How to Fix iMessage

[packinamac]

Can anyone assist? I still get the same INTERNAL: Server Error message. I've gone through this tutorial entirely as well as several others. Is there any way to troubleshoot this issue?

Thanks.

 

[nottooshabby]

I am getting a replacement motherboard, same model/version. I had iMessage working with the old motherboard, do I need to change the custom uuid value? I used the generate from system method in clover.

 

[jaymonkey]

I am getting a replacement motherboard, same model/version. I had iMessage working with the old motherboard, do I need to change the custom uuid value? I used the generate from system method in clover.

@nottooshabby,

If your old motherboard is faulty and/or is never going to run MacOS again then you can use the same config.plist on the new motherboard including the critical system id's such as S/N, MLB, ROM, UUID ... etc without a problem.

However if the old motherboard is still going to run MacOS then you should generate all new critical system id's.

Cheers
Jay

 

[nottooshabby]

@nottooshabby,

If your old motherboard is faulty and/or is never going to run MacOS again then you can use the same config.plist on the new motherboard including the critical system id's such as S/N, MLB, ROM, UUID ... etc without a problem.

However if the old motherboard is still going to run MacOS then you should generate all new critical system id's.

Cheers
Jay

It is faulty, but I suppose there is a very small chance it could be refurbished and someone could use it to build a hackintosh. I'll replace my system ids. Thanks for the reply.

 

[TonyTech]

[Solved]

Hello,
I followed the steps to the best of my ability.
I contacted apple as I got the familiar error message:

You cannot sign in to iMessage on this Mac at this time.

To use iMessage with this Mac, contact Apple Support and provide the code below.

Customer Code: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
Apple ID: (my email address)

After contacting them and providing them with the code, the first device began to work as expected. However, this second device continued to give the same error message, even after at least a thousand different representatives across a hundred ranks tried to activate it on their end over the past week. I attached my Clover folder, as I want to make sure that stuff like the serial number, MLB, ROM, etc. are appropriate for iMessage.

This is happening on MacOS 10.15.6 Catalina. An Apple ID that has been used for this device in the past is working.

Update #1: I found out that my current MLB (Board Serial Number) has not changed since the days where my system was defined as MacPro3,1. Obviously, this is not good, as my system is now defined is iMac14,2. So I generated a brand new MLB corresponding with the iMac14,2 serial number using simpleMLB.sh and pasted it into Clover.

Now I have a different "Customer Code" or Verification Code, so I'm going to contact Apple again, telling them I did something along the lines of an SMC reset or firmware update.

On a side note, after I contacted Apple (before I posted today), my "invalid" Serial Number magically became valid in their system. Though there is no purchase date, warranty, etc., so I doubt my serial number is actually conflicting with a real Mac, let alone that it was invalid when I checked the first time.

Update #2: Even after changing the MLB and giving them the new code, it still didn't work. I think I "spoiled" the serial number. I just changed serial number, made new values for everything (ROM, MLB, SmUUID, etc.) and gave them the code for a third time. Works fine now.

Moral of the story? If you contact Apple and it still doesn't work after you give them the code, start COMPLETELY fresh (new SN, new MLB, new ROM, new SmUUID, etc.) before trying again (I also deleted iMessage files just in case).

 

[saeedsaf]

Hello everyone,

Whenever I try to login to iMessage it appears to authenticate, and after a few seconds the login prompt appears again. I tried to login with another Apple account of mine and was able to login and text as expected, but I keep running through the issue above when I use my main account.

You might think that my account is locked, however, I'm able to use iMessage just fine on my iPhone and I even checked with Apple support on the account's status and they confirmed that it's not locked.

Appreciate all the help and support.

 

[khevinpo]

Hello everyone,

Whenever I try to login to iMessage it appears to authenticate, and after a few seconds the login prompt appears again. I tried to login with another Apple account of mine and was able to login and text as expected, but I keep running through the issue above when I use my main account.

You might think that my account is locked, however, I'm able to use iMessage just fine on my iPhone and I even checked with Apple support on the account's status and they confirmed that it's not locked.

Appreciate all the help and support.

Had the same issue. I can sign my old account in without any issue but if I use my main account, its asking me to contact apple support which I did, but they scheduled an engineering call for me as we are unable to solve the issue.
That's a bummer. iMessage was one of the reason why I installed Hackintosh.

 

[MHSchaap]

I just set up a hackintosh using Coffeelake CPU with SMBIOS set to iMac 18,3. Itt works well and I can use iMessage with my account without any problem, but my child's Apple ID and another adult Apple ID are blocked when trying to logging into iMessage, requiring to contact support with customer codes. Called Apple support and they unblocked the two IDs. But iMessage logged in and automatically logged out again. Does this mean my serial number has problem? I have tried two but both have the same problem.

Hi, I have the same issue! FaceTime/Imessage works for me and my wife, but not for our son. It is driving me nuts, I can't activate either of them. Did you figure out what was wrong? Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Shiitaki]

Hi, I have the same issue! FaceTime/Imessage works for me and my wife, but not for our son. It is driving me nuts, I can't activate either of them. Did you figure out what was wrong? Thanks in advance!!!

Yeah, I have this problem too. I suspect it's because kids don't have a validated credit card associated with their iTunes account. This proves they are a real person that can be identified and not just a spammer. I think it's Apple's way to protect Messages from spammers.

If you created their accounts on a computer using a real serial number you wouldn't have the problem.

 

[MHSchaap]

If you created their accounts on a computer using a real serial number you wouldn't have the problem.

Thanks for the reply, the quote interests me; I think I created the accounts when I had an original Mac Mini. But honestly I can't reproduce.
The Credit Card can't be it, I suppose. As we have "Family Sharing", and also my wife has no Credit Card attached to her account. With Family Sharing, they are both tied to my Card.