Facebook chat change
Due to what appears to be a protocol change, Facebook chat is currently not working. The author of our Facebook plugin is working on a fix. We’ll keep you posted on any new releases that fix it.
In the meantime, feel free to send Facebook some feedback about wanting an official (as in, we don’t mimic the web browser) Facebook chat protocol. If they implement something that isn’t subject to breaking, we’d be able to avoid problems such as this.
November 3rd, 2009 at 23:41
I wondered what was going on….thanks
November 4th, 2009 at 00:09
Any idea how long this might go on for? Very annoyed , i love adium, and leave it running in the background most of the day at work and at home…I avoid the browser whenever I can
November 4th, 2009 at 00:22
yeah, thanks for keeping us updated, and telling us so promptly! and for doing an amazing job in general.
November 4th, 2009 at 01:02
thanks for the update! if only the people at facebook took a cue from you guys and didn’t suck (then my procrastination time would be a lot less stressful)
cheers
November 4th, 2009 at 01:02
You know, I’m so delighted to have the feature at all that the occasional bit of downtime doesn’t bother me. I’m glad the plugin author is working on it, and I’ve done my part to request an API for chat, but I have trouble getting bent out of shape at the makers of the best chat client around, which happens to be free. Thanks, Guys and Gals of Adium.
November 4th, 2009 at 01:21
Thank you so much Adium Team. I’ve also sent a request to Facebook to get their act together though I doubt they will anytime soon. They can’t even decide on a consistent interface for more then a few months.
November 4th, 2009 at 01:31
Thanks for the speedy update … i was beginning to panic
!
November 4th, 2009 at 03:07
XMPP enough said….
November 4th, 2009 at 03:29
thanks for the quick update on this, been pissing me off all day. You guys definitely are the best chat client around tho, so i’m sure you’ll figure it out.
November 4th, 2009 at 03:38
Thank you! I figured it was an issue on Facebook’s end, not yours. But I love being able to access it from Adium so I don’t have to be in the browser all the time.
November 4th, 2009 at 04:00
The Facebook guys announced about a year ago that they would implement full xmpp support (in their dev blog), but I guess they are like most politicians…
November 4th, 2009 at 04:14
I agree that we appreciate the quick news update. Is there any idea when this can be fixed? It’s so difficult when we come to rely on adium so much and then a key piece of it doesn’t work….
November 4th, 2009 at 04:30
Hi there, just got caught in the captcha issue. Thx for the fast status update. Was already worried about my system… oh wait… I’ve got a Mac… nevermind!
November 4th, 2009 at 04:35
Thanks for the update. I’ll be eagerly awaiting a fix!! Thanks for providing Adium, its by far the best chat client going around. I consider it a requirement for any mac I touch
November 4th, 2009 at 05:09
This has been a problem for me since Mid September . . . it would be great if Adium & FB could finally work together and solve this problem.
November 4th, 2009 at 05:14
Thank so much Adium. I hope the Facebook plugin author kicks the problems butt. I also made a suggestion to facebook. maybe some of it will get through to them
November 4th, 2009 at 05:27
Id just like to say thanks to the developer working on this. Its so great being able to use facebook chat in adium. i really love it, and was going crazy when it stopped working. thanks a lot!
November 4th, 2009 at 06:05
I’m happy to write a note to Facebook — I left a long-ish note here:
http://www.facebook.com/help/suggestions.php
and included the URL of this page.
November 4th, 2009 at 06:07
Facebook’s service is appalling at the best of times; don’t really understand why they offer such services when they continue to break them at every given opportunity!
If I did this where I worked I would have got a massive slap and even got fired!
November 4th, 2009 at 06:29
I hope you can fix this soon, I really enjoyed the functionality. And then maybe it is possible to make the AdiumAddress Book integration work for Facebook too?
November 4th, 2009 at 06:49
I also left the following message, snipping various bits of supporting information from the messages previously left on this page:
“Please implement reliable chat protocol/API
I access my various chat programs, including FB chat, through Adium on a Mac Mini. For at least a month now it has been driving me nuts to keep losing connection to FB chat and to keep getting a “Facebook Captcha” message asking for my date of birth, which I enter correctly as YY for the year, MM for the month and DD for the day. It then either (apparently randomly) either asks me for the same information again or then asks me for my password, but instead of letting me back in after receiving my password, just goes straight back to the captcha. Even shutting Adium down and restarting does not fix the problem.
I always use Adium chat in preference to the browser because I have a 3×3 grid of virtual screens with any browser windows all in the same screen, and am in the browser just a small percentage of the time. FB chat in the browser does not bounce the browser icon or send a growl alert, so I never see FB chat messages in the browser until way later. Also, I do not have anything plugged into the headphone socket, so I do not hear the audio notification. Adium, on the other hand, bounces the icon in the dock at the bottom of the screen AND puts a number representing the number of chat messages received at the top of the screen.
Apparently it was announced about a year ago on the FB dev blog that full xmpp support would be implemented. Please hurry up and implement a standard that works and is reliable. My FB chat just loses connection all the time, even without the captcha, whereas the Yahoo, AOL, ICQ and GTalk connection in Adium plus the MSN and Skype connections in their own apps are rock solid.
I also keep getting logged out of Facebook proper all the time, and this has only happened in the last 2-3 months. I presume that the two are related.
Thanks in advance for a speedy resolution to the problem.
Martin Reed
November 4th, 2009 at 08:27
Thanks for the warning.
I remember the Meebo folks getting a warning from Facebook that they didn’t do the right thing (they used libpurple’s facebook prpl), so they ended up using some http facebook API. Perhaps you could ask them? And the pidgin people as well, I guess.
Thanks for Adium
November 4th, 2009 at 08:38
Thanks so much for the update. I was wondering what was going on. That facebook captcha is so annoying, but I love my adium!! I keep it running all day and I’ve told everyone I know about it. Keep up the good work!
November 4th, 2009 at 09:55
Thank you very much for the quick update. I was getting worried so I came onto the Adium website and I’m glad to have found an explanation to what’s happening.
I really appreciate your constant development of Adium and trust you will be able to resolve this issue soon.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:03
thank you so much for your efforts in working on a fix on this issue.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:13
Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus: you guys are great at keeping on top of this stuff and providing quick turnaround and a great product… for free. It’s greatly appreciated, and I wish I had that kind of motivation in my life. :p
November 4th, 2009 at 10:27
Ya, the capcha problem started a couple days ago for me as well. If you leave it disconnected for a couple hours, you’ll eventually be able to log back in.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:34
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve filed an API request at Facebook, too. Cheers!
November 4th, 2009 at 12:10
Thank you very much for the notification, Adium Team! I was going nuts trying to figure this out.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:24
Thanks for the notice & for already working on a fix to this problem. I will definitely send FB a message. I know use the chat feature more than anything else on there.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:41
Thank you for the update, and thank you for working on a fix, you guys/gals do a great job and make a great product. Please keep up the good work.
November 4th, 2009 at 14:10
I sent FB a feedback like you asked… hope this is working soon. Thanks!
November 4th, 2009 at 15:06
Everything is said. Youre great and thanks for keep us updated.
November 4th, 2009 at 15:29
The plugin has an update over on the pidgin page, I’m assuming that will require a new build of Adium to be produced soon.
November 4th, 2009 at 16:14
ADIUM : Facebook Captcha
Facebook thinks you’re not you. To prove you are, please enter your date of birth
and i can’t turn on…i go to preferences to delete the account and QUIT…
what can i do? i don’t wanna Re-Install Adium…please fix
leopard 10.5.6
November 4th, 2009 at 16:32
@ Tinker Bell – Have you even read the blog post? Unbelievable
November 4th, 2009 at 17:53
Thanks for the update!
November 4th, 2009 at 18:32
@ADIUM TEAM: Thanks for the update. I’ve been having this issue for about a month, but only when I’m at the public library — so I figured it had something to do with their network security settings. (It works fine at home.) Anyway, thanks again for all your hard work to get it fixed. You guys rock.
@TINKER BELL: Are you high?
November 4th, 2009 at 18:44
tnx for the info !
i hope fb does something – and fast !
i’ll post something on their suggestions-page to… the more the better, social pressure does work !
cheers to the adium’ers !
November 4th, 2009 at 20:18
Yeah guys, awesome work on Adium, it’s a really beautiful tool to work with. It feels good under your hands. Congratulations to everyone on the team, especially the guys who designed the log browser, the Contact Info Editor, and the self-updating system, all three of which are brilliant and flawless.
November 4th, 2009 at 21:23
Would upgrading to the Beta version make any difference?
November 4th, 2009 at 23:24
Thanks for the upgrade! It’s working fine now. Click Check for updates to download 1.3.8.
November 4th, 2009 at 23:51
It still does not work. It logs me on then automatically logs me out.
November 5th, 2009 at 00:04
Thank you for acknowledging the issue. This has been a big annoyance, but knowing the problem is being dealt with makes me feel much better. Keep up the good work. Thanks.
November 5th, 2009 at 00:38
Still not working for me either. Prompts to enter two encrypted words separated by a space. Doesn’t work whether I’m logged into facebook on my browser or not. Is it working for anyone else?
November 5th, 2009 at 00:53
Hmmm. Didn’t realize the Facebook doesn’t have a published protocol or API. But that isn’t too suprising.
While it is nice to see my Facebook friends logging in and out, most of my IM activity is through other services. So, it doesn’t affect me terribly much.
November 5th, 2009 at 01:54
Ahhh….GO ADIUM GO! Thanks for working on the fix. Let’s circumvent the evil FB change in protocol.
November 5th, 2009 at 01:57
still not working after update. captcha is not working.
November 5th, 2009 at 05:04
Thanks for working on a fix for this problem! Facebook really needs to up their act.
November 5th, 2009 at 06:08
You guys are the best. Facebook is the worst. Please try your hardest.
November 5th, 2009 at 06:43
yayyy facebook is back! the Adium, pidgin, and libpurple team ROCK.
November 5th, 2009 at 07:06
THANK YOU HEAPS!! to the Adium, Pidgin and LibPurple team – what a swift response!
November 5th, 2009 at 07:08
you guys are UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!!
November 5th, 2009 at 09:29
Looks like Facebook is finally deploying XMPP:
http://thenextweb.com/appetite/2009/11/05/facebook-chat-coming-gtalk-jabber-imminently/
November 5th, 2009 at 10:07
Facebook did not work for me immediately after the update either, but I disabled the account and then reenabled it and now it is doing great. Thanks so much for your great support, Adium.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:59
I have updated to the most recent version, disabled and re-enabled the account and am still getting the captcha
November 5th, 2009 at 11:25
I went to the newest Beta version and had the same issues. Reinstalling 1.3.8 is what put me back online.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:52
i just updated to 1.3.8 and it seems to work fine – pretty cool news about XMPP.
November 5th, 2009 at 13:53
Thanks for the update, Adium. Facebook needs to stop failing. You guys rock.
November 5th, 2009 at 14:08
I can confirm XMPP is coming soon as a FB employee mentioned it.
November 5th, 2009 at 14:29
Going to 1.3.8 worked for me as well.
November 5th, 2009 at 16:45
Seems like 1.4b14 still has the Facebook issue on Snow Leopard.
Just installed and is doing the same thing. Disconnecting!
Had my hopes up there
November 5th, 2009 at 17:30
1.3.8 unfortunately is not doing the trick for me. Still getting the annoying CAPTCHA windows. Login to the FB website is working fine. Hmm, maybe in 1.3.9????
November 5th, 2009 at 18:29
Hi,
i’m sorry to hear that but i’m the only one that the facebook chat on adium is working great? I’m using the beta from http://beta.adium.im (nr 14 exactly) and it is working like a charm (like msn does) so what’s the matter?
I’ve installed it on a clean mac (i didn’t update from a stable version like 1.3.7) downloading the dmg directly from the website. Anyway thanks for mantaining a cocoa version of libpurple
Greets,
Julian
November 6th, 2009 at 03:54
OK
I just did what Julian said, and basically at present it is working fine.
So, I would suggest anyone else having issues with the beta 14 to follow Julian’s link and copy that version over the existing one.
Thanks Julian
November 6th, 2009 at 11:48
Thanks Julian, worked for me
November 6th, 2009 at 14:03
Yeh the Beta works. Cheers Julian
November 6th, 2009 at 16:39
Hi – great work on Adium. Unfortunately the upgrade does not fix the facebook problem for me. I am getting a different CAPTCHA but does not seem to log on. I opened a browser, and logged into facebook with that – I get :
“You have a high number of invalid login attempts for your account.
If you have forgotten your password, reset your password here.”
And I still get a series of CAPTCHAs with Adium. SIgh.
I guess if Facebook don’t force you to use the site, you don’t see the advertising.
November 6th, 2009 at 18:50
Hi,
no problem guys, it was a pleasure to me
I’m a Unix guy, so sharing my experience is usefull for me 
Have a nice day.
Julian
November 7th, 2009 at 02:18
Has just started doing it again with the b15
November 7th, 2009 at 02:24
Again, I just downloaded the beta rather than updating and installed as clean over the old, and its working fine again.
Something in the automatic update that upsets something I think.
November 9th, 2009 at 08:20
The beta worked for me too!
November 9th, 2009 at 23:12
Ack! 1.3.8 worked for a few weeks and then just tweaked out on me again.
November 10th, 2009 at 17:58
seems like they tried to fix the beta and ended up breaking it also. It doesnt work any longer with the new update.
November 11th, 2009 at 06:44
Dont wana sound hasty but is there an ETA on the new pluggin?
Im new to aduim and i love it. Moved from pigin. and i run everything on aduim. Just want facebook to.
Thank guys,
Love the work!
November 11th, 2009 at 17:41
but i think Rob and Julian might be onto something. maybe deleting the app and doing a fresh install is the way to go. i’ve got the beta running, and *touch wood* it seems to be working whereas my upgrading to 1.3.8 was just working and then buggin’ out the entire time. and i used AppCleaner to uninstall – i.e. get rid of plists and everything.
November 12th, 2009 at 14:19
The same thing is happening to me now with the GTalk? Is it the same kind of problem? And will the facebook thing will be fixed anytime soon? just wondering..
November 12th, 2009 at 14:21
P.S. Great job anyhow! Adium is so practical!!
November 13th, 2009 at 18:12
i was wonderin wat was going on was really pissin me of. do u wen it will b fixed by
November 14th, 2009 at 04:40
Just stopped working for me again, after Julians fix.
November 15th, 2009 at 02:44
It was fixed for a few days, but it seems to have stopped working for me again. Started disconnecting/reconnecting rapidly yesterday, but this was fixed by restarting the program. I’m now getting a captcha window asking me to type two words (rather than my birthdate), and regardless of how correct I get it it just asks again.
November 16th, 2009 at 06:55
I’m still having the same issue where it won’t stay connected. The captcha form isn’t popping up anymore, but it just won’t stay connected to FB at all. I really don’t want to run AppCleaner and remove it completely as it’s taken me a while to configure Adium exactly how I want it to run.
Is there any news of a proper fix on the way? I tried installing the Beta over the top but it just did the same thing, so I went back to 1.3.8.
November 16th, 2009 at 07:03
today is my first day in facebook wow
November 18th, 2009 at 15:46
Well i’m not sure with everyone else but i’m still having the facebook problem and i’m not going to Appclean or Zap it and reinstall. Facebook and Adium need to get on the same page or something because it is becoming very annoying to have to have two different things running for one program.
November 18th, 2009 at 16:11
same problem here, it won’t stay connect!
November 18th, 2009 at 16:45
Hehe Selena welcome.