Not registered with iMessage

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Love the convenience of texting from my MBA, but suddenly get "this number is not registered with iMessage" for numbers I've been texting all along. Already restarted the MBA, and that didn't help. I can reply to texts from any phone number, but can't initiate a text. How to "register with iMessage" please?
 

chscag

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Open your "messages app" and select preferences. From preferences select Accounts. Click on your Apple ID (should be showing) and then select "Enable this Account". Below that you should be able to select the telephone numbers from "You can be reached for messages at". Make sure your number is listed there. That should do it.
 
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Open your "messages app" and select preferences. From preferences select Accounts. Click on your Apple ID (should be showing) and then select "Enable this Account". Below that you should be able to select the telephone numbers from "You can be reached for messages at". Make sure your number is listed there. That should do it.

Thanks, but I guess I wasn't clear in my post. My own phone number is not the problem - it's an iPhone number to which I'm trying to message. I can message that number from my phone, but not my MBA, which tells me the number I'm trying to reach isn't registered with iMessage.
 

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Hi rainbowcat,

This is what I think you may need to do. Could be wrong,of course, but this is how I have my set up.

On your iPhone, go into settings, then messages, then Send & Receive. Tap on that, it will show your Apple ID at the top and underneath - YOU CAN BE REACHED BY IMESSAGE AT:

You should see your iPhone number and then your email accounts:

In my case these are [email protected] and example @me.com ( I go a long way back).

Assuming you have an iCloud account, which I guess you must really, it should be shown. Tick it. That ensures you can receive text messages on your MBA.

Below that is START NEW CONVERSATIONS FROM. Here again, you can select your mobile number and, if you wish, your iCloud email address. If you tick your email address, that means you can start a text message from your MBA.

I think going down this avenue will solve your problem.

Please let us know.

Ian
 
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Hi rainbowcat,

This is what I think you may need to do. Could be wrong,of course, but this is how I have my set up.

On your iPhone, go into settings, then messages, then Send & Receive. Tap on that, it will show your Apple ID at the top and underneath - YOU CAN BE REACHED BY IMESSAGE AT:

You should see your iPhone number and then your email accounts:

In my case these are [email protected] and example @me.com ( I go a long way back).

Assuming you have an iCloud account, which I guess you must really, it should be shown. Tick it. That ensures you can receive text messages on your MBA.

Below that is START NEW CONVERSATIONS FROM. Here again, you can select your mobile number and, if you wish, your iCloud email address. If you tick your email address, that means you can start a text message from your MBA.

I think going down this avenue will solve your problem.

Please let us know.

Ian

Appreciate all that info Ian, but my iPhone is not the problem; the problem is trying to text from my MBA.

Let's say my iPhone is #1. That phone is sending and receiving iMessages just fine. I can send and receive from any number. For convenience I often send iMessages from my MBA. When I am on my MBA (not my iPhone) I cannot send messages to iPhone#2 (and only this particular iPhone) because it comes up red as "not registered with iMessage". This only happens when I try to text from my MBA - iPhone#2 receives and sends just fine if I do it from my iPhone. Confusing, isn't it!
 
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If you open Messages and go into Preferences, is your phone number listed there?
 
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If you open Messages and go into Preferences, is your phone number listed there?

Yes. The problem is texting a specific number from my MBA
 

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Thanks, but I guess I wasn't clear in my post. My own phone number is not the problem - it's an iPhone number to which I'm trying to message. I can message that number from my phone, but not my MBA, which tells me the number I'm trying to reach isn't registered with iMessage.

Whose iPhone is it? If it's not yours, then you have no control over the number or how the owner has it registered. If the phone belongs to you, then the answer I gave you above will work.

Just for the record... I frequently use the messages app from my iMac and send text messages to various different friends and relatives who own iPhones and never have a problem reaching them. The problems I have run into is with those folks who own Android phones and the text is sent to them via SMS rather than iMessage.
 
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I can even use Messages on my mini to text a friend and my kids with android phones, so it should work.

I just looked at my iPhone and in Settings > Messages, what is listed under Text Message Forwarding? I have two devices listed, my mini, and my iPad.
 
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Whose iPhone is it? If it's not yours, then you have no control over the number or how the owner has it registered. If the phone belongs to you, then the answer I gave you above will work.

Just for the record... I frequently use the messages app from my iMac and send text messages to various different friends and relatives who own iPhones and never have a problem reaching them. The problems I have run into is with those folks who own Android phones and the text is sent to them via SMS rather than iMessage.

It's my husband's phone, which is registered with iMessage.
 

chscag

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It's my husband's phone, which is registered with iMessage.

Don't know what to tell you then. You definitely should be able to send an iMessage to that phone. There must be something else going on that we haven't figured out yet. Try this:

Ask your husband to sign out of iCloud with that iPhone and then try signing back in. That sometimes helps as iCloud on occasion becomes confused.
 
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Don't know what to tell you then. You definitely should be able to send an iMessage to that phone. There must be something else going on that we haven't figured out yet. Try this:

Ask your husband to sign out of iCloud with that iPhone and then try signing back in. That sometimes helps as iCloud on occasion becomes confused.

Thank you! It didn't help, but we've all tried hard enough, and I'll just refrain from texting him from my laptop!

Greatly appreciate everyone's time and efforts here
 

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Now that we know who owns what iPhone......

Your iPhone sends to husband's okay.

Your MBA sends to everyone, but not your husband's.

That suggests that (1) your husband's phone doesn't "recognise" your MBA or (2) Your MBA doesn't "recognise" your husband's phone.

Admin chscag in post #2 advised you how to make sure your MBA had your husband's phone "registered".

I, for my part, in post #4, told you how your iPhone AND your husband's iPhone should be set up.

I can't help feeling that we are very close to a solution - all the more so when we now know it's you and your husband who own the iPhones you referred to as phone #1 and phone #2.

So just one last time - please:) , can you check your MBA as advised by chscag in post 2 has husband's number there AND that both phones are set up with each other's phone number as in my post 4? Big please:D

Ian
 
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Maybe try a "New" message thread, to your husband, instead of continuing the same/old conversation?

Edit: On the MBA that is?
 
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Now that we know who owns what iPhone......

Your iPhone sends to husband's okay.

Your MBA sends to everyone, but not your husband's.

That suggests that (1) your husband's phone doesn't "recognise" your MBA or (2) Your MBA doesn't "recognise" your husband's phone.

Admin chscag in post #2 advised you how to make sure your MBA had your husband's phone "registered".

I, for my part, in post #4, told you how your iPhone AND your husband's iPhone should be set up.

I can't help feeling that we are very close to a solution - all the more so when we now know it's you and your husband who own the iPhones you referred to as phone #1 and phone #2.

So just one last time - please:) , can you check your MBA as advised by chscag in post 2 has husband's number there AND that both phones are set up with each other's phone number as in my post 4? Big please:D

Ian

All that was done - honest! I followed everyone's suggestions - I don't want to be wasting your time and expertise. There's some crazy glitch on my MBA that just refuses to cooperate. If my husband initiates the message I can see in on my MBA, and reply to it, but I can't initiate a message to him.

I greatly appreciate your determination to solve this, but maybe it will just solve itself one day... Maybe there are some glitches ya just have to live with. But thanks again - you are muchly appreciated!
 

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All that was done - honest! I followed everyone's suggestions - I don't want to be wasting your time and expertise. There's some crazy glitch on my MBA that just refuses to cooperate. If my husband initiates the message I can see in on my MBA, and reply to it, but I can't initiate a message to him. It only affected some systems which makes no sense as it's the same iCloud account on all.

I greatly appreciate your determination to solve this, but maybe it will just solve itself one day... Maybe there are some glitches ya just have to live with. But thanks again - you are muchly appreciated!

What is interesting is in the last 24 hours or so I have had some issues with messages on 2 of my Macs sending messages. Another friend called me and had the same issue then 1 hour ago it all started to work for both of us.


What I am saying by the above is it COULD be an issue with Apple and some accounts and some systems because of what was going on here,
 
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Look in your Contacts, do you have multiple numbers listed for your husband or multiple contacts for your husband? When you start a new message, are you putting in his phone number or selecting his name from your contacts list?
 
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What is interesting is in the last 24 hours or so I have had some issues with messages on 2 of my Macs sending messages. Another friend called me and had the same issue then 1 hour ago it all started to work for both of us.

What is interesting is in the last 24 hours or so I have had some issues with messages on 2 of my Macs sending messages. Another friend called me and had the same issue then 1 hour ago it all started to work for both of us.

What I am saying by the above is it COULD be an issue with Apple and some accounts and some systems because of what was going on here,

Whew! I'm not going bonkers - thank you!
 
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Look in your Contacts, do you have multiple numbers listed for your husband or multiple contacts for your husband? When you start a new message, are you putting in his phone number or selecting his name from your contacts list?

Doesn't matter which way I do it - it still comes up "not registered". I really do think this is an Apple issue - you folks can solve anything!
 
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Then if you get the message "not registered", that's something to do with your husbands phone.
 

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