text:
iCloud unnecessarily syncs files
I store about 800,000 files in iCloud with about 500 GB. Two days ago, the Mac Mini started seemingly re-uploading all local files to the iCloud, even though I was only working on a few files at the time.
Currently, the status indicator in the Finder is at about 330,000 changes and just under 100 GB, and it's continuing to increase (very slowly).
Biggest problem right now is that the latest file changes have not been synced to iCloud for two days, but I need them on another computer. I tried using brctl evict to force a sync by deleting them, but that was rejected.
Sure I could copy the files manually now, but I'm actually hoping that there is some way to cancel this apparent full sync.
On some web pages it is mentioned that such a synchronization can happen if the computer has not been used for a long time. But that can't be the case here, the computer is used daily.
Does anyone have an idea how I can get bird to cancel the ongoing full synchronization?


text:
How to fix: Mail - Can't connect to the account "iCloud". Enter the password for user ""?
Note that I am aware of this question: Getting bizarre error message from Mail
But, the single answer doesn't really provide enough info to fix the problem.
=====
This on an M1 MBA running 13.5.2
Suddenly I cannot send mail from this machine using an iCloud mail address. The mail fails with the message:

Can't connect to the account "iCloud".  Enter the password for user
"".

Connection Doctor says that the iCloud SMTP server is down with the following error:
READ Sep 22 15:15:03.104 [kCFStreamSocketSecurityLevelTLSv1_2] -- host:smtp.mail.me.com -- port:587 -- socket:0x6000026953e0 -- thread:0x60000177fc40
501 5.7.0 Authentication aborted

WROTE Sep 22 15:15:03.105 [kCFStreamSocketSecurityLevelTLSv1_2] -- host:smtp.mail.me.com -- port:587 -- socket:0x6000026953e0 -- thread:0x60000177fc40
QUIT

Connection Doctor on both my old Intel iMac and my wife's M1 iMac says that both the IMAP and SMTP iCloud servers are up.
I am able to send iCloud email using my iPhone, iPad the old iMac and the new iMac. It's only the new M1 MBA on which it fails.
Looks to me like Mail is either not sending the user name or password causing the "Authentication aborted" message.
But, I'm not sure how to fix this. The rest of iCloud (photos, drive, etc.) is working fine, so I'm doubtful that logging out of iCloud would help at all. It must be something else.
I did try restarting the machine, restarting Mail, turning iCloud mail off and on.
I contacted Apple Support and they closed the support chat with the following

It seems to be an issue with the system at the moment Michael. I
really apologize for the inconvenience.

But, that was two days ago and I still can't get the SMTP server to work, but only on the M1 MBA
Any ideas?

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


text:
Is it possible to recover files from the TV app library on an iPhone?
The external hard drive which holds my Music/TV libraries has died.
Most of my library is stuff I can just re-download from iTunes, which is lovely, but some of the files are things I made myself or received from friends, etc. They were not backed up through Time Machine (my library was too huge so I excluded it), nor anywhere else. (Note: they are in my "TV app" library, not my Photo library.)
Luckily, I still have many of those files synced to my iPhone's TV app, where they remain happily playable. Is there a way to download those files back from my iPhone onto my iMac, so I can re-add them to my new library?

Yes.  I'm using iMazing for that (https://imazing.com), but it's a paid for application, so you may want to hold out for an answer that doesn't cost you.  Is it not possible to sync them back?

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
iOS: deauthorise device for books download
I need to deauthorise books downloads on an iOS (16.6.1) device but the only instructions I can find are for macOS or much older iOS version (screen shots look nothing like current version) ?
I can't "deauthorise all" because I had problems earlier in the year and you can do that only once a year.


text:
dim brightness on inactivity when plugged in
is it possible to enable dimming the brightness when the computer is inactive for some time and it is plugged in? I only found a setting to enable dimming when on battery :/
maybe some 3rd party tool?


text:
Minimum Power/Charging Requirements for MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
What are minimum power requirements that will work with the MacBook Pro 16. This device has inputs for the mag-safe and for the USB-C ports. Apple does not provide sufficient information to select a minimum wattage output to keep the machine running and not discharge the battery or discharge the battery at a lower rate than an unpowered machine.
Obviously, excess power supply is better than an undersupply. In supply limited situations, how low can you go and still run the Pro for extended periods? Is 33W sufficient? 45? Do you need 100W?  Will 33W even be used by the Pro?
Why is this important? I do a lot of work on the road in transit. My car 110V outlet is limited to 100W. I am assuming there are conversion losses in the 110VAC to 5V USB-c regulated supply, so probably a safe upper limit is ~90W.
The practical question is: Will 90W provide adequate USB-C or magsafe power for an M2 Pro 16" doing reasonable work without draining the battery?

What wattage adapter did you get with the MBP? (System Information | Power | AC Charger Info..) Surely that's your answer...

All the M2 16" models come with 140W adapters. I would assume they've been sized accordingly. Smaller models get lower wattage bricks.

The Apple power supply is 140W.  This is designed for the maximum power consumption of the MBP under full load conditions with a small reserve for charging the battery or "fast charging."  Unless I am doing a complex, extended monte-carlo computation or matrix transformation or made a programming error, the extreme case is unlikely and not for extended periods.  With a fully charged battery or non-charging battery, 140W is not necessary in most uses.  The 140W charger will attempt to draw more power than is available and trip a breaker.

So, Monte Carlo Or Bust eh... ;-)

No, it does not and it does not answer the OP's question:  What is the minimum power I can supply via either USB-C or magsafe to keep the machine operational?  I attempted to re-ask the question in there but a moderator killed it.  I am attempting to buy a USB-C PD unit that will provide sufficient power for extended use.  Apple's USB-C power ports are limited to 100W input, the magsafe 3.1 levels are higher.  Rather than guess that a 45W USB-C/PD will do the job I want, I thought I'd ask for data which I can't find from Apple.

You posted a question in the space reserved for answers, please take the tour to understand how this site works.

Also, asking the same question again because the existing one doesn't have good answers won't help. I've bumped the original question now so it's visible on the main page (for a while).

The "answer" space I responded in was the only mechanism I could see to clarify that the answers given were not responsive to the OP's post.  They gave stock, readily available information which did not answer the question.  This response here has the tag "add comment."  This would probably be the correct mechanism for pointing out that the original OP's question was not answered.  The system would not allow me to make a comment because I am not a heavy poster/commenter.

I see that the answer I was looking for was posted following this exchange. Thank you.  I suggest that the site provide a mechanism for pertinent input on pertinent questions.  In this post I explained exactly what was needed to answer the other question after you directed me to post a new question, then bombed me because it was substantially similar  to the one where no mechanism to get clarity on what was asked.  You need a better mechanism for accepting critique.


text:
Mail.app not showing new IMAP mailbox
In Mail.app Version 16.0 (3731.700.6): I created a new subfolder in an IMAP account by ctrl+click on the parent, choosing "New Mailbox...", and entering the name.  The new mailbox does not appear in the tree, but trying to create it again gets the error that the mailbox already exists.
How can I get Mail to show the new mailbox(/subfolder) that does exist but is not shown?


text:
How can I have sent emails copied into a folder in documents?
I would like to create a mail rule in apple mail to have sent emails to a particular person moved to a folder in my Documents folder.  I see in mail there is a place where I can use a .scpt in the rule.  But, I dont have the .scpt.  I have found the below, but I cannot find the savebyrule on my Mac....  Suggestions?  I dont know how to script !
Thanks for any help.


text:
Launch a shortcut on the lock screen of an iPhone in iOS 16 without opening the Shortcuts app
In the new iOS 16, it's possible to launch shortcuts directly from the lock screen. Unfortunately, my iPhone 8 isn't supported by this version. After a bit of research, I came across quite a few apps that provide this feature. Out of them, I picked LockFlow. While it does work, it's quite a hassle that it first opens its own app (after unlocking the iPhone via TouchID), then opens the Shortcuts app, and only then runs the desired shortcut.
Is there a way to launch a shortcut without opening these apps?


text:
How can I get Google Photos' grid view to show complete photos on iPhone?
On my PC using a web browser, I have Google Photos' grid view configured to show all photos in their entirety at a uniform height. This means landscape photos are the same height as portrait ones in the grid, but are wider. Panoramas are wider still, but they have the same height as everything else.
I want to achieve the same thing in Google Photos' grid view on my iPhone, but I can't find a way to do it. Pinching and zooming the grid view seems to show three options:

All photos same height, but all cropped to squares, regardless of actual aspect ratio.
Most photos shown as squares of a given height, but some (seemingly randomly chosen) are much larger. Landscapes and panoramas are cropped to squares.
Photos are shown in their entirety, but the heights vary. Only two photos are shown per row.

Is there a way to get GP on iPhone to show all photos in their entirety in grid view while also using a uniform height for each image?


text:
How to transfer data from a certain time period into existing iPhone without overwriting it?
I need to prepare my old iPhone 12 for trade-in, but there were a couple of months recently where I had to actually use the 12 while my 14 pro was, let's say "on vacation" (long story).  Unfortunately, when I switched back to the 12 I did not do a data transfer from the 14 back to the 12, I just activated the eSIM and kept rolling.
I'm not using the 12 anymore, but now I have a 2-month gap in history for the period while I was using the 12 again, and since that was pretty recent, I'm missing some still-relevant SMS conversations and not sure what else.
I'm trying to figure out if there is any way to fill the gap by restoring the data for this chunk of time from the 12 (or iCloud?) to my current iPhone since I expect it will otherwise be lost when I factory reset the 12 for trade-in.  The 12 has been backing up to iCloud but I assume if I restore one of those backups on the current phone it will overwrite the existing data, so I'll still end up with a gap, just in a different time period.  Please correct me if I'm wrong there, and thanks for any suggestions!


text:
iPhone screen turns black randomly but still on
My iPhone SE (2022)'s screen randomly turns black. It is occurring while the phone is idle and its frequency varying from twice a week to every third months.
While the screen is black, I can 'push' the home button so the phone is on. I can bring it back to life with a hard-reset.
I searched online but all solution was a factory reset. Apple support suggested bringing it to a service, but it would be for a payment. So these solutions I want to do last.
Is it an issue that known with this phone or do you have any suggestions?


text:
How can one completely turn off the incoming audio of a call when using Telegram on iPhone?
I use Telegram on an iPhone 12 mini with iOS 15. When I am on a call in Telegram, how can I completely turn off the incoming audio of a call when using Telegram on iPhone?
When I use the regular volume buttons on the left side of the iPhone, I cannot completely turn off the incoming audio. It only allows me to reduce the incoming audio but not completely silence the incoming audio:


text:
macOS Ventura screenshot tool like Big Sur: change defaults to be able to draw without having to click twice
In macOS Ventura, I can't draw right after taking a screenshot like I used to do on macOS Big Sur. Instead, I've to click the Markup tool:

Then I would need to click on either Sketch or Draw tools:

On macOS Big Sur, the Draw tool was selected without having to do a single click (I think the latest tool was selected by default when taking a new screenshot).
How can I change the config (if possible) to draw without having to click twice?
I don't see how to do it the help (man) or on Google either.


text:
Can too many devices on one USB-C port damage the port
First of all, I know what I had was not a good setup so I changed it. I had two external USB 3.0 2.5" HDDs permanently connected to an passive USB HUB for a long time. Neither the HUB nor the drive had an external power adapter. For TimeMachine I added a third one, which worked fine for two days. After two days I ran into trouble, since the drives needed more power then the port could deliver. One of the drives sometimes made clicking sounds and could get activated. Of course, I immediately removed one of the drives (after shutting down) and replaced the HUB with an active one. In the beginning one of the drives was incorrectly removed (without pulling it's plug), but after that it worked fine again for some days. Still I feel a bit unsafe about this and removed the drives and the HUB. Currently I only have one drive connected at the same time(, but I would like to have at least two connected). Neither the drive nor the USB-C port (on my MBP14 2021) show any signs of damage. I have some questions:

Is it safe to connect three drives simultaneously using an active USB-HUB
I bought an USB-C ammeter. Is it safe to plug this between the HUB and my MBP to check that the mA do not exceed 900 (what other parameters should I check)?
Can this situation have damaged my USB-C port in any way and if yes, how could I check this?


text:
How can I split a long video into several 5-minute videos on an iPhone?
I have an iPhone 12 with iOS 15. How can I split a long video into several 5-minute videos on an iPhone?
I have several long videos. They were recorded with the same iPhone with 4K and 60FPS. I don’t want to cut video myself manually chunk by chunk.


text:
Can the Magic Keyboard's lock button do "Lock Screen" with Watch unlock?
I'd like the lock button on the Apple Magic Keyboard to lock the screen, start the screen saver, and leave the display on (if connected to power), in such a way that I can unlock quickly later automatically using my Apple Watch. Is this possible?
It seems not to be, because of a difference in behavior between the Lock Screen command (from the Apple Menu, or from Hot Corners Shortcuts) and the behavior of the lock button. In particular I notice this difference when the laptop is closed and connected to an external monitor.
When I invoke Lock Screen (on macOS Sonoma), my screen saver starts, my display stays active, but I need to re-enter my password to unlock the screen. I can't unlock the screen automatically via my Apple watch.
But when I click the keyboard's lock button, the screen saver starts, the display then turns off entirely, but then I can unlock it via my Apple Watch. So the keyboard's lock button is doing something different from the "Lock Screen" command. It's also different from the Sleep command (which can be selected from the Apple menu).
I don't understand what's going on. Is there a setup so the lock button locks the screen, allows watch unlock, but doesn't turn off the display?


text:
Apple Screen Sharing
So I am very confused about the "Screen Sharing" feature on macOS (Ventura or Sonoma).
I can use the Apple built-in Screen Share App on my MacBook where it is possible to enter the Apple ID of someone else.
Does this only work in the same network or does it work no matter where the other person is located as long as I know the Apple ID (no port forwarding, etc.) that can be entered there in the text field within the app?
If I am not wrong when using the IP address instead of Apple ID it only works within the same network or if the other device on another network has port forwarding on its router there.
Was a bit worried that someone knowing my Apple ID could relatively easily connect from anywhere in the world to my MacBook by just opening the app and entering the Apple ID.

Welcome to Ask Different. We strongly prefer one question per question. Can you edit this to ask one question, the first one you need an answer. Then if that learn to one or three follow on questions, that’s encouraged to ask each as a single thread.  What’s the main thing you need to do now?

Specifically it’s possible you’re over estimating the remote capabilities of screen sharing. Are you following this guide or doing a share as part of a FaceTime video that’s already established?

I am refering to the screen sharing app which is part of macos. You can there connect to another macbook if that device has screensharing enabled by entering the ipadress shown on that device in the settings or via entering apple-id (Thats what i completely dont understand).

Aah, so that’s a very good clarification and edit. +1

Can you describe what you mean by "There it is possible to enter an AppleID of someone else".?? There's no way Apple would let you access the screen of another Mac without authorisation, though for Macs with the same Apple ID, that may be transparent.

This is one Article regarding this question. The first part pretty mich describes it. My Question is simple (maybe someone has tried this already or knows the answer). Does this work if not in the same network? https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-screen-share-on-mac-remotely-locally/amp

Apple Screen Sharing is a largely non-conformant VNC client/server for macOS. Last I checked, most of its data is unencrypted, so it's a poor choice for serious usage. There are lots of SSH/SSL-enabled VNC options, and other commercial apps like Parallels Access offer better security and redirectors so you don't need to manage dynamic DNS and open ports into your network. Basically, Apple Screen Sharing is largely outdated and not secure for anything other than casual home usage, and maybe not even then.

Thank you, I read some other forum discussions. And yes normally it behaves like normal VNC so only locally within the same network via the ip or url. But some people stated that if you enter the apple-id (As you can see in the article I mentioned above) it takes another route and it could go remotely from wherever that person is. I am just worried someone knowing my apple-id could send out requests and stuff

Can you explain what the worry is here? Anybody knowing your AppleID can send you mail and messages, and they can also send screen sharing requests. But unless you accept those requests they won't be able to see your screen or do anything on your computer.

I am aware of that. I explained the worry further down in the thread to tetsujin.

Screen sharing only works if the request is manually accepted on the target Mac. So I'm not sure what is left here in term of security/privacy.

If it also has to be manually accepted if both devices are logged into the same apple-id then everything is clear and secure

Can you please focus your question on the actual problem you are trying to solve/prevent? From looking at the question text and the comments it seems to have evolved quite a bit.

The main question has been answered as it seems. You cant access another device via screen sharing outside of the same network without port forwarding on the router of the request receiving mac. Screen sharing via apple-id can go over different networks without router modification. And you always receive a request before screen sharing starts. So it evolved only to the final question if there is also a request to accept if the asking and receiving device are logged into the same apple-id

Apple macOS screen sharing doesn't navigate NAT/firewall traversal or other items and I can't see any case where I'd enter my Apple ID on another computer even though the risk is low that there's a key logger or the password gets saved.
Since Apple doesn't broker connections off the local network, there's little value in signing in with your Apple ID on another computer.
You would want to get this tool that explicitly helps navigate connections across the internet. I've used it and it's very clear about how your password is used when a connection is unilateral (support/guided) and when it's remote, no prompt is needed.

Screens Express for macOS
Screens Connect for Mac and Windows
Screens 4 for macOS

I am refering to the first part of this article (There are many more to explain the same steps). I am not that competent when it comes to tcip/ip and all of that so what do you mean by it does not navigate NAT/Firewall? Does that mean the connection goes via a server like for teamvier for example or is it not possible to watc my macbook screen outside of my network? Sorry if this sounds a bit confusing I am trying to understand the different ways on how someone could access my screen https://mbsdirect.com/mbs-blog/article-use-the-macrsquos-built-in-screen-sharing-to-provide-remote-help

Thanks @cami - NAT is how your home router and almost every other work / home network uses IP addresses that are not unique and therefore non-routable. No one can come to any home computer unless the "router" translates a request to its address (which is routable) on to your computer. That complicated task is what I refer to as "firewall traversal" or "navigate the firewall". Let me see if I can link to a better explanation and edit my answer...

The best I can explain is to download and try Screens Express - the steps involved in Firewall / NAT setup are all of the steps in this document - it's quite technical. https://help.edovia.com/en/screens-connect-4/how-to/reachable-without-screens-connect That's why Edovia makes software and charges money to make it easier to set up - they automate and test and provide guidance on your specific network when needed.

Thank you, that part I understand. I dont want to use screen sharing at all. I am worried that someone knowing my apple-id (Just mail is enough as it seems in the article i stated above?!) to send me requests to watch my screen. I read other threads in this forum where people said that if the sharing goes via apple-id in the screen sharing app then my firewall doesnt matter because apple creates the connection differently. Reading the article and those threads i became anxious now so do I have to worry in any way?

Empirically, Screen Sharing using AppleID does traverse NAT & hops happily through a remote consumer modem/router with zero config necessary, very much like TeamViewer & its ilk. I use it to do remote tasks on my octogenarian parents' iMac. However, it requires the remote Mac to allow you in. It pops a dialog requesting permission to connect. I've tested it to my own ID/account on that remote Mac but that doesn't work, only to my folks' ID. Of course, if Screen Sharing &/or Remote Management is off… there's no way in.

Thank you very much for your insights. So i understand it correct that screen sharing via apple-id is an exception and it bypasses NAT and works differently no matter where the other device is? Do I also understand it right that you have tested it with both devices being logged into the SAME apple-id and that did not work at all? Thats my main worry if my apple-id would be compromised and theoretically a mac somewhere is logged in with it would he be able to connect to me or not or would i have to accept at least... Very theoretical I know

I need to test @Tetsujin Back to My Mac is back again! Exciting and my answer needs major change to the first parts

@bmike - I can't get to my own AppleID on that Mac that way; even though it is registered on the folk's Mac [though probably not currently on or logged in] nor does that Mac show on FindMy. It's not something I've really tested extensively. Until quite recently I had a corporate gateway here which nothing could punch through, but now I've a regular ISP modem/router which is much easier, with UPnP etc. During that period I've been almost exclusively at home, so haven't been able to test if I could get into my own desktop from a remote MBP etc. It's one I marked down as 'needs further research'.

I really did have hopes for it being another way to get Back to my Mac functionality going again. BTW, one additional cool thing is, as it connects to the far Mac, it enables both mics so you can talk.

So even if both macs would be logged in with the same apple-id I would receive a request on the receiving mac before the sharing starts via Apple-ID in the screen sharing app? It would never auto connect


text:
IOS app notifications - Notification Center vs Scheduled Summary
I have two Scheduled Summaries on my iPhone, iOS 17, and generally it works well.
However, notifications for some apps that are started at the Schedule Summary still show up in the Notification Center (and not the Scheduled Summary).
E.g The settings for this app:

show that it's targeted at the Scheduled Summary...
... and yet its notifications show up in the Notification Center:
.
(This behavior is not new to iOS 17).
Is this just a bug with the app, or do I need to fix my settings somehow?


text:
MacOS Default Sharing Settings
I have a question regarding default macOS settings, how they are if the MacBook is newly set up after buying or factory reset on macOS Ventura and Sonoma?
I need to know the default settings for the sharing section: System Preferences > General > Sharing. There are different sections like Bluetooth Sharing, Remote Login, Screen Sharing, and others.
What are the default states (On or Off) here for each of them after a fresh normal MacBook setup?

I think it defaults to all sharing off.

Yes. You don't share anything unless you explicitly turn it on.

Thanks very much! Sometimes I actually think the Apple Support is just giving random answers. One told me its all off except bluetooth and caching but he told me he is not really sure and he seemed not that competent...

I've bought a new Mac in July 2023 and haven't changed the Sharing settings. Here is the default set:

You are my hero! Thank you very much :)


text:
How to make Safari reader use appropriate language for website content?
Suppose that I'm a person who uses Safari Reader to read webpages out loud, and that I'm multilingual and like to consume content in more than one language. (English and Spanish, say.) If I set my screen reading language to English in System Preferences, then Spanish content is incomprehensible, but if I set my screen reading language to Spanish, then English content is incomprehensible.
Question: In theory, if a webpage's HTML is tagged as having a certain language with the lang attribute, it should be possible to have reader mode detect the page's language and use the appropriate narration language. Is this possible to configure on my Mac? Or would I have to manually change the global Voiceover language every time I want to browse webpages in a different language?
Web accessibility language detection with Voiceover is a related Stack Overflow post about the same issue. It doesn't appear that the OP ever fully resolved their issue (or if they did, they didn't update their answer). In accordance with the upvoted answer, I've made sure that I have both English and Spanish readers installed for Voiceover (with Spanish being the default), but HTML elements marked with lang="en" are still pronounced as if they were in Spanish.


text:
AppleScript to open a Finder window in every desktop
I have 2 monitors and 2 desktops (Spaces) in each of them. I want to open a Finder window for each of the desktops, so 4 in total.
I mapped the Spaces in Ctrl+1, 2, 3, 4 in Settings, and I am using Automator to switch Spaces and open a new Finder window.
The problem is that it only works for the main monitor. It iterates correctly the first 2 Spaces, and opens a Finder window, but then it does not focus on the 3rd & 4th Spaces in my second monitor. So it ends up opening 3 Finder widows in my 2nd space.
Applescript
on run {input, parameters}

(* Your script goes here *)

    repeat with keycd from 18 to 21

    tell application "System Events"
        tell application "System Events" to key code keycd using control down
    end tell

    delay 0.2

    tell application "Finder"
        make new Finder window
        get insertion location
    end tell

    delay 0.2

end repeat

tell application "System Events"
    tell application "System Events" to key code 18 using control down
end tell

return input
end run


text:
MacOS Messages: How to compile the attachments for a Messages conversation with an individual contact? ~/Library/Messages/Attachments/
I am trying to compile the complete media exchange with a single MacOS/iOS contact.
For reference, I have ensured that the media is all downloaded from iCloud directly within the Messages (i) window for this conversation. This is a chat that contains numerous attachments of images, photos, gifs, and short-length video clips. I am able to locate where the files are supposedly stored:  ~/Library/Messages/Attachments/
It is here that I am lost. The .../Attachments/ directory contains subfolders that are a strange hierarchy with no visible naming reference to the individual that this chat is with on both my MacOS and iOS synced conversations.
How am I able to view the complete set of attachments from this chat conversation once they have been downloaded to my desktop? There are hundreds of subfolders that are even more cryptic in their naming convention with no reference to the actual Messages chat in question.
Screenshot is from MacOS showing ~/Library/Messages/Attachments/(first folder inside)/(contents)


text:
How to create and configure a utun device from the terminal?
I want to create and configure a tun interface (utun device) using the command line that I can use with ssh -w. I tried ssh -w 0 and got "Tunnel device open failed. Could not request tunnel forwarding." Any pointers for getting started? Is this possible on a Mac, or this is a Linux-only thing?


text:
Error: No formulae or casks found for calicoctl
I am tried to install calicoctl followed by https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/calicoctl in macOS 13.4 like this (M1 chip), but failed with this information:
> brew install calicoctl
fatal: not in a git directory
Warning: No remote 'origin' in /opt/homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-services, skipping update!
Running `brew update --auto-update`...
==> Auto-updated Homebrew!
Updated 1 tap (homebrew/core).
No changes to formulae.

Warning: No available formula with the name "calicoctl".
==> Searching for similarly named formulae and casks...
Error: No formulae or casks found for calicoctl.

Am I missing something?

DId you run brew doctor? Or is this yet another issue caused by the chinese firewall?


text:
Mouse pointer moves jerkily on exernal display
From time to time, my mouse pointer starts to move jerkily or erratically while I move it around.
The effect is very visible and distracting. I've captured this video at 0.25× speed of my screen (. and , are handy here to step single frames in the YouTube video player).
This starts and stops without an apparent pattern to me. Sometimes it lasts for a few minutes, sometimes for a few hours. Then it might start again after a few minutes or a few hours. Things I've figured out and that I'm pretty certain about:

The effect, when it happens, is only visible on my external display (a DELL P2418D). When I move the pointer to the internal display, the pointer moves flawlessly, then, when I move it back to the external display, it moves jerkily again.
It's not my input device. It happens whether I use my external corded mouse or the internal trackpad. It persists if I unplug my external mouse and only use the internal trackpad. It happens whether the mouse is plugged in via the external display's USB port or via the Apple USB-C adapter plugged into my Mac. No Bluetooth input devices are connected to the Mac.
The video signal is not messed up by the external display (e.g. by reordering frames). When I drag something (e.g. a window or an element in a graphics editor), only the mouse pointer moves jerkily, not the thing that is grabbed. This video shows that effect.
Unplugging and re-plugging the external display at the USB-C port on my MacBook fixes the problem for a short time. The pointer moves flawlessly after plugging in the external monitor. But the problem can re-appear even after just a minute.

Some things I checked that could have been the culprit:

All apps under Allow the apps below to control your computer in System Preferences Security & Privacy are unchecked.
The Mac is plugged into a 61 W USB-C power supply (according to System information).
The CPU is mostly idle (> 75 % idle) most of the time, even when the problem occurs.
Rebooting does not fix the problem. The issue might re-appear after few minutes after rebooting.
The problem appears on 2 separate user accounts.
The problem appears regardless of which application is in the front and persists no matter what application I switch or launch.

I'm at a loss on what to try next to fix this issue.

Summary of my hard- and software
Mac: MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) (MacBookPro18,3)
OS: macOS 12.6.8
External display: DELL P2418D connected via a "USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter" from Apple
Displays/Graphics and USB categories from System Information:


text:
Mac intel (mid-2020) does not charge when plugged in hub, not until the screen is displayed
The Mac is plugged to a 5K dual HDMI Wavlink, itself plugged to two screens via HDMI switchers. When the Wavlink is started, but the HDMI switch to the HDMI Option 2 (see picture) the Mac does not charge.
I have to switch the display on the HDMI Option 1 (an then I can turn it back top Option 2) to make the power icon appear on the mac.
How can I make the Mac charge from the moment I plug it to the Wavlink ?


text:
iCloud catching malware
I had a discussion with a friend of mine today about Malware and iCloud. I am absolutely unexperienced in Software and Security so maybe all of this is absolutely impossible.
Its very simple. Let's assume my MacBook catches Malware (Virus, Keyloggers, or any spyware). Could this sneak into my iCloud and hide there? And after resetting my MacBook and connecting to my Apple ID again this could infect the device again? Or even infect other devices within the same Apple ID...
I am kind of worried about this now.

Are you asking "is it theoretically possible", or "is it likely", or "are there any known instances"??

Well I would ask if it is likely which would mean there should be known instances... Maybe you have some experience in software and or security and you could tell me well this is nonsense soo yeah

The risk is extremely low that iCloud will have any impact on a virus or malware.
A far more likely scenario is that the virus reads your personal data. However, this would be equally likely with or without iCloud.
In general, just make sure not to install any software you don't trust. This is overwhelmingly the most likely way to get malware / viruses. Actual "viruses" that install themselves without your permission are rare and typically reserved for high-stakes targeted attacks.
Note: it is technically possible that a file could be saved to iCloud drive and somehow facilitate a virus transmitting itself. However the requirements for this to happen would involve widespread hacking and compromises that will impact far more than just your computer.

Apple spends a lot of time making sure that its operating systems are as secure as possible (though that's not to say that they are perfect).
First of all, iOS and iPadOS are very secure, because you can't install apps from anywhere outside the App Store, where Apple has checked them.
MacOS is more flexible, but it also has lots of secure features. The risk of getting malware is very low.
But: the biggest point of failure in any computer system is .... you.
If you download software from "less than legitimate" websites; if you willingly provide your password authorisation, or click through "OK" dialogs, without thinking what you are being asked, and why; if you click on links in email, messages, and the web that don't look entirely 'right': then you increase your risk significantly.
Above all, make sure you have a good, local backup on an external drive, so that in the event of something going wrong, you can restore your files or restore your entire disk to a hopefully clean state. (iCloud Drive is not a backup.)
As to whether malware could spread across iCloud. As said, most malware doesn't spread itself like Hollywood viruses. They rely on users accidentally installing them, without knowing what it is.

Thank you very much for your answer! Of course in the end you and I as the user are responsible. But if even if theoretically something would sneak its way into the macbook (via homebrew casks for example), it is still almost impossible that such a crazy thing exists which could travels through clouds and devices you would assume? So no need to worry about something like that


text:
Windows Lost in Desktop Spaces – Seeking Solutions

I have multiple Chrome windows open on my desktops 2 and 3. However, I often lose track of my windows. I tried clicking on Chrome in the Dock, hoping that macOS would bring the app to the foreground for me.

Currently, it doesn't work as expected.
Have I missed a setting somewhere?
Do you find this behavior annoying as well?
Has anyone found a solution to this issue?
Link to Screenshot 1
Link to Screenshot 2

It focuses the app when you click on the Dock icon.  But if you have windows belonging to the app on multiple desktops, how do you expect one of them to be brought to the foreground?  You don't detail your expectation.


text:
Im tryiing to install mac os on my macbook air m2
I have been trying to install mac os ventura on my mac m2 air from 3days
Im geting error in the last 9min and i check the installer logs there are error


text:
Apple Watch re-paired, how do I re-import my ".watchface" file that I backed up?
I have a Series 2 Apple Watch (Nike) and a first-gen iPhone SE. My watch performance had been noticeably degraded recently, so I thought maybe I'd try unpairing and restoring it. I use iCloud backup.
I even had a suspicion about losing my photo so before I unpaired, I "shared" it to my MacBook via airdrop. There is now a Photos.watchface file in my Downloads folder.
After the restoration, I went back to the Photos watchface, but my photo was gone. I have no idea if it's even in my library anywhere, I took it many years ago and I think I even recall taking it in some fashion that put it exclusively on my watch and nowhere else. Regardless, I certainly can't find it in my photos.
What is this .watchface file, and how can I get my photo back on my watch? I would really like my watch to just be 100% back to the way it was, minus the performance issues - hopefully.


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How to fix AirPods Pro 2 6A301 volume lowering very much for some reason?
I use AirPods Pro 2 with Personalised volume and sometimes volume gets lowered very much. I don`t understand what triggers it but want to fix it if possible. I use Spotify, Youtube and Patreon on my phone and sound source.
Do someone else faced such problems?
Are there any known ways to fix this problem besides turning off personalised volume?


text:
Checkmark for switching Apple-ID password on icloud.com
I have a little question which hopefully some of you can answer me.
You can switch your Apple-ID password in different ways. One for example is on the device settings itself or via webbrowser on any PC.
Now there is one little thing I have seen and now I am wondering if there is any difference and maybe some of you can tell me. When you log into icloud.com and then go from there to change your apple-id password, you have this checkmark at the bottom on the window where you enter your new password. It sais "Sign out of devices and websites using my Apple-ID". You see an random example picture from the internet here.

Now I am wondering, does it matter if I change the password on my iPhone where I cant check this additional thing or is this done anyways. I just want to make sure that when I change the password it does sign out everywhere (Websites and devices and whatever else).

If you are changing your password because you believe your password was stolen and someone has signed into your account, then that checkbox forces them to be signed out and enter your new password to re-gain access.
If you are changing your password because you want to improve your security, that checkbox is unnecessary. Your new password is required to add any future devices, so unless you believe someone has already signed in it serves no purpose.

Sounds right... So if i just switch it in the iphone security check for example I dont log out anyone is at least a reentering of the new passord necessary on other devices?

Changing a password does not log out other devices unless you check the box shown on the website. If you're on the phone, you can also look at the device list and remove any you don't recognize.


text:
iTunes accounts and family sharing
I have an old / original email that I use for iTunes / App Store purchases. I have since setup an iCloud / Apple ID for myself and also added family members to that account.
Currently I have been logging my family members into my original iTunes account for purchase sharing. But if purchases are shared, do I need to do this or can they all just log in with one ID? And if this is the case, can’t I add the iTunes account as a member of my family and also log into all of my own devices with a single Apple ID while still retaining the App Store purchase history?
What is the best way to accomplish this? Ideally I would like to use the original iTunes ID as little as possible but still retain purchase history and sharing across the family.


text:
Focus problem with multiple window apps on 3 displays
When using 2 external monitors (for a total of 3 displays), I have Chrome (or any other multi-window app) with two windows open on different displays (say display-1 and display-2). When I change focus from a 2nd app from display-3 and click on Chrome on display-1, it changes focus to to this window for a split second, and then immediately switches to Chrome on display-2. When I rotate the whole experiment, the same behavior occurs but with a different display preference, like each display falls somewhere in a set precedence. It doesn't matter whether Stage Manager is enabled, and I can't replicate this behavior with 2 or fewer displays. Does anyone else experience this bug? Any fixes or workarounds?


text:
How can I see all the search results in the Gmail app when I query `is:unread is:inbox`?
I've noticed that when I query is:unread is:inbox in the Gmail app, I only see results back to ~June 1:

However, I do have many more (>2k) emails that are older than June 1 and  match is:unread is:inbox.
How can I see all the search results in the Gmail app when I query is:unread is:inbox?
I've tried on Wifi and on 4G. I tried several different days. Gmail won't show older emails and I wonder if there is a workaround or a setting for that.


text:
How does iPad determine that access point it is connected to is a phone with tethering?
When I connect my iPad to ordinary access point it shows a WiFi logo icon with radiating circles. But when I connect it to the access point which is a smartphone sharing its internet connection, it shows an icon of two chain links instead. Obviously, it determines somehow the type of the access point.
How? Where can I read more of this technology? How can I detect this myself on e.g. laptop running Linux?


text:
Why does using Opt+Esc copy the selected text to the clipboard? How can I disable that?
I can invoke the text-to-speech engine using selecting any given text and then doing Opt+Esc. However, rather annoyingly, doing so seems to copy the selected text to the clipboard, as if I did Cmd+C. If I am using Safari, I can bypass this by selecting the text and then using right-click > Speech > Start Speaking. But many apps that have text such as Firefox and others do not have this option. But the keyboard shortcut can be used with any text in any app.
So how can I make using the keyboard shortcut not also copy the text to the clipboard?


text:
How do I turn off MacOS Sonoma's emoji guessing?
Before Sonoma, pressing Ctrl+⌘+Space would bring up the emoji Input Method Editor

But now, depending on the context, MacOS Sonoma will bring up a different editor. For example, if I type 'interesting ' and press Ctrl+⌘+Space I get this different UI

This inconsistent response to the same keypress is really unhelpful for me. I know exactly what state things are in when I get a consistent response.
The particular instance was me wanting to type something like

"I did this dumb thing because I thought it would be more interesting

And the new feature guessed wrong (showing the 3 choices above) and so wasn't helpful. In fact it was worse than not helpful, it was actively in my way as I have to workaround it to get what I wanted.
Other examples include

I hope bug XXX will be fixed when we switch to Monorail

Where again I wanted  but it unhelpfully picked

I'm pretty sure this will pass on the next run

Where I wanted  but it picked

Praying tomorrow is sunny

where I wanted  but it picked

Can you please check out the link above?

where I wanted  but it picked ⬆
And many many more.
How do I turn off this new unhelpful "guess the emoji we think the user wants and show a different UI" feature of MacOS Sonoma?

Simple workaround is press spacebar twice while holding control and command keys pressed - "regular" pop-up window will be displayed.

I can also click the V at the end but I'm not looking for a workaround, I'm looking to stop this bad UX from appearing at all.  Thanks for the keys though.

@AivarPaalberg You  have to wait to see if the mini menu popups up first, otherwise the double press hides it. eg. when the last word you've typed is "asd" the mini menu doesn't show up because there isn't a good emoji for "asd". Double tap hides the menu. It just means that you've got to wait a second to see which menu's popped up before typing to search or use a recent, etc. It's annoying AF.

This is a workaround, not a way to disable it. On your mac, you can set the function key to open that very menu. You can do this in System Settings and then to keyboard menu. There you should find a setting called "Press  to" and you can select "Show emojis & symbols".

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm a polyglot and actually use that key to switch input methods. I get your point though. I could pick some other key.

@gman I think this doesn't solve the problem. Example: if I type "very happy", and hit  , it still makes suggestions (rather than displaying the menu) (i.e. it does exactly the same as typing "very happy" and pressing ctrl + command + space). (my  key was set to 'Show emojis & symbols')


text:
How do I get macOS Sonoma (14.0) to keep the same font size in the finder?
Before MacOS Sonoma, all finder windows showed the same font size

Now, some folders use a much smaller font size

You can even see the font size on the side bar on the left does not match the tiny fon in the list of files and folders on the right.
Note: it's not just folders with files in them that get the small font. Here's a folder with files that's staying with the normal larger bolder font

How do I get Finder to keep the same font everywhere. Ideally the same, larger, bolder font that was used everywhere pre Sonoma?

What Mac is this, and what display? I don't think this is a common experience on Sonoma, so there might be some other factor at play. Have you tried re-setting the Font Size in View Options, and then clicking "Use as Defaults"?

I'm on an 15" M1 MacBookPro with its built in display. I've never set any font sizes in the finder ever. All these folders are folders I commonly use. They switched sizes after the upgrade to Sonoma

Copied from my own answer at Super User
You might not be able to do this with one single settings change - depending on just how many folders are no longer at defaults.
For comparison, check two or three different folders. the more common setting are most likely to be your usual defaults. It is possible to have different settings remembered for every folder on the Mac, but it's unlikely you've set many differently.
Once you establish your most common, you can then reset your aberrant ones.
Open one or more folders, as you have above.
Hit  Cmd ⌘   J  or View Menu > Show View Options
You only see one of this window at any time [it's an info sheet known as an Inspector] If you click another folder, the contents change to reflect that window.
In the Inspector window, if you hold  Opt ⌥  the 'Use as Defaults' button at the bottom will change to 'Restore to Defaults'.

Default font size is usually 12.
You can, of course, set any values in here to be your new defaults, then save them with 'Use as Defaults'. This affects all windows currently set to default, but not any you have previously customised. This means you can have icon view for apps but list view for documents, etc.
Note: .DS_Store files contain so much more than folder settings & positions. It doesn't really hurt to clear them, but clearing them doesn't always do what you think it will. Resetting individual View options & your Defaults is a much neater solution.

Thanks. though I have never set any different font size ever so somehow MacOS Sonoma decided to randomly set them to different things. I've seen at least 3 different sizes browsing folders that before I upgraded all had the same size


text:
How to use Airplay to connect to my Samsung monitor that doesn't support Airplay?
I have a MacBook Pro mid-2015.  Its ports are getting a bit flaky (both HDMI and Thunderbolt), but otherwise it works great.
I have a Samsung UHD monitor that is also quite nice (Samsung Business LU28E85KRS/GO, 850 Series).  However, the flaky ports mean the connection to the monitor goes in and out when I move the MacBook Pro.  I can keep it connected, but it's a challenge.
I wonder if I can hook up the MacBook Pro to my monitor using Airplay.  This monitor does not support Airplay, so I'm thinking of an adapter.  However, I wonder if the many airplay adapters for sale have a lag that would make it unpleasant to use like a normal monitor for my MacBook Pro to work.
Whenever I search for this, the Samsung monitors that do support Airplay come up, or people hooking up to a projector, so I'm not able to find useful information.
Thoughts?  Can I use an Airplay adapter or will the lag suck?  Is there something else I can do?


text:
How to fix bless command can't access efi-boot-device in MacOS Recovery Mode?
I run this command in Mac Recovery Mode via Terminal App
-bash-3.2# bless --info
Can't access "efi-boot-device" NVRAM variable

What version of macOS? Intel or Apple Silicon Mac?


text:
My Mac does not recognize notarized apps any more
I run macOS 13.6 Ventura on two Macs. Last week I couldn't run a printer driver installer on one of them because the installer file was not notarized. I installed the driver anyway with right-click open, because it was the same file I already used for the other Mac some time ago (residing on a shared drive).
But the behavior continued: I cannot install a single app on the problematic Mac regardless where it comes from (outside the App Store). I tried it with known notarized apps which install fine on one Mac, but not on the other.
spctl gives different information when run on the two Macs for identical files. Example for problematic Mac:
spctl -a -vvv -t install Installer\ for\ OSX.pkg
Installer for OSX.pkg: rejected
source=Unnotarized Developer ID
origin=Developer ID Installer: OKI ELECTRIC INDUSTRY COMPANY,LIMITED (U38264BY54)

Fine Mac:
spctl -a -vvv -t install Installer\ for\ OSX.pkg
Installer for OSX.pkg: accepted
source=Notarized Developer ID
origin=Developer ID Installer: OKI ELECTRIC INDUSTRY COMPANY,LIMITED (U38264BY54)

When I download an App from eclecticlight.co (Howard Oakley knows how to notarize apps... ;-) and open it, for example, my fine Mac asks me that it is from the Internet and it has not found any malware, as it should be. My problematic Mac says it cannot search for malware.
One the problematic Mac I also had trouble with corrupted keychains (after the issues with installing began). For example, Xcode couldn't find my signing certificate, the private key was missing and I had to copy the keychain databases from the other Mac because Keychain Access always said my keychain was invalid when I tried to issue a certificate signing request. I do not know if this is related.
I tried sudo spctl --reset-default and sudo cp /var/db/.SystemPolicy-default /var/db/SystemPolicy in case anything is corrupted, but it did not help.
How can I get my Mac to recognize the perfectly fine, notarized apps?


text:
How can I troubleshoot keybindings on Ventura? (loading, validating, defining...)
I have an older Mac that could only upgrade to Catalina. I have a DefautlKeyBinding.dict file that worked fine on it that let me redefine how the Home and End keys were used. (Included at the bottom of this question.) I've tried this same file on two Mac Minis running Ventura (one is using 13.3.1, the other 13.5.2) and I'm finding the key bindings on them aren't working like they do on the old iMac.
I'm not sure why this file isn't working. (You can see I've added in one test to try to test it - and with that extra definition in there, it's still not responding.)
While a simple answer of, "Do this and it'll work," would be great, I'd also like to find out:

Is there a way to validate a keybinding file to be sure it'll work?
How can I reload a keybinding file without rebooting my Mac? (Or does each app load the files when launching?)
Is there a log somewhere that'll tell me if the keybinding loaded properly or not?

{
/* Remap Home / End keys to be correct */
"\UF729"   = moveToBeginningOfLine:                       ;/*           Home */
"\UF72B"   = moveToEndOfLine:                             ;/*            End */
"$\UF729"  = moveToBeginningOfLineAndModifySelection:     ;/*     Shift+Home */
"$\UF72B"  = moveToEndOfLineAndModifySelection:           ;/*      Shift+End */
"@\UF729"  = moveToBeginningOfDocument:                   ;/*       Cmd+Home */
"@\UF72B"  = moveToEndOfDocument:                         ;/*.       Cmd+End */
"$@\UF729" = moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection: ;/* Shift+Cmd+Home */
"$@\UF72B" = moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:       ;/*  Shift+Cmd+End */
/* "\UF739" = (insertText:, "Testing text to see if anything works."); */
}


text:
How to get an app onto an iPhone without changing the iPhone App Store region?
How can I put an app from another region onto an iPhone, but without changing that iPhone's App Store country/region?

Is this about the store or about your Apple ID? Which problem are you trying to avoid by not switching the region?


text:
How to revert implicit access permission to a folder in macOS?
In macOS some folders are protected in the sense that you have to allow an app to access them: Downloads, Documents, Desktop and a few others. Even if you haven't allowed some app to access, say, Documents, it still may open a file or folder inside Documents if done through standard file dialogs. For example, I denied permission to access Documents to Code, but then opened some folder F inside Documents as a project and Code was able to see it perfectly. Now, is there a way to revert this implicit permission to access F? I might have given access to it by mistake. It's easy to check that the permission is still there. If I open a terminal in Code I can list the contents of F with ls, while previously I couldn't.
According to the app sandbox documentation the app is persisting access with a securely-scoped URL bookmark. So I guess my question is how can I remove this bookmark, preferently without writing code.


text:
Trouble with multicast UDP communication on MacOS
I have a small Python script to send multicast packets from Lubuntu 20.04 to a macOS Venture 13.4 machine (script is attached below). The problem is that I am unable to receive any multicast packets on my mac computer and am unsure how to proceed.
I verified that this script works by running the sender and receiver on localhost of my Ubuntu machine but it doesn't work with communication with my Mac across my local network which makes me think that this is an issue with multicast on my Macbook.

I see that the MULTICAST option is up on the relevant network interface on my Mac:
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

On Wireshark on my Mac, I am able to see MDNS packets from my Lubuntu machine with destination 224.0.0.251.

Here is the relevant part of the sender script host_ip_addr: 192.168.0.101, multicast: 224.5.23.1, 10020:
def send_loop(host_ip_addr, multicast_group_ip, multicast_port):
    sender = socket.socket(family=socket.AF_INET, type=socket.SOCK_DGRAM,\
            proto=socket.IPPROTO_UDP, fileno=None)

    multicast_group = (multicast_group_ip, multicast_port)

    sender.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IP, socket.IP_MULTICAST_TTL, 1)

    sender.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IP, socket.IP_MULTICAST_IF,\
            socket.inet_aton(host_ip_addr))

    while True:
        print("Sending data!")
        sender.sendto("test".encode(), multicast_group)
        time.sleep(1)

    sender.close()

Here is the relevant part of the receiver script (host_ip_addr: 192.168.0.103, multicast: 224.5.23.1, 10020):
def receive_loop(from_nic_ip, multicast_group_ip, multicast_port):

receiver = socket.socket(family=socket.AF_INET, type=socket.SOCK_DGRAM,\
        proto=socket.IPPROTO_UDP, fileno=None)
multicast_group = (multicast_group_ip, multicast_port)
receiver.bind(multicast_group)

if from_nic_ip == '0.0.0.0':
    mreq = struct.pack("=4sl", socket.inet_aton(multicast_group_ip), socket.INADDR_ANY)
else:
    mreq = struct.pack("=4s4s",\
            socket.inet_aton(multicast_group_ip), socket.inet_aton(from_nic_ip))
receiver.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IP, socket.IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP, mreq)

while True:
    buf, _ = receiver.recvfrom(BUFSIZE)
    msg = buf.decode()
    print(msg)

reciver.close()


text:
Lock screen shows user name instead of disclosing and just showing empty textboxes
I use macOS Sonoma and did the following settings for the lock screen:

disable showing username and foto (German "Benutzername und -foto anzeigen")
only show name and password (German "Name und Passwort")

But instead of just showing empty text fields and disclosing the user accounts, I still see names and logos for users, as in the following image.

Does anybody know what's wrong here? Could this be a bug in Sonoma?


text:
How iPhone tracks changes in contacts for syncing with Exchange?
I have an iPhone SE that I sync with an Exchange server interface that is present on my home Wi-Fi network.  It does sync over the internet nor with a cloud.  The Exchange interface is presented to the iPhone by an AkrutoSync app running on my Windows laptop.  AkrutoSync is the intermediary that syncs the iPhone with Outlook desktop app on the laptop.
When I create a new contact on the iPhone, it sometimes doesn't show up on Outlook on the desktop, even when more recent edits to contacts on the iPhone do propagate to Outlook on the laptop.  When I edit the new contact that didn't get synced, it does propagate to Outlook on the laptop.
How does the iPhone determine what information to push to the Exchange interface?  It seems that some things are tracked and pushed, but not all such things.  Is it specified as part of the Exchange interface?


text:
Where does Apple Store preflight files before rebooting for update
I was told Sonoma install was going to restart my system. I decided I wanted to shut the system down instead.
I then restarted into Recovery mode to restore my boot drive onto an another drive for backup.
When that was done I attempted to restart from the boot drive and could not.
I reset PRAM, SMC, restarted into Recovery again and checked the disk - was fine - then decide to reinstall Ventura. When I did that I was met with an error for the boot disk.

I am fairly sure that the Sonoma install files are interfering with boot. However, I am unsure how to stop them from attempting to install Sonoma on each restart. I have Terminal open in Restore but can’t locate the boot files for the Sonoma install.


text:
Is there a QuickLook plugin for viewing PlantUML diagrams on a Mac?
I've been working with PlantUML diagrams on my Mac, and I'd love to be able to preview them quickly using the QuickLook feature. I've searched around but haven't found a specific QuickLook plugin for PlantUML.
Does anyone know if such a plugin exists? If not, are there any recommended workarounds to preview PlantUML diagrams using QuickLook?
I've already experimented with various extensions like Glance and Syntax Highlight. When the file has a .puml extension, QuickLook doesn't even allow me to preview the code. However, if I change the file extension to something else, I lose the syntax highlighting in VSCode. I was expecting to be able to preview the PlantUML diagrams or at least the code in QuickLook without having to change the file extension and compromise the syntax highlighting in my editor.

Syntax Highlight allows you to add file name extensions to its list.


text:
How to reuse Karabiner rule?
I have the following rule:
    {
      "description": "Cmd+Opt+7 ↦ {space≔7, Cmd+Opt+7}",
      "manipulators": [
        {
          "type": "basic",
          "from": {
            "key_code": "keypad_7",
            "modifiers": {
              "mandatory": [
                "command",
                "option"
              ],
              "optional": [
                "caps_lock"
              ]
            }
          },
          "to": [
            {
              "set_variable": {
                "name": "space",
                "value": 7
              }
            },
            {
              "key_code": "keypad_7",
              "modifiers": [
                "command",
                "option"
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },

and I would like the following rule to call the above so it decreases duplicated code (ie the part about setting the variable and maybe even the Cmd+Opt+7 part):
    {
      "description": "space≡8 ⋀ Cmd+Opt+Left ↦ {space≔7, Cmd+Opt+7}",
      "manipulators": [
        {
          "type": "basic",
          "from": {
            "key_code": "left_arrow",
            "modifiers": {
              "mandatory": [
                "command",
                "option"
              ],
              "optional": [
                "caps_lock"
              ]
            }
          },
          "to": [
            {
              "set_variable": {
                "name": "space",
                "value": 7
              }
            },
            {
              "key_code": "keypad_7",
              "modifiers": [
                "command",
                "option"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "conditions": [
            {
              "type": "variable_if",
              "name": "space",
              "value": 8
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }

Is there a way to extract duplicated code in Karabiner so it can be reused?


text:
Can "Adaptive Audio" be adjusted on AirPods Pro 2 be adjusted?
The new Adaptive Audio feature of AirPods Pro 2 generally works well.
But I find the Adaptive Noise Control sub-feature that blends Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes together has too much transparency and not enough noise cancellation. Too much of the outside is piped into the ear.
Is there any way to adjust that, to increase somewhat the cancelling of noise while in Adaptive Audio mode?


text:
Use haptics like Messages for other Apple Watch apps
When I receive iMessage or SMS notifications on my Watch, it gives a gentle haptic tap. Notifications from other messaging apps (forwarded from my iPhone of course), e.g. Discord and Signal, give a much more disruptive buzz. Is there a way for me as a user to have it use the gentler Messages notification for other apps as well? If not, is it something the iOS developers could implement, or is it only available to native Watch apps? (or is it another of the infamous private Apple APIs?)


text:
MacOS 14 bug? The Folder-Albums relations that I created in Photos didn't persist. They reverted after a few days
A few days ago I upgrade to Mac OS 14.0, I found the Photos app supports Folders therefore I created some Folders and moved Albums into Folders, and those changes were synced to iPhone as well.
Howevere today I found all the work that I did were gone. The Albums are still listed under the root "My Albums", and the folders that I created are empty. Some albums which I've changed the name have reverted to the orignal name.
It seems to me that my changes Photos were simply lost.

Is there another device that syncs with your iCloud account?


text:
"Floating" image in iWork Numbers?
Is it possible to make an image "float" in Numbers? That is, similar to how the heading row can remain visible ("float", "freeze pane" in Excel lingo) when scrolling down in a spreadsheet.


text:
Do passkeys ever exist unencrypted outside the secure enclave?
Regarding storing WebAuthn passkeys in the iCloud Keychain: does anybody know if the unencrypted passkeys ever leave the secure enclave, getting stored in RAM or anything?
With traditional WebAuthn on a Yubikey or similar device, my understanding is that the private key never leaves the Yubikey, that the requester just inputs the ID of the passkey they'd like to use and supplies a challenge to sign to the Yubikey, and the Yubikey spits out the signed challenge. That way, even if an attacker has root access to your machine, they still can't get that passkey.
I'm hoping it works a similar way for iCloud Keychain passkeys: that the encrypted passkey and the challenge are fed to the secure enclave, which then decrypts the encrypted passkey, and then uses it to sign the challenge and then spits out the result, all with the unencrypted passkey never leaving the secure enclave. But I can't find anything definitively stating this. Anyone know for sure / have sources to back it up?


text:
Why a keyboard shortcut does work in a one app and does not in another?
I have a single shortcut for Enter/Exit Full Screen.
Works fine for apps, but in the same time it does work for another app.
Miro (Desktop/M1) in my example.
The shortcut is still presented for the app. Why it does not work?
OS: MacOS Ventura v13.6


text:
Does a MacBook connected to a PD charger charge the iPhone with power from adapter or battery?
I have an M1Pro Macbook Pro, and there is only one power outlet where I usually work. I have a 65W PD charger and I always use it to charge my Macbook. I know that my Macbook works with only the power the charger supplies and there won't be much wear-and-tear to the battery. Now I wish to charge my iPhone by connecting it to the Macbook. I want to know if the charger can supply sufficient power, which power supply will the Macbook use: battery or charger, and will it cause extra Macbook battery wear-and-tear?

Using the same charger to regulate “wear and tear” on the battery is fiction.  Your battery functions due to an ongoing  chemical reaction.   So whether brand new Apple (made and sourced in China) or some bargain basement Chinese- ium, it’s going to have that chemical reaction occur even if sitting on a shelf


text:
How to delete a selection of attachments in a macOS mail?
Is it possible to delete a selection of attachments in an email with more than one attachment on macOS?
mail -> Remove Attachments deletes all attachments.


text:
Is there a way to undo deletion of a tab group in Safari?
I'm diving into tab groups which seems pretty much ideal for the kind of browsing I do.
I just noticed that the right-click delete action on a tab group does not ask for confirmation, deletes the entire group and there is no way to undo it. That can't be for real, can it?


text:
casting third-party apps (like YouTube, Netflix, etc.) to Apple TV 4K from iPhone
Goal
My goal is to cast third-party apps like YouTube or Netflix to my Apple TV 4K. I do not want to Airplay my screen but rather control the Third-Party-App via my iPhone. Usually the button looks like this:
cast Button in YouTube
Problem
If I click on the cast-icon, nothing happens an my Apple-TV is not found. When using Netlfix it tells me, there are no devices found:
Netflix showing "no devices found"
I tried this with multiple iPhones without any luck.
We had a Samsung TV a couple of months ago where everything worked just fine.
What I already did or tried

update my iPhone to newest iOS (17.0.3)
reset my network-settings on my iPhone
update my Apple-TV to the newest tvOS
update the third-party apps to the newest version
call the Apple Support

I did everything without any success.
Network-Setup
FRITZ!box 7590 (Mesh Master)
├─ TP-Link Switch TL-SG105 (with IGMP-Snooping)
│  ├─ TP-Link Switch TL-SG105 (with IGMP-Snooping)
│  │  ├─ FRITZ!box 6591 Cable (Mesh Repeater)
│  │  │  ├─ iPhone (wireless)
│  │  │  ├─ Apple TV 4K (wired)
│  │  ├─ FRITZ!box 7490 (Mesh Repeater)
│  │  │  ├─ iPhone (wireless)

The iPhone is two times in the graphic because either way it won't work. FRITZ!box is a router very commonly used in Germany. They are also all updated to the newest FRITZ!OS (the operating system of the FRITZ!boxes). I double-checked, that I am not using a guest-LAN or guest-WLAN. I can also ping the Apple TV from my MacBook seamlessly. The Apple TV can play everything from YouTube or Netflix and has no problems connecting to the internet. AirPlay does also work, but as mentioned is it not my goal to use AirPlay
What I (think to) know
On the Netflix support page is a trouble-shoot guide for using the cast-function:

Make sure your Wi-Fi router or modem is set up to allow multicast. For the steps to set up multicast, check the manual that came with your router or contact the manufacturer.

To my understanding, multicast is enabled on my FRITZ!boxes so i searched the web and came across IGMP snooping. This is used for multicasting and could allegedly harm in some cases the multicast stream. My understanding is, that IGMP snooping helps the multicasting. I also found out that the Bonjour packages from the Apple TV (Are sent by the Apple TV from my understanding to establish the connection) have a TTL (Time-To-Live) of 1, thus they cannot be routed. To my understanding the mesh-repeaters nor the switches act like a router and don't delete the package.
Is there anything in my setup that prevents the usage of those casting features?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Update
With this configuration:
FRITZ!box 7590 Mesh Master
├─ Apple TV (wireless)
├─ iPhone (wireless)

I got YouTube to work but Netflix still didn't work. Apparently, the 6591 Cable does route the packages or something similar and the package dies. If I got the time, I will try to wireshark into the packages from and to the Apple TV.

If you're trying to use Miracast/Chromecast from your iPhone app to an AppleTV, I don't think that is supported.  AirPlay is the supported system for wireless video between Apple devices.  iPhone apps may have Miracast support, but the AppleTV can't receive Miracast.  Miracast receiving is usually a feature of TVs and non-Apple streaming devices.  There might be an AppleTV app that acts as a Miracast receiver, but after a short search I haven't found one.
You mention YouTube is working, but I believe it's actually connecting to the AppleTV via AirPlay.

@Mr.Mel No I DON'T mean AirPlay and I DON'T mean Miracast. And NO, I haven't got it to work with AirPlay because my screen is never shared to the Apple TV. My iPhone just acts as a remote for YouTube running on the Apple TV.


text:
Accessing Time Machine Backup of WhatsApp Mac iCloud backup folder
I previously found this thread looking at accessing WhatsApp's iCloud backup on the Mac and managed to access those files using Terminal.
I was trying to find my Time Machine backup of these synchronised files. I was wondering if anyone knew how I could use Terminal to access the Time Machine backups of the files in those directories?
Thanks ahead.


text:
How to load a DEXT?
I want to use my MCX4121C 40GB PCIe fiber network card. I plugged it into my mac and connected it to another computer. However, it doesn't show anything. Then, I found that Apple's DriverKit extension /System/Library/DriverExtensions/com.apple.DriverKit-AppleEthernetMLX5.dext wasn't loaded:

I can't find anything online about loading dexts. When I try to load it as a normal kext, it says:
> sudo kextload -b com.apple.DriverKit-AppleEthernetMLX5

Executing: /usr/bin/kmutil load -b com.apple.DriverKit-AppleEthernetMLX5
Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=71 "Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) not loadable (reason unspecified) (-603946989)" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) not loadable (reason unspecified) (-603946989)}


text:
Two of the same USB keyboard lag
I have two of the same keyboard, one for work and one for home. They are both USB A keyboards (WASD Keyboards) and I use them with my M1 Macbook Pro running Sonoma 14.0.
They were working great for many years. But some months ago, one of them started lagging a lot. Recently it switched around so it was the other one that started lagging. When I say lagging, I mean that I have to repeat the first key 5-10 times before it registers. Then when the "connection" is made, it works fine for a little while, until the same thing happens again. I've tried to update the firmware of the keyboards, but that has unfortunately not helped.
I've noticed that under Settings > Keyboard > Modifier Keys there is listed "Surface Mobile Mouse" which is a bluetooth mouse I use. My USB keyboard is not listed there at all. Anyway, even if I disconnect the bluetooth mouse, the keyboard issue persists.
If I go through the Change Keyboard Type wizard I have to skip the identification, but then the keyboard appears in the Modifier Keys Select Keyboard dropdown. Then a short while later it disappears again.
Any ideas?

Do you have the option to test with another keyboard (different product, different vendor)?


text:
Increasing maximum preview column height in finder?
I use Columns the most in Finder since there's a lot of restrictions with Gallery view. It's much easier for me to see tags and a folder's entire contents in a list. But the maximum preview size in Columns is incredibly irritating.
First off, I've done everything possible to maximize the preview pane size within finder itself. I'm mostly looking to see if there's anything I can do in terminal to increase the maximum preview height in columns specifically.
As seen here, the preview pane stops resizing the selected image after a certain point, even though there's plenty of spare room. The actual image size is about twice the size of what is displayed in columns.

It seems like the maximum preview height is determined by a set percentage of the column window size itself, which appears to be ~50%. Ideally, I'd like that to be around 85%. Does anyone know of a way to change that specific preview column size setting in terminal?

Why not just use Quicklook instead? that's what it's for.


text:
Trigger an AppleScript each time I open a new Finder window
Because of compatibility issues with the Accessibility API with Matlab, I cannot use traditional tiling window managers such as Amethyst or yabai. This is frustrating but I found an alternative at Tiling Finder Windows in Mac OSX & macOS which uses AppleScript to tile windows. I use it for Finder windows exclusively. I would like to have it perform every time I create a new finder window (so that it replication other TWM behaviour of automatically tile the Finder windows). I stumbled upon another similar question (How can I initiate scripts to run on my Mac from triggering events on my phone?).
I suspect this can be done but I am not sure how to implement this solution.


text:
On an iPhone, how to play a specific sound when I receive an email from a given person
This is in the context of the Shorcuts app, automation.
The sound file could be anything in the iPhone, starting, say from a mp3 file on a computer.
I can't find an obvious way to just specify a file to be played when I receive an email from a given person.


text:
Modifying a Calendar Event in iOS or iPadOS
As far as I’m aware, even in iOS 17 I can’t set a calendar event’s timezone to floating. I know I can do it on macOS, but that’s not always convenient, especially when I’m overseas, which is the whole problem.
I’m resigned to the fact that I’ll have to write something, but before I do, I would like to check whether I’ve overlooked something. Here are the possibilities:

using an apple shortcut. I can some calendar actions but the timezone is not included.
writing an action. I don’t think calendar events support actions — I certainly can’t see any when I edit an event.
writing an app. I have some swift skills, though it’s not my strength. I imagine I’ll have to work out how to select a date/event from the application just to set the timezone.

There’s nothing on the App store that I can find, but I don’t think it would be too hard to do.
Is there a shortcut option or action or some other alternative that I have missed?


text:
iCloud Drive upload / download battle
I have encountered an issue with the latest version of macOS Sonoma, to which I updated a few days ago.
I rely heavily on a specific folder on my iCloud Drive, and I need it to be constantly indexed and readily available offline. However, since updating, this folder is consistently being uploaded back to the cloud.
The problem unfolds like this: I download the folder, use its contents for a few hours, and then observe iCloud actively uploading the files back to the cloud, seemingly excluding them from local indexing. This forces me to download the folder once again, only to have the same cycle repeat itself. This is frustrating since a substantial portion of my working day is spent without internet access.
Has anyone experienced a similar issue, and is there a way to force iCloud Drive to always keep this specific folder available offline?
I'm looking for guidance or possible solutions to resolve this problem. Any assistance greatly appreciated.
Thank you!


text:
iPhone shortcuts - delete photos older than.. but images don't get deleted
My trigger finger is too lose! Collecting gigabytes of photos and videos on my iPhone 12 mini...
I use the Photos app and also have the Google Photos app installed, if this makes a difference. Google Photos is doing the backup.
Hence, I don't use the iCloud backup and want to delete the local copy of photos and videos on my phone in Apple Photos and Google Photos, but only on the phone.
Therefor I created an "Delete old Photos & Videos" shortcut (?) which looks like this:

When I start it, it searches for some time and then asks me whether it should delete some eightthousand photos... Hmm. Now it doesn't ask anymore but just finishes without response.
But the photos are still there, when I open the Photos.app.
What am I doing wrong?
I also tried to search by Creation Date, but this didn't find any photos.


text:
VPN server in different timezone apparently ignored by NTP / location services
I am using a WiFi router at home that tunnels all my traffic to a IPSec VPN server that is located in a different timezone. This way, all wireless clients automatically use this VPN connection. So far, so good.
While this works great in general and my "external" IP address appears to be the one of the VPN server, my Macbook Pro (Sonoma) still sets its timezone automatically to the actual location it is in. The same happens for the Weather app and FindMy.
I am a bit clueless here how this happens. My best guess is that Apple uses some sort of location detection mechanism that evades the VPN. How do I fix this? And: Is there any information on how apple location actually works?

Precise location on desktops is typically done by wifi scanning and comparing against a database of known BSSID/ESSID data.


text:
MacBook mid 2012 MacOS Catalina GPT configuration messed up
I had Tripple Boot configured on my MacBook Pro mid 2012 sharing the same 240GB Sata SSD drive in the following order:

APFS MacOS
Boot Camp Windows
Linux POP OS
EFI partition or something.

I used diskutil command to delete partitions 3 and 4, and now that space is unallocated.
I wanted to add that space to the MacOS partition, but I can't since the free space was after the Windows partition.
I didn't know how to do this from the macOS terminal, but after some digging, I used the trial version of Paragon Disk Manager to move the Boot Camp Windows partition to the end of disk.
then went back to Disk Utility app and increased the macOS partition. But as you may know, the APFS container (disk3) size was not increased and kept showing the same old size.
I don't have any command outputs from back then, but here are some details about my Macbook:
I have 2 internal disks:

240 GB SSD multiple partitions for OSs.
1 TB HDD single partition for Data.

After some searching on the internet, I found How do I resize an APFS Volume to reclaim all space inside its container? which looks pretty similar to my case.
I decided to try the latest solution from David Anderson. But I got a failure in the first command:
# gpt -f remove -b 409640 disk0
gpt remove: disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
disk0s2 removed

In my situation I'm sure it was not disk0, either disk1 or disk2, all I remember is that disk3 was the APFS container.
I was worried about the MBR-related message, but proceeded with the next command as follows:
# gpt -f add -b 409640 -s 976562496 -t apfs disk0
gpt remove: disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
gpt remove: disk0:  error: no space available on device

And here it gets stuck. I couldn't proceed any further from here.
I was in Recovery mode so I knew I might get stuck after rebooting.
Looking online I saw that gdisk can fix the MBR or whatever, but I don't have gdisk installed.
I land on this article trying to fix the partitions:
How to fix partitions if disk utility is not able to?
The output of the fdisk command was somewhat similar to what has been shared in that post:
 #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -     409639] <Unknown ID>
 2:
 3:
 4:

I don't remember the other three lines, one of them had a Windows-related name and I said maybe it's the Boot Camp but the first line was reported as \<Unknown ID\>.
After more online research, I found someone using fdisk -e /dev/disk0
I couldn't find the article nor the sequence of commands I did later on, but I ended it with the write command and exit.
After rebooting I ended up with the folder with a question mark.
I couldn't even enter recovery mode, But I could Access the Internet Recovery Mode though.
I tried installing gdisk in Recovery mode, but I couldn't. The only article I found about this was this one: Trying to rebuild my partition map
But I don't have /Volumes/EFI anymore...
I played a lot on my disk using fdisk to be honest trying to get things back. I run it with all options -u, -auto, -i, ...etc. But always the same result.
I have a spare Windows laptop, So I tried reinstalling macOS, Downloaded the macOS Catalina dmg file, and used my external 300 GB HDD with TransMac following online articles, but couldn't boot from it no matter how many tries and tried with 2 different dmg images downloaded from different website.
Here is my current situation:

Does anyone please know how to fix this mess?


text:
Ventura > Settings > Sound doesn't let me change output or input

It is stuck on the options that you see here.
When I plug in an external mic (not shown here), I see a new row in "Input" called "USB Audio Device" (underneath "Unknown USB Audio Device"), but I can't choose it.
How can I fix this?


text:
When inserting a FAT32 memory card why does Time Machine add "Untitled" to historical APFS snapshots?
I don't want to lose the intriguing comment from @benwiggy below which led me to ask this question.
To test @benwiggy's conjecture I inserted a FAT32 formatted memory card titled "DR-40" into my iMac tonight and then ran Time Machine. A new Folder is created on the Time Machine backups volume, but not just for the current snapshot - it's created for every snapshot and it's called "Untitled" not "DR-40", and empty (A lot of clutter and potentially confusing in a years time).

If I then exclude that same memory card from Time Machine backups by adding it to "Exclude From Backups" and re-running Time Machine backup - it is not removed, it remains. Not only that but even if I eject "DR-40" and run Time Machine with it remaining in the exclude list the new snapshot also contains "Untitled".

This begs the question how does Time Machine keep track of volumes that are attached so it knows whether they have been excluded or not? Is it by volume name or UUID or some other method?
original post and comments


text:
How can I use the force-click 'look up' function in Google Docs?
There is a Mac feature called 'look up' that when you hover over text that isn't editable (like any text, say on this website that isn't in a text field), and either force press on your trackpad or press Cmd+Ctrl+D it shows a definition and synonyms for a word.
I notice that you can do it to any words that aren't editable and even in some text editors like Microsoft Word and smaller ones. My problem is that it doesn't work in Google Docs. How could I bypass this on my Mac or in my browser?
Edit: I'm using the browsers Google Chrome and Firefox, on macOS
Sonoma 14.0. And even on some surrounding controls of Google Docs it doesn't work

OP please add which browser and macOS you have attempted this with as it may be different to what I've just tried. For other commenters note that as OP suggests, it doesn't work in Google Docs in Safari or Firefox on Sonoma (in the body of the document, it's OK on the surrounding controls etc). Web pages can be coded so the browser ignores right-click, or in this case force click, usually to prevent users using save images / web inspectors on page elements. What's needed is some sort of plugin? to unset the mouse click behaviour.


text:
Accessing iPod Touch data with Linux and ifuse
I have an old iPod touch, model A1318, that has my music on it. My computer was stolen, and my Time Machine backup was encrypted with the password and the hint stored on the stolen computer, so this iPod is the only backup I have. I want to access the music files on it.
I searched online and found ifuse. I installed it and confirmed that it works. For example, I connect an iPhone 4 running iOS 9.3.6, see the device on the left bar, and run:
$ ifuse /path/to/some/existing/folder/
Failed to connect to lockdownd service on the device.
Try again. If it still fails try rebooting your device.

So I disconnect, reboot the device, reconnect. I see a pop-up on the computer asking that the device trust the computer, answer "Trust" on that pop-up on the device, run the same command, and then I am able to see the data and play a song file.
When I do the same procedure with the iPod connected, I see:
No device found, is it connected?
If it is make sure that your user has permissions to access the raw usb device.
If you're still having issues try unplugging the device and reconnecting it.

I tried disconnecting and reconnecting, as well as rebooting, and I got the same result. The image shows that the device is connected and shows on Files. But opening that location shows only the pictures under DCIM. I am running Ubuntu 23.04.
How can I fix this and access the data on the device?


text:
How can I swap underscore and dash keys without Karabiner?
Unfortunately Karabiner is bugged for me, and freezes the system every 5 minutes or so.
I've managed to swap ~ on EU keyboard with
hidutil property --set '{"UserKeyMapping":[{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x700000064,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x700000035}]}'
UserKeyMapping:(
        {
        HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst = 30064771125;
        HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc = 30064771172;
    }
)

But I can't get the right UserKeyMapping for swapping - and _ because they have the same key code.
I hear there's a .keylayout, maybe I can use that?
Thanks

What do you mean by an "EU" keyboard?  What language exactly is your layout?  In any case, Ukelele easily lets you make custom keyboards that do what you want.  https://software.sil.org/ukelele/


text:
MacBook Pro (Mid-2014) 15": Wifi Stopped Working after updating to MacOS Catalina 10.15.7
I have an old MacBook Pro (mid 2014). After updating from Mojave (10.14.x) to Catalina (10.15.7), Wifi Cannot turn on at all and top bar icon grayed out. I've also updated to Big Sur (11.7.10) but had same issue. Check the screenshots below for better understanding.
PS: Whenever I downgrade/restore to Mojave, Wifi start working. I have backup in time machine.

It looks like some other people had a similar issue here; could you try their solutions and see if it works for you? Also maybe try a fresh installation to a secondary drive if you have one available.


text:
XTEST extension unavailable (XQuartz)
I am trying to use certain properties of X11 on mac via XQuartz. I am not trying to connect to a remote machine via ssh.
Here is what I am trying to execute
bash-3.2$ xdotool cmd+v
Warning: XTEST extension unavailable on '(null)'. Some functionality may be disabled;  See 'man xdotool' for more info.
xdotool: Unknown command: cmd+v

I read online and  it mentioned that it helpful to run
bash-3.2$ xdpyinfo | grep XTEST

but I I got no response to that command.
Also it might be usefull that
bash-3.2$ echo $DISPLAY
/private/tmp/com.apple.launchd.hSfxDpYG4N/org.xquartz:0

Question: How can I fix this behaviour?
NB: I wasn't sure how to tag this post. If anybody has more appropriate tags please let me know.


text:
OS Ventura v 13.0 SMB share credentials messed up?
I have a router which has a USB harddisk attached. This serves as a global storage and is accessible from smartphones and computers in our home network, either via LAN or Wifi.
As you might guess, the only computer not able to mount the SMB share as a registered user is the Macbook Air, running on Ventura 13.0 (further updates not available yet). On the other hand, when I allow guest access on the router, the Macbook will connect and works fine. To me it seems that not Samba is the problem but maybe messing up the credentials by the Mac's OS. Is there a solution?

13.0 was superseded within a month of release, November 2022. The early releases were very buggy, which is likely the root of your issue. Current is 13.6. What happens when you try to update the OS? Have you ever run a beta OS on that Mac?


text:
iMessages app keeps displaying a "syncing with iCloud", how to disable it?
On my Mac, the iMessages app keeps displaying a "syncing with iCloud" notification frequently. How can I turn this off?
Note, I do not wish to turn off syncing. I also vaguely remember there is a keyboard shortcut to do this, I forgot what it was...

Welcome to Ask Different :) Did you try toggling Enable Message in iCloud checkmark under Preferences → iMessage?


text:
How to auto-off screen and close noisy apps on iPhone after 10 minutes of inactivity at night?
Background
My mom enjoys TikTok on her iPhone at night. She often unknowingly falls asleep with it on, playing TikTok all night (I guess TikTok blocks the screen auto-off while running), shortening battery life and reducing her sleep quality. Sometimes worse, the screen stays still and lit all night, which I worry could cause the screen burn-in. It's an iPhone 14 Pro Max if it's relevant.
Question
Is there a method (including via external apps) to automatically turn off the iPhone’s screen and close all background apps (at least TikTok playing in the background, making sound, if not all) if:
A) The time is between midnight and 7:00 AM
AND B) There’s been no activity/input for over 10 minutes.
Not necessary but nicer to have: a free method.


text:
Fonts can't be used in apps with double click install
I am unable to use fonts in my apps until I restart or quit fontd from Activity Monitor. This problem only applies if I install the font by double clicking on the font file, however. If I go into Font Book first, the install works fine. It isn't that much of an issue, but I would appreciate the help to make it a little more convenient.

I find some apps need to be quit and relaunched, as they cache the OS font data. Other apps, like Affinity suite,  will do a live update.


text:
Recovery of APFS volume on external disk accidentally erased by Time Machine configuration on macOS Catalina
Long story short: adding an APFS volume located on an USB disk to Catalina TimeMachine configuration leaded to start erasing not only the volume but the whole disk. I disconnected the disk during erase operation and, since I got no errors mounting read only later, I'm searching for a solution to recover the lost volume(s) list and/or contents.

TL;DR: I have a multi volume APFS USB hard disk which I use for various backups (a Time Machine volume for my MacBook16 with Ventura, another one for backing up my iMac with Monterey and other volumes used as external file storage).
I wanted to backup my old MacBook13 which is on Catalina so I made another volume named "TMMacBook13" on this disk.
I attached the USB disk to MacBook13 with macOS Catalina and started Time Machine configuration trying to use "TMMacBook13" volume as backup destination: at this point I got a dialog saying that "TMMacBook13" volume needed to be "initialized" (translated from italian "inizializzato", I think original english dialog could be "needs to be erased").
Since the dialog was referring to the "TMMacBook13" volume, I launched Disk Utility to monitor what will happen and I proceeded with "initialization". At the very moment I saw a volume disappear from Disk Utility I understood that it was erasing the whole disk and not only the volume so I immediately disconnected the USB cable.
Later I mounted this drive in read only mode on Ventura using Disk Arbitrator to get read lony mounts and I saw that at least a volume was missing, good luck that during mount I got no warnings regarding possible disk corruption.
Now I know I lost at least a volume but, since I didn't write anything on it after the problem occurred, can someone tell me:

I'm right if I'm assuming that other volumes' contents are fine since I haven't got warnings during later mount
if there is a way to get the original volume list so I can check how much volumes I lost
if there is a way to get back / recover the original volumes

Is there any software / way to get at least point 2, even manually with an hex editor or a forensic kit (even Linux based)? I'm not using the file based undelete tools because one of this volumes was a copy of my system disk made with Carbon Copy Cloner, so it will find thousands and thousands of files of various types.


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Sudden problems with External Display on MacBook Pro. DisplayPort shows distortion (lines), HDMI turns on and off every few seconds
I have been using this combination of laptop (2021 MacBook Pro M1) and External Display (Mi Curved Gaming Monitor) for several months without issue.
Yesterday while gaming suddenly the screen started distorting, showing lines of color. Essentially any color from below is kind of copied in lines to some of the lines above it. For example if there's a window open halfway on the screen you can clearly see the red, yellow and green lines all the way up to the top of the screen on the same x-position as these buttons. The distortion happens only with DisplayPort.
I have tried different ports (both the USB-C / Lightning ports on the laptop, as well as the DisplayPort ports on my monitor. I also tried a different DisplayPort cable. The issue persists). When I reduce the refresh rate from 144hz to 120hz or 100hz sometimes it briefly appears normal, but after a few seconds the issue returns.
If I use HDMI, the screen appears completely normal, however every few seconds the screen turns black and then normal again. Which makes this solution impractical to work with.
When I connect another laptop the screen shows no issue.
I ran Diagnostics on my MacBook and it did not register any issues. I also updated the OS to Sonoma 14.0 but that didn't fix the issue either.
All of this leads me to believe it's a software / driver issue with the MacBook (or potentially worse: a hardware issue with the MacBook).
What are the steps you recommend to troubleshoot and solve this issue, beyond what I already did?


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When opening lid, cursor stays in external display
So I have been using an external display for a long period of time for MacBook Air, sometimes when I open the MacBook Air M1 lid, everything goes from the external display except wall paper and date and so on as normal, though the cursor stays, closing the lid and opening again makes it that I can fully move to Mac, what's going on?