Yosemite and iMessage/SMS sharing across devices and syncing...

Looking for some help - I am an owner of 3 iMacs, two at my house and one at my business. For scheduling purposes at our business, I have used my iCloud for all the computers. The problem I am having is, because my iCloud ID allows syncing accross all devices (which is great), it's a pain the Arse because after updating to Yosemite, my employees tell me that they can now see all my MESSAGES (imessage texts etc) without the app being open, just purly poping up as a "Notifications" at the business. At the previous upgrade (Mavericks) I had removed iMessage off the dock, signed out of it etc, and no duplicity of messages were going to the workplace as far as I know. Since the Yosemite upgrade, the staff have told me they can now see all my text messages, incoming & outgoing. My question is this: Will signing out of iMessage on THAT particular iMac solve this issue? And if so, will logging out of imessage (by going into Preferences within iMessage, then going to "Accounts" tab, and unchecking "enable this account" AND "sign out" for apple ID) subsequently log me out of iCloud entirely on that iMac? I simply just want the employees not to be able to read my iMessages. (Which additionally I'm a pretty disgruntled about because an article on C/Net stated Apple claims that cross sharing of imessages (as a new 8.01 feature) without my knowledge would NOT occur unless I approved the feature by activating a generated CODE and that for additional security reasons it (cross sharing imessages) would only work if on the same network, which currently the iMac in question is NOT!!)
So for the business iMac, I don't want iCloud to be totally signed out of, because we do benefit from having the emails, and calendar working synced and seamless. I realize the worst case scenario, I could have created a new iCloud account for the business iMac, but then I would have to use the new family sharing feature to share APPs, and then re-set up the Calendar to share Calendars instead of just relying on syncing.
Does anyone else use multiple iMacs this way, (in two different locations) and have a better suggestions on how to minimize issues with syncing, sharing of apps and data without compromising their personal information because of using iCloud??
Thanks in advance!

I finally fixed the problem. First, I had to turn off iMessage in both devices. Then, I deleted all previous imessages. I turned on iMessage on both devices, entered apple ID to populate both number and email for iMessage. When I entered a new person to iMessage, messages appeared on both devices. Hope this helps anyone else with the problem.

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Information that is 'shared' via icloud includes calendar events, contacts, todo items, notes, and safari bookmarks. Music that is on an iOS device isn't shared. If it is music you purchased from the Apple iTunes store you can redownload it or it can be moved from the device by using the Transfer Purchases option of the iTunes File menu when your phone is connected to the computer via the cable. iOS apps can also be transferred to the computer this way. New pictures will sync when the phone/iPad is physically connected but I'm not certain how old pictures that exist on the iOS device but not on the computer are handled. You may need to use a third party program to transfer these old pictures - as well as music not purchased from the iTunes store.

ICloud...will you be able to restrict sharing across devices?

Hi....with iCloud just around the corner, I imagine there are lots of families using the same iTunes account across multiple devices in the family...i.e...husband and wife iPhones, iPads etc. and a Mac.
I love the iCloud idea, taking a photo and it loading to your other devices, but what if you don't want a photo you took appearing elsewhere? I usually snap items in shops for ideas ahead of Christmas as a way if recalling what I saw and prices...i wouldnt want these appearing on my wifes iPhone so she knows what she might get!!
Appreciate your thoughts or inside knowledge ;-)

I was looking at the apple website and found several pictures of the iCloud app inerface. It showes an "ON/OFF" switch for individual itemes such as calanders, music, photos, ect. So if these pictures hold and truth then yes you will be able to control what is syncable or not. In our house me and the wife have so many calander posts that the only thing we want to use iCloud for is calander. I dont want her contacts, music or pictures.

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I messages have stopped appearing on my iPhone and iPad. They only remain on the original device. Not sure what changed. Don't know how to get back to all devices. I've checked and double checked the settings, and it says send/receive from 2 addresses, but not working.

I finally fixed the problem. First, I had to turn off iMessage in both devices. Then, I deleted all previous imessages. I turned on iMessage on both devices, entered apple ID to populate both number and email for iMessage. When I entered a new person to iMessage, messages appeared on both devices. Hope this helps anyone else with the problem.

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Welcome to the Apple Community.
You can still share that stuff, albeit you will have to go a slightly different way about it.

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Hello,
Two of the machines in our office have recently started sending Chrome and Safari tabs to each other every time a page is opened. If someone opens a page, an Icon pops up on the other computer's dock like this:
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In the General pane of System Preferences, uncheck the box marked
Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices

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I spoke with Apple support again this weekend. The first support specialist told me that Safari browsing history was not a feature at this time. When I sent a screenshot of the notes of what updated in Safari 8.0.2 on December 11, 2014 from the AppStore, I got transferred to a senior support specialist. They had me try things like log out of icloud and then reset my network settings on my devices. But that unfortunately did not work. My next step which I did not have time to do, is to see if it is my iCloud account by creating a new iCloud account, logging out of iCloud and then resetting my network settings and then logging into iCloud with the new iCloud account and see if Safari history syncs.
I'm not sure what they will do for me if it is my iCloud account because I have so much on that account and have email addresses that I don't want to lose. And if it isn't the iCloud account they said it is probably my devices but I am not sure what they will have me do to try to fix it if it is. Set them up as new? I don't really want to do that, it takes forever to get everything back on the device.

Need common interface across devices for word processing and spreadsheets with shared files

Need software for Mac, PC, iPad & iPhone with common word processing interface across devices (spreadsheet as well).
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Trying MS Office 365, Google Docs & Sheets, OpenOffice,
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Office, Office for Mac and the Office Apps for iOS can all read from and write to OneDrive. You can create folder structures however you want them, and read files from them normally though the Apps.
You do need an Office 365 subscription for certain editing features on the iPhone Office Apps though.
As to a backup, from either the PC or the Macbook, you should be able to simply drag and drop your files to the external drive form the OneDrive folder.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onedrive/id823766827?mt=12
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Yosemite and iOS iMessage Syncing Problem

I am SO frustrated. I've read forum after forum and CANNOT seem to set up text message forwarding. I've signed into just one apple id across all of the devices (@icloud.com), I've selected receive from and only had my email address selected. I've toggled the iMessage on and off on my phone (sometimes crashing iMessage - it says it's activating and then says it can't connect to iCloud). I've turned on BlueTooth and tried connecting my devices and then clicking "Enable Test Message Forwarding." Whatever I do, I CANNOT seem to get the activation code to pop up on my laptop. It just won't.
There is a SERIOUS bug in iMessage and this problem only started after I updated to Yosemite and iOS 8, on my new iPhone 5.
Before updating anything, my MacBook Air and my iPhone 4 were working together beautifully. After updating to Yosemite, suddenly I could receive messages on both devices, but they would show up unread on my phone even though I checked them on my laptop and vice versa and my replies would only show up on the device where the replies originated. When I switched to the other device, conversations appear one sided - I can only see the series of messages my friends sent me in the conversation on the other device (without my replies).
Today, I was furious because I texted someone from my phone while at work and then thought that I never heard from them. I went home to discover that their reply only went to my Macbook Air, which had been sitting at home, closed, on the kitchen table!
I thought I fixed it because one or two messages I sent from my iPhone showed up on my laptop when I used it later in the day. However, I have yet to see this successfully happen again.
PLEASE FIX THIS BUG, APPLE.
Kind regards,
K

Hi,
What I am understanding form your post may not be what you think you are telling me.
Nor does it quite match what I thought I had posted. (post/message is only as good as it is understood by the recipient)
On the iPhone in the iMessages setting remove all additional emails.
Remove the Apple ID you are using for iMessages
Then place in Airplane Mode (ON) which turns everything else Off effectively.
this will leave Messages with just the iPhone number listed when you go back to the settings.
Wait for the iPhone Number to Verify (re-register) with the servers.
Apple IDs
I have an Apple ID I made years ago using an external email address from a Dial up provider.
At the start of iCloud I linked it to iCloud and received an @Me.com email ID either works in iTunes and logging in to the web page for iCloud.
Later I also got an @icloud.com email/ID
Sending an email to @me.com or @iCloud.com gets to my Mail App that lists the @me.com variant.
Emails sent to the original email address do not come through the Apple servers.
iMessages treats each as a separate ID.
It is important that the Apple ID used on the Mac and the first one used as the Apple ID in Messages on the iPhone are the same - even if they are linked elsewhere.
(It can be different to the iCloud setting on each device)
when you add the Apple ID to the iPhone the mac should get the Pop ups to say what the iPhone is using.
Accepting them adds the iPhone number to the Send and Receive options in the Mac version (And th Start conversations from drop down).
At this point on the Mac you should have only two IDs active to Receive and Send (the Apple ID and the iPhone Number).
Text Forwarding should then be enabled on the iPhone, prompting the Mac version to show you the code, which then needs entering on the iPhone.
There are limits to some Model of Mac regarding Handoff and Airplay (my mid 2011 iMac will do Airplay between Macs but not with iOS devices).
I am not sure if there are limits to Text Forwarding though.
Quote from Mac Help
Supported devices for Handoff, Instant Hotspot, Phone Calling, SMS, and AirDrop
Handoff and Instant Hotspot
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook Air (2012 or later)
MacBook Pro (2012 or later)
iMac (2012 or later)
Mac mini (2012 or later)
Mac Pro (late 2013)
Handoff and Instant Hotspot work with iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8 and the Lightning connector.
Phone Calling and SMS
Requires iPhone with iOS 8 and a Mac with OS X Yosemite. Requires activated carrier plan.
AirDrop
AirDrop between OS X and iOS is supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook Air (2012 or later)..... (the list is longer here)
I added the bold text.
I take it your iPhone does do SMS itself ?
9:59 PM Sunday; December 7, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

Have Yosemite AND IOS 8.1 but SMS forward doesn't work!

I have the latest versions of Yosemite and IOS 8.1 both devices are logged into icloud and message forwarding says that it is enabled - everything is set up as it should be and yet when I try to send an SMS message from my mac it tells me the number is not registered with imessage - what is going wrong please and how do I fix it?

Hi,
Sending SMS from my iMac is something I have yet to test.
Nothing has been added to the menus to suggest starting an SMS messages as opposed to an iMessage.
There again the menu items that used to be a Drop down as part of "New Message" is also lacking on directing it to the iMessages account or any other account you might have.
9:58 pm Monday; November 3, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

My ex husband bought our 2 girls new Iphones some months ago. They just noticed he had them logged into his icloud and they have never used this facility. Can anyone confirm that he has access to their photos, imessages, SMS, facebook and email etc?

The children had new IPhones 5s bought for them by my ex-husband. He set them up and logged them into his Icloud account which they were unaware of. Some months later they have messages saying their Icloud storage is full which alerted them to the fact it was his Icloud account on their phones. There was also some transference of personal photos from other devices to their phones from his phone? We know he was able to see things on their phone but did not know how. Can he backup all their info without their knowledge? Did he have access to their email; imessage, SMS, facebook, photos etc
Please explain how we can ensure his icloud account details are removed from their phones so he can not access their phones. In addition is there anyway he could have put spyware on their phones and if so can we run a test of some sort?
Any help greatly appreciated.

You should do the following on each of your children's devices:
Log out of iCloud.
Log out of the iTunes Store and App Store.
Create a new Apple ID.
Log in to iCloud using the new Apple ID.
It isn't possible to install malicious software on an iOS device unless the device is jailbroken or you have the resources of a government intelligence agency.

Calendar won't sync across devices and other issues

Hello all,
I am running latest versions of IOS 8 on IPAD Air2, iPhone5S and latest Yosemite on IMAC intel last year model.
There are few issues here....
In Mavericks when I edited an event in calendars it would show up almost immediately on my phone. No more. In Yosemite I would edit an event and it seems like a 50/50 chance it would RETAIN in the Yosemite calendar. And if it does, it does no sync across devices. This is a pain in my ***.
Second issue is when I use the 'shutdown' feature top left corner of OS X, the unit would begin to shut down then the spinning logo would keep spinning and unit would never shut down. The energy saver would take effect. I come from work thinking it was shut down, press the power button on back and the unit 'wakes' and continues with spinning shutdown logo.
Third issue, my iPhone randomly asks for the iCloud password, even though it is enable across all of my three devices.
Other than these issues I love Yosemite and IOS 8, but these are really kicking me from behind.
I appreciate any and all help!
Thanks

OK, are you sure the events you are adding are added to an icloud calendar, only iCloud calendars will sync. Tap the calendar button to make sure all your calendars are iCloud calendars. Are changes making it to iCloud.com

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I have an iPhone, an iPad running IOS 8.1, and a Mac running Yosemite. I have set up all 3 to use iMessage, entering the codes as requested. The 2 IOS devices work fine and the Mac works fine on messages to contacts with iPhones but non-IOS contacts remain red and are not accepted and if I try to send a group message with a non-IOS contact I get "XXX cannot be added to the group chat - XXX is not registered with iMessage". I have tried deleting and replacing the contact and it still will not accept her. I understood that this would be fixed after updating to Yosemite and IOS 8.1 but the upgrades have not resolved the problem for me.
In my Mac iMessage preferences:
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2-In the "You can be reached for messages at" field, I have my iPhone number, preceded by a +1 and the area code and 3 email addresses (icloud, me, and gmail)
3-in the "Start new conversations from" field, I have my cell phone number - also with a +1 and area code.
4-I have checked all of my Apple ID and iCloud details and they are all correct.
All other Handoff features appear to be working correctly. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks very much -
Mary Ellen

Hi,
It will suggest and look like it will auto-complete until you type further.
As 204 is unlikely to be the full number the issue does not arise.
For instance if I start typing my name every option that I have listed with my name over three Contacts card (for my three computers) and some Accounts not linked to Address Cards are listed
Of course this lists also shows cross connections between the accounts making the list longer.
10:13 pm Thursday; February 26, 2015
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
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I know Imessaging between IOS 5 devices is free, but when sending group texts to both IOS 5 phones and nonIOS 5 phones, is it still free to those with IOS 5? The text bubble is green.

I know Imessaging between IOS 5 devices is free, but when sending group texts to both IOS 5 phones and nonIOS 5 phones, is it still free to those with IOS 5? The text bubble is green.

According to Macworld it is a lowest common denominator situation. If any of the people on your list are not iMessage people then all the messages go out SMS and will count against your messages from your provider. Bummer IMHO, but that is the way it is.

I updated to yosemite and now if someone is using imessage and sends a text message to my phone it doesn't show up on my phone but does on my computer. I don't want messages on my computer! How do I get this to go away and work like it used to?

I updated to yosemite and now if someone is using imessage and sends a text message to my phone it doesn't show up on my phone but does on my computer. I don't want messages on my computer! How do I get this to go away and work like it used to?

Follow the instructions under the heading "How to unlink a phone number" on this page.

Yosemite and iMessage/SMS sharing across devices and syncing...

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