> For example, hackintosh PCs that act identical to genuine Mac hardware can use all macOS features except iMessage, which has been locked – so far as we can tell – to only allow network activation on devices that have “blessed” NICs that officially shipped with Apple hardware.
This isn't true! The computer I'm typing on right now can send and receive iMessages just fine, and I'm not using a donor MLB. You just need to get all of various parameters right, so Apple's servers are presented with logical information.
Not in this regard. I don't think there was any point at which iMessage on Hackintosh was impossible without a donor, but I've personally been using it since ~2015.
Maybe you got lucky with your hardware? I can’t remember all the exact details but these posts are all from the same 2017-2018 window and the solutions all resolve around network hardware: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sa=N&hl=en-us&q=...
It’s been too long for me to remember more than this, but I did have iMessage on a hackintosh circa 2013 or so but wasn’t able to get that to happen when I tried in 2017/2018.
This isn't true! The computer I'm typing on right now can send and receive iMessages just fine, and I'm not using a donor MLB. You just need to get all of various parameters right, so Apple's servers are presented with logical information.