Messages .. has anyone actually got this to work?

[itsjustmeee]

Messages DOES work -- but to get the messages to come through on your computer there are a couple things that have to happen.

#1 - the Messages app must be active on your computer. (i.e. the app must be open)

#2 - the person sending the iMessage has to be sending a message to your email address - NOT your phone number.


Most people still send text messages via a phone number, even those with iMessage/iPhones. While those will go through fine iPhone to iPhone - they won't go through to iMessage. Hopefully the "unification" in iOS 6 will solve that problem.

I finally figured out what the problem was. My wife's iphone's messages settings were logged in with my ID. All is well now but that being said, it seems a bit lame to always have to have the messages app active on my computer. If Apple is trying to make the OSX experience more like IOS, it should push alerts and messages through regardless. An app doesn't have to be open on my iphone to get an alert.

Also, I find it interesting that even sitting in my house with my computer, iphone and ipad on my wifi, all 3 get a message at different times. Yesterday, I got a message, answered it on my iPad and about a minute later I got the same message on my iPhone.

 

[jlblodgett]

This was true for Messages Beta on OS X 10.7, but on OS X 10.8 it's no longer the case. You'll still receive notifications about messages even if Messages is closed; of course, you need to open Messages to reply.

Hmm.. Doesn't work that way on mine, and I have ML.

If my Messages app isn't open and running I don't get the message. Even after opening the app - it doesn't populate with all my old messages or anything.

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I've noticed two things since Messages came out of "beta." (I still think it is beta status to be honest)

Photos for contacts no longer show up. They used to show up, but now no one has an icon. I have a picture for everyone in my address book.

Sometimes it says I have 5 or so new messages after receiving just one new message, it is displays a bag for 5 instead of 1.

Just little weird things that should work fine but dont, at least for me.

Hmm - for mine - the photos for contacts still show up.

 

[Arelunde]

Messages DOES work -- but to get the messages to come through on your computer there are a couple things that have to happen.

#1 - the Messages app must be active on your computer. (i.e. the app must be open)

#2 - the person sending the iMessage has to be sending a message to your email address - NOT your phone number.


Most people still send text messages via a phone number, even those with iMessage/iPhones. While those will go through fine iPhone to iPhone - they won't go through to iMessage. Hopefully the "unification" in iOS 6 will solve that problem.

Yep. This is the answer and has been, even with the iPad2 and iPhone 4. I've had no issues with Messages, other than with those who have not put their @me address into the Message account preferences. I'm SO happy to have it back after the beta disappeared. I much prefer to use my computer AND FULL SIZE KEYBOARD for texting. It's now annoying to have to text on the iPhone's mini-keyboard.

 

[bushido]

it really seems to depend on the wifi network

it NEVER worked on my iPad or Mac at my parents place but worked just fine at my apartment but oddly still worked on my iPhone. now that i upgraded my parents router it works on all devices when i'm home

i dont have to have iMessage on my Mac open btw. i start my computer the next morning and the iMessage someone sent me at like 5am pops up automatically

i also set up each devices iMessage separated from each other, i dont see the point of getting one message on all of my devices

 

[user418]

You need to be using your Apple ID on all devices and not your phone number
Check your settings on the phone to use the Apple ID

Yep. This is the answer and has been, even with the iPad2 and iPhone 4. I've had no issues with Messages, other than with those who have not put their @me address into the Message account preferences. I'm SO happy to have it back after the beta disappeared. I much prefer to use my computer AND FULL SIZE KEYBOARD for texting. It's now annoying to have to text on the iPhone's mini-keyboard.

Sorry, but I'm a bit confused. I am using my Apple id on all devices and still having issues receiving/continuing messages on all my devices. Do I need to establish an @me address to have things work properly. Also, will the feature work on a first generation iPad?

 

[dailybibliotaph]

Messages has been working on my rMBP, 13-inch MBP, 15-inch MBP, 27-inch iMac and 2 iPads and 1 iPod BUT...

AIM account is constantly getting signed off and has a hard time signing back on. It's random but mostly on waking from sleep. The AIM account shows as logged off and won't log back on.

Anyone else have account issues - other than their AppleID account?

 

[i'mnewhere]

AIM account is constantly getting signed off and has a hard time signing back on. It's random but mostly on waking from sleep. The AIM account shows as logged off and won't log back on.

Anyone else have account issues - other than their AppleID account?

Same issue with Yahoo account.. seems to be broke

 

[itsjustmeee]

At this point I'm trying to figure out exactly why some contacts messages show up on my computer and others don't. For example, a friend who has an iPhone and a @mac email address clearly shows up on my iPhone as iMessages (her texts are blue instead of green). Since I have contacts and everything else synced up with icloud on my computer, shouldn't it be seeing her messages there as well?

 

[aarmstrong27]

At this point I'm trying to figure out exactly why some contacts messages show up on my computer and others don't. For example, a friend who has an iPhone and a @mac email address clearly shows up on my iPhone as iMessages (her texts are blue instead of green). Since I have contacts and everything else synced up with icloud on my computer, shouldn't it be seeing her messages there as well?

Even if another iPhone with iMessage turned on sends a text to your PHONE NUMBER, it will only show up on your iPhone (possibly iPad if you are running iOS6). The SENDER has to send it to your Apple ID in order for it to go to all devices.

If you initiate a convo from your Mac, and they reply to it, you're good to go. Just delete the old convo that was sent to your number.

You also need to set up your "Received At" addresses on the iPhone to make sure they match what you're signed in with on your Mac.

 

[stark4]

Can you send text messages to any phone using the phone number with iMessage?

if not i don't see the point of using messages... i might as well text someone with my phone for fast response right?

How do you guys use iMessage?

 

[djtech42]

Is unification of phone number iMessages going to come in the Fall with iOS 6?

 

[Ledgem]

Can you send text messages to any phone using the phone number with iMessage?

if not i don't see the point of using messages... i might as well text someone with my phone for fast response right?

How do you guys use iMessage?

As long as the person you're texting has an iPhone (or some other device capable of using iMessage), then yes, you can send messages to phone numbers. If you send a message from the computer or iPad, it will not switch over to standard SMS messaging if the message is undeliverable, though.

I use iMessage like any regular text messaging, just more convenient. If my wife texts me and I only have my phone on me, then I reply with my phone. If I'm at my computer, I just reply on the computer. If I'm using my iPad, then I reply with that. There's no need to put down one device and focus on another.

Is unification of phone number iMessages going to come in the Fall with iOS 6?

This is the rumor, and I really hope it's true.

 

[Skoopman]

Messages worked fine for me after I upgraded from Lion to ML. I did a clean install and now I can't send iMessages to a Mac anymore. It works fine from my Mac to an iPhone, it's driving me nuts.

 

[bbfc]

Can you send text messages to any phone using the phone number with iMessage?

if not i don't see the point of using messages... i might as well text someone with my phone for fast response right?

How do you guys use iMessage?

Not ANY phone, just the iPhone, and as long as that person has iMessage turned on.

 

[Jordan921]

When they talked about unifying phone number and apple id I was expecting messages to come through fine just the way they were. I was having trouble with my messages on my macbook air starting a new thread.

 

[itsjustmeee]

Another thing that I'm finding is that this whole iMessage/text thing is a bit less reliable than when it was just texts alone. Most of my friends have iPhones and some messages go through as texts and others go through as messages with the same person in the same "chat". I have no idea why. And I'm getting "Hmmm, your message didn't go through" quite a bit more than I did when it was just texting.

 

[hw007]

Its working for me.

HW

 

[cosimolupo]

I have a question for those among you who are using both iMessage and one of the chat services like GTalk, Yahoo, AIM etc. with Messages app in Mountain Lion.

Do you receive notification banners and sounds for incoming iMessages in the same way as you do for incoming IM text-chat messages?

I'm asking this because I have noticed a difference between the two situations:

- with chats, the visual and audio notification gets through correctly every time Messages is in the background and a new message arrives;

- with iMessage, however, the banners and the sounds are dis/played only if the message does not belong to an already open conversation: that is, the message starts a new text chat, in a new tab in the left panel of Messages window. Otherwise, if the message is from one of the buddies with whom a conversation is still open, no notification is shown and no sound is played. Only the dock icon's badge is updated, silently.

But if I manually close the conversation and then a new message arrives later, I do get the banner and sound notifications back.

Another thing I noticed is that, if the application is closed and a new iMessage arrives, the app automatically opens in the background, but no banner is shown, and no sound played -- this only for the very _first_ iMessage received while the app was closed. If a second message follows the first one, then it will play a sound -- provided that it belongs to a new conversation, just like above.

check out this other thread for more info:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1428706/