If you’re looking for how to create a connection log on Windows versions of Messenger, see the Making a connection log topic instead.
Although in some cases the error code provided by Messenger is enough, Messenger also has a built-in connection log feature that can be helpful in diagnosing issues.
To start logging, open Messenger and choose the Messenger menu, and then choose Preferences.
Choose the General tab and then select the checkbox, Turn on logging for troubleshooting.
Then choose OK. If you’re already signed into Messenger, please restart it for logging to begin.
To make it easier to debug, make a note of the current time and then perform the action which causes your problem to occur.
Finding and sending the log
Once you have noted the time and performed the action which causes your issue, you can shut down Messenger and retrieve the log to be analyzed.
The log will be found in your Logs folder in the Library folder. Go back to the Finder, click the Go menu, then hold down the ⌥ (option key) to reveal the Library option and then click on it.
Once you arrive in the Library folder, double-click the Logs folder and inside you’ll find Microsoft-Messenger.log. Feel free to send this in any way you prefer, if you’re e-mailing it, send it to messengerlog@jonathankay.com.
If you’re having difficulty getting to the log file, you can also run the Console application, then right-click on the Microsoft-Messenger.log and choose Reveal in Finder.
You may want to go back into the Options and uncheck the logging checkbox unless you have a reason to continue logging.