Apple Core Rot: Apple Messages.app Stops Working after a Few Images

2020-09-09 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Apple, Apple Core Rot

Apple Core Rot is just getting suckier and suckier.

How hard is it to send a message? Pretty darn hard when Messages.app just goes AWOL.

I've tried multiple times, and each time it is the same: 3 or 4 messages send (images), then all subsequent ones fail. A

When this happens, there is nil outgoing network activity and the Messages.app progress bar just halts in place. Otherwise, the Messages.app behave normally, and text messages send OK. Worse, there is intense incoming (download) network activity (up to 14MB/sec)—WTF?

This is on wired ethernet and everything else is working. Recipients (4) all online with good cell reception (at home, I was sending some pictures to family).

Messages.app fails on all sends of images, no network activity

Messages.app fails on all sends of images after 2-4 images have been sent

Brian T writes:

I had the same problem. For me it had something to do with external drives. When I send from the MacBook  internal drive it works fine. Who knows on that one!!! Mac OS is getting to be a buggy POS.

MPG: I tried again today. It doesn't just fail on images, but fails on even simple things.

Jeffrey J writes:

I’m having the same issue with messages on Catalina.  Seems a common problem that has been reported for over a year without Apple fixing it.

A work around that works for me and some others is to copy images to a folder on the desktop and send from there (which is a major pain).  Certainly qualifies as core rot.

MPG: good to know this is not a unique problem on my end.

Kyle M writes:

Hello - i really enjoy your columns - especially the Apple CORE ROT ones. We are on the exact same page with that one. I have been coding on Apple products since the Apple // all the way up to today’s systems.

The last half decade as you know has seen the shine really come off the Apple. I wanted to share an example of that with you that I thought you would get a kick out of.

Apple's 2 factor ID thing is just another poorly done product. Anytime something needs the 2 factor sign in the code is sent to the device at the furthest end of the house, almost never the phone or iPad that’s next to me. The other day I needed to sign into the iTunesConnect website to check on some apps. And right away the iMac browser fires off the 2 factor ID thing and sure enough, an iPad half way across the house chimes. But what was really funny is they sent the code also to the iMac I was using to log into their website with - great security there guys. Maybe a little less work on emojis and a little more work on their code would be a good idea.

MPG: Yep, I’ve seen the same sign-in idiocy. Along with the forced use of a poor password (hard to type on iOS with mixed case/digits/chars, and cannot see the whole password to see if a mistake was made), the whole security approach is a mess.

I don’t see how this anti-customer sloppiness is anything but bad for Apple in the long run.