iPod touch Friends iMessage Won't Work

[XTheLancerX]

My friend has been trying to get iMessage to work on his iPod for ages. We even made a new Apple ID today to use but it still won't work. Pretty much, you go to sign in and it finishes that, gets to the stage where you select the email you want to use, and press next. From there it says "verifying" for a bit, but then without an error message or anything it kicks back to the sign in screen. My first thought was that his date was wrong, but it already is at "Set Automatically". I even tried a "Reset all Settings" but it does the same thing. The Apple ID signs in perfectly on all other devices. Please help.

 

[AppleFan22]

He may have maxed out his possible number of sign ins with the other devices. Or, he may just need to keep trying with putting in his account info. Make sure he is signed into his Apple ID in the iCloud settings, and then try turning on iMessage in the Messages settings. He shouldn't need to type in a password from the Messages settings.

 

[XTheLancerX]

He may have maxed out his possible number of sign ins with the other devices. Or, he may just need to keep trying with putting in his account info. Make sure he is signed into his Apple ID in the iCloud settings, and then try turning on iMessage in the Messages settings. He shouldn't need to type in a password from the Messages settings.

We made a fresh Apple ID specifically to fix this issue, so the account is not maxed out. It is signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID we are trying to use for iMessage. I even did a reset all settings then logged into iCloud with the fresh iMessage. I tried this exact Apple ID on another iPod of the same generation running the same version of iOS and it worked instantly without an issue. I even went and made sure "Date and Time" was set to "Automatically" because if the date is wrong that often causes issues.

This is an iPod 4 on iOS 6.1.6. There is no on/off switch for iMessage, it just has the screen where you enter your Apple ID and password. Usually it just shows this in the Messages app, right? Because it's showing that in Settings>iMessage as well (Same with FaceTime)

 

[AppleFan22]

We made a fresh Apple ID specifically to fix this issue, so the account is not maxed out. It is signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID we are trying to use for iMessage. I even did a reset all settings then logged into iCloud with the fresh iMessage. I tried this exact Apple ID on another iPod of the same generation running the same version of iOS and it worked instantly without an issue. I even went and made sure "Date and Time" was set to "Automatically" because if the date is wrong that often causes issues.

This is an iPod 4 on iOS 6.1.6. There is no on/off switch for iMessage, it just has the screen where you enter your Apple ID and password. Usually it just shows this in the Messages app, right? Because it's showing that in Settings>iMessage as well (Same with FaceTime)

What iOS is installed on the other devices? It may be a case of the newer OSes are not compatible with the older ones, and will therefore not allow it to work on the old iOS.

The fact that you've said that the brand new Apple ID didn't work makes me think that Apple has just dropped iMessage support for iOS 6.x.x all together, which is a real pain. I can't see any other reason why it wouldn't work...

 

[XTheLancerX]

What iOS is installed on the other devices? It may be a case of the newer OSes are not compatible with the older ones, and will therefore not allow it to work on the old iOS.

The fact that you've said that the brand new Apple ID didn't work makes me think that Apple has just dropped iMessage support for iOS 6.x.x all together, which is a real pain. I can't see any other reason why it wouldn't work...

No I tried the exact Apple ID on another iPod 4 running the same OS version, 6.1.6. It was my really old personal iPod way back when. Worked flawlessly.

 

[AppleFan22]

No I tried the exact Apple ID on another iPod 4 running the same OS version, 6.1.6. It was my really old personal iPod way back when. Worked flawlessly.

It may just be his specific iPod then... I would recommend trying a firmware update, as useless as they are. Bear in mind that he will lose any data that's on it when doing a fw update. Or try connecting the iPod in recovery mode (switch off the device completely, and then hold the home button at the same time you plug in the USB cable). When you open iTunes, it will say that it has detected an iPod in recovery mode, and that it needs to be restored to continue. You should be able to proceed as normal.

 

[XTheLancerX]

It may just be his specific iPod then... I would recommend trying a firmware update, as useless as they are. Bear in mind that he will lose any data that's on it when doing a fw update. Or try connecting the iPod in recovery mode (switch off the device completely, and then hold the home button at the same time you plug in the USB cable). When you open iTunes, it will say that it has detected an iPod in recovery mode, and that it needs to be restored to continue. You should be able to proceed as normal.

What do you mean firmware update? I'm assuming that's different than an iOS update based on how you are describing it? He is on the latest OS for his device, iOS 6.1.6 on the iPod Touch 4th generation. I tried to get him to do a full restore and he doesn't want to lose his stuff, even though he doesn't have much. Apparently it's not worth having a really convenient, smooth, reliable messaging service built in, that you can easily share stuff with. Right now we have to use Skype and it is less than ideal. Me and 3 other friends are collaborating lately on something and this "gap" is extremely inconvenient, I find it very annoying he is unwilling to restore because it now is obvious it is an issue with his particular device. Does iTunes backup App Data and photos? I wonder if a backup->factory reset->restore from backup could clear things up? I already got him to do a "Reset All Settings" which was painful enough and it fixed nothing. I really find it annoying when casual users simply will not restore their device as new when they have serious issues that can't be fixed otherwise, why would you want to do that to yourself just for progress in a couple games? #

 

[AppleFan22]

What do you mean firmware update? I'm assuming that's different than an iOS update based on how you are describing it? He is on the latest OS for his device, iOS 6.1.6 on the iPod Touch 4th generation. I tried to get him to do a full restore and he doesn't want to lose his stuff, even though he doesn't have much. Apparently it's not worth having a really convenient, smooth, reliable messaging service built in, that you can easily share stuff with. Right now we have to use Skype and it is less than ideal. Me and 3 other friends are collaborating lately on something and this "gap" is extremely inconvenient, I find it very annoying he is unwilling to restore because it now is obvious it is an issue with his particular device. Does iTunes backup App Data and photos? I wonder if a backup->factory reset->restore from backup could clear things up? I already got him to do a "Reset All Settings" which was painful enough and it fixed nothing. I really find it annoying when casual users simply will not restore their device as new when they have serious issues that can't be fixed otherwise, why would you want to do that to yourself just for progress in a couple games? #

iTunes does back up everything, absolutely everything. Photos, the exact time you watered your plants last year, you name it, iTunes'll back it up. That could potentially work. To do a firmware update, do what I said about connecting the iPod to iTunes, and then click update, rather than restore. This should update firmware. I think. But if not, if it says that it's all up to date, restore it. An update this way will erase the iPod, so again, back up first!

P.S: after you've done this back up, go to the iTunes preferences, Devices, and you'll see all of the backups. Find the one you just did, right click it, and then click archive. This will make is a separate backup, and it's just easier to restore to.

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Caution though! If iTunes says that there is an update, DO NOT ARCHIVE THE BACKUP. Archived backups aren't compatible with new software as far as I'm aware, and the data will be lost forever. If this happens, and you have the iPod in Recovery Mode, disconnect it from iTunes, and hold down the home and power buttons until it turns off and on again, and the Apple logo appears.