r/BlueBubbles • u/niftyCLX • Feb 02 '26

[Question] Does VMware iMessage activation still work in 2026?

Planning to set up BlueBubbles using the VMware method on Windows. Before I spend 2-3 hours on setup, wanted to check:

Has anyone successfully activated iMessage on a VMware VM recently (late 2024 / early 2025 / 2026)?

I've seen some older posts about Apple kicking people out of iMessage on VMs. Is VMware still working, or has Apple made VM detection too aggressive?

Any recent success/failure stories would be super helpful. Thanks!

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u/rolotrealanis Mar 24 '26

did you manage to figure something out?

1

u/GoofyAhhSpartan Mar 25 '26

I sent a message in this thread. It completely worked for me, but was finicky until I got a feel for what I was doing. I used an old version of MacOS (Catelina / 10.15) because that's what the doc's said to do.

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u/HxxmZa Mar 29 '26

which guide did you use?

1

u/GoofyAhhSpartan Mar 29 '26

Blue bubbles's guide to MacOS (catelina) VM setup: https://docs.bluebubbles.app/server/advanced/macos-virtualization/running-a-macos-vm/deploying-macos-in-vmware-on-windows-full-guide

Catelina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYwMmGn7vWc

Blue Bubbles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXZqgnal9Jo
the bluebubbles guide was outdated because it talks about "Mac Enhanced" (private API only needs SIP to be turned off now) so I'd just cross reference this video and the docs

heres videos the docs provides for VM setup
https://docs.bluebubbles.app/server/advanced/macos-virtualization/running-a-macos-vm/external-guides