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What I want to archieve:

  • I want to remove a "dead" (old) account from iMessage, so it stops asking us to login with no longer known credentials - on every boot up of the workstation

Circumstances:

  • The account password is not stored on the machine
  • The password is not known anymore, I forgot it
  • The account cannot be recovered in this case, please consider this as fact.
  • The remove button [ - ] (screenshot: bottom left) in iMessage is disabled.
  • (Thus it seems impossible to remove the account for me? Please help.)

Operating System: macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, update not possible, we sadly need to use 32bit software in our company that is no longer maintained nor updated. Apple does not care much and ditched support on it.

Screenshot

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  • Have you tried adding a 'correct' ID, I'm assuming you cannot remove the last remaining ID, so once there's a second one, the first may be deletable. [I can't test]. btw, why do you consider the original ID irrecoverable?
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 7, 2020 at 8:15
  • The supposedly correct credentials don't work and apple lets you wait ages and makes it as hard as possible to recover the account when you don't own an iPhone where you could instantly recover the account. We only got the wait option which I don't really consider as option because then something else won't work and we begin waiting from scratch and so on. (Already tried and failed to get in). I want it gone without much ado. Also I do not have an apple ID to add. We don't use Apple IDs (anymore). I can't say why.I don't see why I can't disable it. We don't even use iMessage.
    – Chris S.
    Apr 7, 2020 at 8:32
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    I'd compare this to "fighting city hall" as the Americans would say. The OS itself & half the software on there is 'owned' by an AppleID. You will struggle, long-term, without one. if this is a company machine, then look at MDM solutions, one central company ID, many user-machines.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 7, 2020 at 8:38
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    Some people advise to sign out and back in iCloud.
    – harrymc
    Apr 10, 2020 at 8:19
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    More files to remove in this answer and this article.
    – harrymc
    Apr 15, 2020 at 7:47

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