Messenger not showing contact display pictures...

[David N]

I can't see other people's display pictures using MSN messenger on my MBP... I've enabled all the options for this, is it a known issue, and is there a fix for it? I've tried other messenger applications, and I don't really like them.

Before I get shot, I've searched and found nothing on this topic. If you feel like being the person who tells me to use search, feel free to do it yourself and tell me exactly what to search for to find my answer...


Thanks : )

 

[Luis]

I know you said you didn't like other clients, but I have no idea for a solution to you're problem, so I'm going to be a pain in the ass and suggest you give Adium one more try.

 

[David N]

Thanks Luis, but I've given it a couple tries and I'm just so used to the MSN Messenger client. It would be, ironically, like going from a Mac to a PC for me to switch my messenger client

 

[Luis]

Thanks Luis, but I've given it a couple tries and I'm just so used to the MSN Messenger client. It would be, ironically, like going from a Mac to a PC for me to switch my messenger client

Haha, fair enough then. I hope you find a solution to your problem though!

 

[H$R]

The same just happened to me right now. But it has worked a few days ago, maybe even yesterday. I am not sure. And I also tried aMSN and Adium. But like thread starter, I am so used to the original MSN messenger. I hope there will really be a new version sometime (with webcam support and stuff).

I can't remember that I changed anything big or installed anything in the last few days. It's only showing me two or three pictures, and if I am right, those are the people who also are using MSN messenger on a Mac.

I already checked the firewall setting on my Macbook but I didn't change anything there.
I also looked in the MSN cache, deletet everything, restarted. But still no pictures, except those few. Strange and annoying.

And one friend told me, that she could see mine, but when I changed it, she would still see the old one.

I gonna look deeper in the Internet, but I didn't find a solution yet!

EDIT: strange, as I was typing this, and testing again, some pictures are showing up now (with like 10 seconds delay) others stil won't. Still have no idea what is causing this randomness..but I guess it will work tomorrow agains or so..

 

[Patrick425]

yeah im hoping that microsoft will finally release a version of messenger similar to the windows live messenger. i honestly dont like adium that much.

 

[H$R]

There's the new version of messenger for Mac. Version 7 but it's still far far away from the Windows live messenger version.

They added audio/video chat, but only for corporate accounts, not for personal accounts! So pretty useless for the normal home user. (but I guess we will get that feature later; I haven't really used it anyway when I was on XP, because the quality wasn't that good. Skype did a way better job in my eyes)

Otherwise they added a search bar for your contacts (I am not using that either because I don't have too many contacts)

I've read somewhere they added file sending, so that might be useful.


Personally I think the new dock icon is worse than the one from version 6. I just changed it back to the old one myself. Otherwise I like the new design (for example when someone comes online, you get the info pop up in the lower right corner whicht looks nicer than before)


Features I still miss:
-When you click on a buddy name in the live version, then you see his business card from where you could go to the msn online spaces of others which I always found useful. I think you are not even able to go to the msn spaces through any menu option anywhere in the Mac version. So you have to know the exect web address yourself. And I don't always want to check if someone changed some info there.

-Nice would also be if you could change your status just where it is (with a drop down menu like in the Windows version) instead going throw the "network" menu in the menubar. It annoys me taking 3 steps instead just one drop down menu.

-Tabbed windows (won't see that in near future I guess, even the Windows version doesn't have it. If I should really miss that in the future, I will give Admium another try.)


I also found a first small bug: instead "in a call" you will see a second "out to lunch" choice in the status message choices. (how does such a spell error get in there? they shouldn't had changed anything there)


The two versions will never be the same because there are two completly different teams working on it. At least we can chat comfortably with our Windows buddies.

Blog from the developper team about A/V:

http://blogs.msdn.com/macmojo/archive/2007/11/12/a-chat-about-messenger.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/macmojo/archive/2006/09/27/774149.aspx

 

[iJeremy]

No photo support here either

Not only is my msn (version 7) not showing my or anyone else's contact photo, it won't let me insert one. I've tried several times and an error dialog comes up saying that I am using the wrong file type. The images I am trying to use are all jpg. I tried several and it rejected all of them. Anyone else?

 

[H$R]

Not only is my msn (version 7) not showing my or anyone else's contact photo, it won't let me insert one. I've tried several times and an error dialog comes up saying that I am using the wrong file type. The images I am trying to use are all jpg. I tried several and it rejected all of them. Anyone else?

I didn't experience that with MSN messenger for Mac yet, but I had the same few times on the Windows Live Messenger running on XP. There it helped just to try it again. Mostly after 3 times trying it worked.

 

[Melodia]

Not only is my msn (version 7) not showing my or anyone else's contact photo, it won't let me insert one. I've tried several times and an error dialog comes up saying that I am using the wrong file type. The images I am trying to use are all jpg. I tried several and it rejected all of them. Anyone else?

I found this forum while looking for answers to these very same problems!

Sheer persistence was finally rewarded when, for no apparent reason, my own display photo was found 'acceptable' for use. However, I cannot see any of my contacts' pics.

Seems like this is a problem that may not have a solution until a new version is released.

 

[John01021988]

aMSN is your friend, thats the one I use!

 

[H$R]

aMSN is your friend, thats the one I use!

yeah I know. I know it, I tried it, I didn't like it.

I just use the normal MSN messenger until it really cranks me out. I am not so much online as in the old days anyway so I think I get around with it.

 

[robsfinger]

The solution's here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5474218#post5474218

 

[H$R]

The solution's here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5474218#post5474218

Not exactly. That might be the solution for another common problem. But originally in this thread we had the problem that it was showing the pictures in the first place and then just randomly would not show anything at all (and that was already in 6.0.3, version 7.0 {other thread} came out later)
For me it's just random, and I think it's not even on the client side, more on the network/server side because of it's randomness. Anyway, I can live without the pictures it just was the problem back then because I wanted to show a friend a picture and for other reasons I couldn't send it to her easily.

 

[Melodia]

aMSN is your friend, thats the one I use!

Thank you for the recommendation, John. I have since tried aMSN and while I was able to see my contacts' display photos, I didn't like it for other reasons.

Like H$R, I've decided to live without the pics ... perhaps this little glitch will be fixed in a newer version ...

 

[mrgreeneyes]

I can't see other people's display pictures using MSN messenger on my MBP... I've enabled all the options for this, is it a known issue, and is there a fix for it? I've tried other messenger applications, and I don't really like them.

Before I get shot, I've searched and found nothing on this topic. If you feel like being the person who tells me to use search, feel free to do it yourself and tell me exactly what to search for to find my answer...


Thanks : )

sorry i dont mean to steal the topic of this thread, i just wanted to ask a quick question.

for the mac version of messenger, how do i put a picture of myself as the display picture?

i used photobooth to take a picture, then i went into the setting to change the display picture and chose the one i want to use and it gives me an error message saying that its not the right file format or something like that.


thanks

 

[H$R]

sorry i dont mean to steal the topic of this thread, i just wanted to ask a quick question.

for the mac version of messenger, how do i put a picture of myself as the display picture?

i used photobooth to take a picture, then i went into the setting to change the display picture and chose the one i want to use and it gives me an error message saying that its not the right file format or something like that.


thanks

you're doing it all right. a common issue caused by the messenger itself, not your fault. I think your picture should be .png or .jpg format, which it already should be. try to do the same as you already did over and over again, it normally works after 5 tries. or convert it into another format (or even the same) and try it then.
sometime the messenger just refuses a pictures. but these workarounds have helped me on several PCs and Macs

 

[Tex-Twil]

The solution's here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5474218#post5474218

This didnt work for me.

 

[H$R]

This didnt work for me.

yes I know what you mean (read through the whole thread please). I already mentioned, that this isn't the solution for the problem discussed in this thread.
There are two different problems.

1) not showing the pictures during a conversation (originally this thread)
2) not letting you insert a new picture (error which also occured in Windwos time ago) (other tread)

Which problem do you have?

 

[Tex-Twil]

yes I know what you mean (read through the whole thread please). I already mentioned, that this isn't the solution for the problem discussed in this thread.
There are two different problems.

1) not showing the pictures during a conversation (originally this thread)
2) not letting you insert a new picture (error which also occured in Windwos time ago) (other tread)

Which problem do you have?

ok. so no solution for not showing the contact picture.

 

[H$R]

sadly no, not any I would know (and I researched the topic quite a bit).

Just wait, it should be working again sometime. (I think it doesn't have to do with your computer, because I couldn't find anything in the caches etc which could lead to this problem. I think it's more a server problem on Microsofts side)

I know that's not what you were looking for, but try to forget about it (eg not showing the pictures at all for some weeks.) And it might get back to normal later on. I haven't had the problem lately.

 

[Tex-Twil]

sadly no, not any I would know (and I researched the topic quite a bit).

Just wait, it should be working again sometime. (I think it doesn't have to do with your computer, because I couldn't find anything in the caches etc which could lead to this problem. I think it's more a server problem on Microsofts side)

I know that's not what you were looking for, but try to forget about it (eg not showing the pictures at all for some weeks.) And it might get back to normal later on. I haven't had the problem lately.

ok thx.

 

[stylinexpat]

Not only is my msn (version 7) not showing my or anyone else's contact photo, it won't let me insert one. I've tried several times and an error dialog comes up saying that I am using the wrong file type. The images I am trying to use are all jpg. I tried several and it rejected all of them. Anyone else?

+1, I am having the same problems

 

[LucasPS]

Any news about this problem ?

I installed the Messenger 8 Beta, but it does not show my contacts picture either.

Anyone can tell me what to do ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[THRobinson]

I found this thread when looking... seems old but still valid.

I have a MAC G4 1.25Ghz (MDD) running 10.4.11.

I normally use my PC for MSN and such, but for the next few weeks the PC is down so using the MAC. Otherwise the MAC is strictly for Adobe work.

Anyway, installed the latest MSN 8, and well, first got about 12 add requests from people I don't even recall. I think they've been waiting since I used MSN on a MAC about 8 months ago. Very weird.

Then started to notice the OP's problem, no users image will display.

Like many other posters, I dislike how MSN for a MAC is different from the PC version, but even more I dislike adium and aMSN so hoping to avoid switching. Has anyone found a reason for the lack of an image?