Messages App Keeps Crashing On Mac

The Messages app makes sending and receiving iMessages on your Desktop a lot easier for Mac users. You don’t have to grab your phone just to send or reply to a message. Just open the Messages app, type your message, and send it just like how you do it on your phone.

The Messages app hangs or crashes after a Mojave upgrade, making it impossible for the users to read their messages or send a reply. Because of this error, the Messages app freezes, can’t sync, won’t load new messages, gets stuck in updating status, or won’t open at all.

Some Mac users, though, have encountered a critical error when opening the Messages app after updating to Mojave. The Messages app hangs or crashes after a Mojave upgrade, making it impossible for the users to read their messages or send a reply. Because of this error, the Messages app freezes, can’t sync, won’t load new messages, gets stuck in updating status, or won’t open at all.

This issue is usually accompanied by the following error message:

An internal Messages error occurred.

There was a problem with Messages. You need to quit and open Messages again.

However, quitting the app doesn’t help. Users who have encountered this error reported that the same message would appear every time they try to open the app. They have reported this error to Apple Support, and the team has acknowledged it as a bug related to Mojave. Some of them tried to downgrade to High Sierra and found no error when using the Messages app.

The engineers at Apple are already aware of the bug and are working on a patch to resolve the issue. There is no update, though, on when the official fix will be released. Instead of waiting for the official fix, you can use the solutions below to resolve this problem.

How to Fix Messages App Crashes After Mojave Update

Messages app crashing mac

If your Messages app freezes after a Mojave update, the first step you should do is to log out and quit the app completely. Force-quit Messages if necessary. Deleting your Mac’s junk files using Tweakbit MacRepair would make troubleshooting easier and faster. Next, reboot your Mac to refresh macOS before you start fixing the Messages app.

Fix #1: Log Out Then Log Back Into Your Messages App.

If you are able to open the messages app, log out of your account by clicking Messages at the top menu. From the dropdown menu, click Log Out. Close the app completely, then launch it again. Sign back in by clicking Messages > Log In. Your messages should be reloaded after signing in. Look around to see if everything is working fine. If you come across any problem, then jump to the other fixes below.

Fix #2: Check Your Date and Time Settings.

Incorrect date and time information may cause your Messages app to act up. Check your date and time settings to make sure they are consistent with your location, particularly after a major system update. There are instances when these settings are affected during the update, causing errors not only for the Messages app but other programs as well.

To check this:

  1. Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
  2. Click on the Time Zone tab.
  3. Tick off Set date and time automatically if the checkbox is unchecked.
  4. If it is, click on it to unselect the option. Wait for a few seconds before checking the box again.
  5. Enter your admin password if prompted.

After making sure that your computer has the correct date and time, restart your operating system and check whether the Messages app is back to normal.

Fix #3: Boot Into Safe Mode.

Temporary files, installation software, and other system caches might still be stored in your Mac after an update. Restarting in Safe Mode can help eliminate these unnecessary files that might be interfering with your Mac’s processes.

To boot into Safe Mode, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your Mac, then hold the Shift key immediately after you hear the startup sound.
  2. Release the Shift button when you see the login screen.
  3. Launch the Messages app while in Safe Mode and see if it’s working as it should.

Fix # 4: Delete Preferences, Cache, and Chat Database.

The Messages app stores information in various location on your Mac. All these files must be deleted, so your app can start from scratch and get rid of any errors that are plaguing it.

To delete these files, follow the steps enumerated below:

  1. Close the Messages app.
  2. Open Finder and hold Options while clicking Go from the top menu. This should reveal the Library folder.
  3. Click Library, then search for the Preferences folder.
  4. Look for any of these .plist files:
    • com.apple.imagent.plist
    • com.apple.imessage.bag.plist
    • com.apple.imservice.iMessage.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.AIM.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.Jabber.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.StatusMessages.plist
    • com.apple.iChat.Yahoo.plist
  5. Back up these .plist files by copying them to the Desktop.
  6. Move all these .plist files to the Trash afterwards. This will clear previous settings and preferences of the Messages app.
  7. Go back to the Library folder and delete the following files:
    • Caches/com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent
    • Caches/com.apple.Messages
    • Containers/com.apple.corerecents.recentsd
    • Containers/com.apple.soagent
    • Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Caches
    • IdentityServices
  8. Look for the Messages folder inside the Library directory and move the whole folder to the Trash.
  9. Next, launch Terminal by searching for it via Spotlight or going to Finder > Go > Utilities.
  10. Stop the IMDPersistenceAgent process by typing in this command: killall IMDPersistenceAgent.
  11. Type in this command in the console: rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Messages. This command should delete all cached data of the Messages app.
  12. To delete the chat database, enter this command in the Terminal window: rm -rf ~/Library/Messages.
  13. Enter this command to clear the preferences cache: killall cfprefsd.

Close everything and restart your Mac. Launch the Messages app to see if it is now working properly.

Fix #5: Disable Messages in iCloud Settings.

Just like the iPhoto Library, Messages in iCloud ensures that all your messages are synchronized across all your devices. However, several users noted that the error seems to be caused by this feature.

To disable this feature on your Mac, follow the instructions below:

  1. Open Messages, then choose Messages from the top menu.
  2. Click on Preferences > Accounts.
  3. Choose iMessage from your list of accounts.
  4. Uncheck Enable Messages in iCloud.
  5. Choose either Disable All or Disable This Device.

Close Messages and re-open the app to see if this solution worked.

Final Thoughts

It can be annoying when the Messages app hangs or crashes after upgrading to Mojave because you can’t read or send messages on your Mac. However, dealing with a faulty built-in macOS app, such as Messages, can be tricky because you can’t just uninstall then re-install it. If you try moving Messages to the Trash, you’ll get an error message saying that you can’t uninstall the app because it is a critical part of the macOS system.

Instead of waiting for Apple to fix this bug, you can try the workarounds suggested above to get your Messages app working smoothly again.

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As Mac OS X users, we have something to be happy about when it comes to app crashes and freezes: rarity. Typically you can work on your Mac for hours at a time without a single issue. However, a crashing app certainly can happen, leading to lost productivity, time and, worst of all, lost work. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to recover from a crashed app, as well as prevent the issue in the first place.

How to fix a crashing app after the macOS upgrade

App crashes after the the macOS update is more than a common problem. Some apps freeze or malfunction, some won’t launch, some show no signs of life whatsoever. Why it happens? The most probable reason is that the app is simply not ready for the latest macOS Catalina. Something in its depth turned out to be incompatible with the new macOS.

Now, what can you do to fix an app crashing? Three things.

Many of them are available as Apps also on Google play or App store. Most of the software has basic versions which are free to use. Free software interior design mac. Many have the advanced version also free. Installing the software is not a tall task. Most of the software will need you to sign up with them or open an account.

  1. First, see if you have the latest version of the app by clicking on its name it the top menu and choosing Check for updates.
  2. Second, visit developer’s website (or App Store page) and see if they’ve issued a statement about Catalina compatibility.
  3. Finally, some crashed apps on macOS Catalina can be fixed by running maintenance scripts. Download CleanMyMac X, launch it, find Maintenance tab and run the scripts.

What happens when an app craches: under the hood

Now let's go deeper into the nature of crashed apps, but first, let’s identify the difference between a crashed macOS app and a frozen one. While these terms are often used interchangeably, there is a notable difference.

Crash

A crash happens when a piece of software stops working altogether, and then closes on its own. In other words, the app quits when you did not tell it to. When this happens, you'll typically see a message noting that the application has 'unexpectedly quit” just as its windows disappears. It’s pretty frustrating — especially if you end up losing all your work.

Freeze

A freeze is when software stops functioning, but continues to run. You can still see its windows, and its Dock icon still indicates that it’s running. However, no amount of clicking or tabbing around will do anything. A frozen app doesn’t quit like a crashed app does, it simply becomes unresponsive. Often no error messages accompany the freeze. Again, it’s a frustrating experience (if you want to know how to deal with it, check out this post on how to fix frozen apps).

When software freezes, you force it to quit, so that you can re-launch and hopefully get on with your work. With crashes, meanwhile, the problem is the app quitting on its own. In this article, I’ll discuss recovering from app crashes, as well as steps that help prevent them in the first place. Let’s get started.

What to do when a Mac OS X app crashes

The good news here is that a crashed app rarely brings down your entire Mac, as the trouble is restricted to that particular piece of software. That means we have a chance to recover. Let’s start with the simplest solutions.

First, just relaunch the app. When an app crashes, you’ll typically see a dialog box that says the software “unexpectedly quit” and you’ll have several options to deal with it, including “Relaunch”. Give that a click and cross your fingers that the crash doesn’t happen again. Oftentimes, you’re good from there. If not…

Try restarting your Mac. “Turn if off and back on again” is almost a punchline at this point, but it usually works. Shut down, restart and try again. Very often this simple task will set things right. If not, it’s time to try something just a little more involved.

Reinstall the app. Deleting the misbehaving app and grabbing a new copy gives you a fresh version to work with. That is, if you delete all of the app’s related files.

See, when you drag an app to the Trash, you aren’t deleting everything. Some leftover parts remain, and if the troublemaker is among them, your problem could persist. It’s a waste of time to delete an app via drag-and-drop, reinstall and then have it crash again. To make things right, you need to get rid of the app’s bits and pieces before you reinstall it, and this is where software like CleanMyMac X comes in handy.

An app that’s simply dragged to the Trash leaves behind a pile of associated files that you don’t see, like caches, preferences (often the culprit in crash-y apps), saved states, and more. You might not even know they’re there, but CleanMyMac X does. It’s smart enough to find the whole lot, safely remove them, and ensure that a newly installed app is just that: a complete fresh start.

In fact, you don’t even have to launch CleanMyMac X to thoroughly and safely delete an app. Simply right-click (or Control-click) the app’s icon and select “Uninstall with CleanMyMac” from Services in the resulting contextual menu. Easy!

Another wise move is to make sure there are no conflicts between the app and the Mac OS. When Apple pushes an update of its operating system to your Mac, that might interfere with your app’s performance, if the app or its add-ons are incompatible with this particular OS X version.

CleanMyMac can help you out here, too. Download it for free, go to its Uninstaller module and find the misbehaving app in the list. If you see a note that this app is incompatible with your system, it means you need to update the app, because your current version doesn’t work on the latest OS X.

How can you stay on top of aging apps? Apple makes it easy with software purchased through the Mac App Store. Simply launch the App Store app, go to the Updates tab, and you’ll see all available app updates. Find the one you need in the list, click the Update button, and you’ll get the latest version to your Mac. It’s a bit different with software acquired outside the App Store: you’ll have to visit the vendor’s website to see if there’s a new version available.

If nothing indicates that the troublemaker app is incompatible with your system, the problem could be with its add-ons or preferences. What you can do in this case is reset the app to its initial state. Again, go to the Uninstaller module in CleanMyMac X, select your app, and click Application Reset. CleanMyMac will make that app just the way it was when you first installed it.

What to do when an app crashes at launch

Plexgear 35mm film scanner software mac. So far I’ve addressed what to do when an app crashes as you’re using it. But what about the frustrating scenario of an app going down as soon as you launch it? No warning, no dialog box, just a bounce or two in the Dock and that’s it. In this case, it’s time to repair disk permissions.

Message App On Iphone Crashing

What’s does fixing permissions actually mean? Think of your Mac’s hard drive as a tree with many branches. The top level of your drive is the tree’s trunk, and the branches represent information about files and folders. These branches, or “nodes,” store information like the location of data and permission rules, among other things. Normal computer use changes this information, and can lead to a conflict or other issue that generates crashes and the inability to use your system. This is what a permission fix addresses.

To repair disk permissions (for OS X prior to El Captian), go to the Utilities in your Mac’s Applications folder and launch Disk Utility. Next, click First Aid. It’ll ask for confirmation and get to work, comparing existing permission files with defaults to find any conflicts.

Messages App Crashing Mac

Or, if you want a slightly simpler way, you can fix the permissions with CleanMyMac X Maintenance Scripts. Just open the Maintenance tab, hit Choose Tasks and then Repair Disk Permissions. This helps resolve improper app behavior like crashing and keeps all of your disk’s files and folders in proper order. And that’s just one of the maintenance tasks available in CleanMyMac X, just try it.

Messages App Freezing Mac

A crashing app is no fun. Fortunately, a little understanding and proactive behavior can keep them to a minimum. CleanMyMac X makes it easy to do just that. Happy computing, and may your apps never crash again!

Messages App Quits Unexpectedly Mac

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