Continuity and Handoff not working on my first ever Macbook

[Noitcere]

I just got a Macbook Pro today. I made my first account, and then everything was working perfectly. I was getting my messages on my Macbook, etc. Then I deleted that account and made a new one, and suddenly none of that works.

I'm really at a loss here.

Edit: I called Apple and the guy I was talking to had no idea what the issue was either. However, he told me to make a new user account and try it on there. Sure enough, it worked. So I just deleted the user account that gave me problems and started on this new working user account. No big deal since I didn't have much on there yet.

He then tried to find out what exactly the issue was, and he just couldn't, so I said it was fine and that I didn't mind not knowing just as long as I can use continuity and handoff now.

So if anyone else is having problems using continuity or handoff and nothing else seems to solve the issue, try it on a new user account.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Make sure that you are signed into the same Apple ID on all the devices you are wanting to use said features with. If you are and it still isn't working, log out of your iCloud account on your MBP and log back in. A lot of times, that will get things working again. I have also found that sometimes Handoff can be slow. And other times, I have had to restart my iPhone or iPad to get Handoff rocking between them and the MBP again.

 

[Noitcere]

Like I go to System Prefs > iCloud > Sign Out?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Like I go to System Prefs > iCloud > Sign Out?

Yes.

 

[Noitcere]

Ok, I've done that now. It asked me to allow a lot of things, and to put in my Apple ID password for a few things, and I did all of that. However, it seems like the problem still persists. I cannot FaceTime anyone. It says FaceTime failed. I can't send messages, it says not delivered, with the red exclamation mark.

I only have one Apple ID, so I know I'm using the right one on both.

Handoff also doesn't work, but really, I'd just like to be able to message and FaceTime on my Mac.

This is so frustrating. I was hoping this would be hassle-free.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Ok, I've done that now. It asked me to allow a lot of things, and to put in my Apple ID password for a few things, and I did all of that. However, it seems like the problem still persists. I cannot FaceTime anyone. It says FaceTime failed. I can't send messages, it says not delivered, with the red exclamation mark.

I only have one Apple ID, so I know I'm using the right one on both.

Handoff also doesn't work, but really, I'd just like to be able to message and FaceTime on my Mac.

This is so frustrating. I was hoping this would be hassle-free.

Click on FaceTime preferences, and make sure you are signed in. From what you are describing, it doesn't sound like you are signed in to FaceTime or iMessages.

 

[Noitcere]

Yes, I'm signed in on both iMessage and FaceTime.

I'm looking all over the internet for an answer. One of these articles mentions Text Message Forwarding on the iPhone. I went there and saw 3 options for my Macbook Pro. Why is there 3? I can't delete them.

 

[sjinsjca]

Do you have Bluetooth turned on on all your devices? Are they connected to the same WiFi network?

 

[Noitcere]

Yes, bluetooth is enabled on my macbook and my iPhone. I live in the middle of nowhere, so theres only one wifi to connect to, and they're both connected.

Like it worked perfectly fine when I first set it up. But then I wanted to restart my account and made a new one, then deleted my first. Now it doesn't work. I wish I never deleted the first account. It was working beautifully. Now it just feels sour.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yes, I'm signed in on both iMessage and FaceTime.

I'm looking all over the internet for an answer. One of these articles mentions Text Message Forwarding on the iPhone. I went there and saw 3 options for my Macbook Pro. Why is there 3? I can't delete them.

The reason it shows three options for your MBP is because you didn't sign out of iMessage and FaceTime when installing the OS on your MBP, which you have done twice. The only way to remove the extras is to sign out on your devices and change your Apple ID password. Then, sign back in.

 

[Noitcere]

Just did that. Got rid of the extra Macbook Pro options, but iMessage and FaceTime still don't work. Now it won't even let me sign out of my iCloud account on my Mac.

 

[simonsi]

If it were me I would sign into iCloud on the web and I think you can remove the extra Macbook Pro devices from your iCloud account there.

For continuity you need to have both an email address and phone number configured in both Messages and Facetime on both the MBP and devices...I'd suggest you square up the MBP iCloud first and work from there.

 

[Noitcere]

When I sign out of iCloud on my Mac, it removes it from my device list on iCloud web anyway.

It doesn't seem to solve my problem.

Should I call apple? How does it work? Do I need to make an appointment over the phone? I'll be at work all day, and I don't live anywhere near an Apple Store. I don't want to be on hold for hours.

 

[fenderbass146]

When I sign out of iCloud on my Mac, it removes it from my device list on iCloud web anyway.

It doesn't seem to solve my problem.

Should I call apple? How does it work? Do I need to make an appointment over the phone? I'll be at work all day, and I don't live anywhere near an Apple Store. I don't want to be on hold for hours.

To be honest with you, if you just got it sometimes it takes a bit of time for it to start working. I have found giving it a day or two resolves the issue assuming all your accounts and settings are setup correctly. Also it could be an issue with your network. Do you have two seperate ssid for 2.4 ghz and 5? That has been known to cause problems.

 

[Noitcere]

To be honest with you, if you just got it sometimes it takes a bit of time for it to start working. I have found giving it a day or two resolves the issue assuming all your accounts and settings are setup correctly. Also it could be an issue with your network. Do you have two seperate ssid for 2.4 ghz and 5? That has been known to cause problems.

I've made arrangements for apple to call me later today. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of this.

As for my network, I'm not sure what those things are that you mentioned, but I do know that my download speed is 3Mbps, but I'll be lucky to get 1Mbps. Could that have something to do with it?

 

[Taz Mangus]

As for my network, I'm not sure what those things are that you mentioned, but I do know that my download speed is 3Mbps, but I'll be lucky to get 1Mbps. Could that have something to do with it?

I think what fenderbass146 is referring to is if you have a dual band WiFi router, you may be able to setup the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands as separate networks each having its own SSID (network name).

 

[Noitcere]

What fenderbass146 is referring to is if you have a dual band WiFi router, you may be able to setup the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands as separate networks each having its own SSID (network name).

Is this something new/on the higher end? Because I'm pretty sure my router is just cheap garbage that my internet provider gave me, so I'm thinking I have a pretty basic router.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Is this something new/on the higher end? Because I'm pretty sure my router is just cheap garbage that my internet provider gave me, so I'm thinking I have a pretty basic router.

I suspect that from your description of your setup that you did not create more then one network.

 

[fenderbass146]

I've made arrangements for apple to call me later today. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of this.

As for my network, I'm not sure what those things are that you mentioned, but I do know that my download speed is 3Mbps, but I'll be lucky to get 1Mbps. Could that have something to do with it?

That has do do with your network speed...Do you have a dual band router? Typically any router in the last 4 years over $80 would be. When you look at the available wireless networks does it say "network name" and "network name 5 Ghz" Some people have dual band routers and broadcast two wireless networks at the same time. If your devices are on different wireless ssid's it can sometimes cause problems.

 

[Noitcere]

That has do do with your network speed...Do you have a dual band router? Typically any router in the last 4 years over $80 would be. When you look at the available wireless networks does it say "network name" and "network name 5 Ghz" Some people have dual band routers and broadcast two wireless networks at the same time. If your devices are on different wireless ssid's it can sometimes cause problems.

I'm 100% sure that's not the case. Like I said, there is only 1 wifi option available on all of my devices.

 

[Noitcere]

I called Apple and the guy I was talking to had no idea what the issue was either. However, he told me to make a new user account and try it on there. Sure enough, it worked. So I just deleted the user account that gave me problems and started on this new working user account. No big deal since I didn't have much on there yet.

He then tried to find out what exactly the issue was, and he just couldn't, so I said it was fine and that I didn't mind not knowing just as long as I can use continuity and handoff now.

So if anyone else is having problems using continuity or handoff and nothing else seems to solve the issue, try it on a new user account.

 

[crashoverride77]

The reason it shows three options for your MBP is because you didn't sign out of iMessage and FaceTime when installing the OS on your MBP, which you have done twice. The only way to remove the extras is to sign out on your devices and change your Apple ID password. Then, sign back in.

Whaaaat. I have 1 duplicate in sms forwarding because I recently formatted my Mac. There is no other way to get rid of it apart from changing your password?
Hopefully it is like old devices on iCloud.com and it just disappears after a few months.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Whaaaat. I have 1 duplicate in sms forwarding because I recently formatted my Mac. There is no other way to get rid of it apart from changing your password?
Hopefully it is like old devices on iCloud.com and it just disappears after a few months.

If there is another way to get rid of the extra listing, I am not aware of it. I don't think it will disappear after a few months.

 

[crashoverride77]

If there is another way to get rid of the extra listing, I am not aware of it. I don't think it will disappear after a few months.

Thanks, well I will wait for now and see what happens. When you don't sign out of iCloud on you Mac before you format you also get duplicate devices on iCloud.com website (settings). Had a duplicate there until eventually it disappeared after 2-3 months. This has been discussed before in multiple forums so hopefully the same applies to the duplicate device in sms forwarding.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6555561