, turning it off and on, or signing in and out also does nothing.

 

[pikachucraft3]

I have a question about iMessages in the Cloud. When it was first released I had no problems with it on my then High Sierra install.
At some point it quit working, I thought upgrading to Mojave would have resolved it. Yet I'm still having the same problem.
So here is the run down:

• iMessage works fine on my build with iMessages in the cloud being the only issue
• iMessages in the cloud works fine on all my other devices Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPads
• The issue is nothing is syncing, clicking on sync does nothing, turning it off and on, or signing in and out also does nothing.

if sync is ur problem maybe u should check ur iPhone and make sure in iMessages (in settings) ur forwarding ur texts to ur 'Mac/macbook'

 

[techana]

I'd followed the "idiot guide" back on January after building my system. Three days ago, FaceTime and Messages suddenly stopped working! I tried everything to make them work again but without success!

I'm about to delete the existing IDs and numbers and apply new ones. Is there anything else I can do instead of giving my system a new identity?