Apple Releases macOS 13 Ventura, iPadOS 16.1, iOS 16.1, watchOS 9.1, and More

" HomeKit users have complained of unreachable devices, automations not working, accessories doing random things, and general flakiness. Hopefully, iOS 16.1 and the other updates address those quirks…"
A very big hope!

Update: one day later and automations seem to be working well.

How did I miss this? Network Locations is gone? At least any interface to them seems to be. The locations I had set up remain after the release installation, but there doesn’t seem to be an interface to edit them or create new ones.

Just a quick clarification question. In the article it says:

When Apple first announced Stage Manager, it was limited to M1 iPads, but after pushback from the community,Apple has since extended the support slightly to include:

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later)
• iPad Air (5th generation)

Isn’t the iPad Pro 11-inch 3rd generation the M1 iPad Pro released last year (which I got)? In other words, wasn’t it always included?

Thanks,

doug

One important question is: does Ventura slow down any older Macs / MacBooks? My 2017 MacBook Pro already seems to be significantly slower under Big Sur (11.5.2) than it used to be, and a further slowdown may be too slow after all. Otherwise the machine works just fine (in most circumstances).

Oh, goodie, we can still manage network locations from the shell (not why I bought a Mac though, and was that tcsh, bash or zsh… ;~} with the “networksetup” command. It has 103 different command options. I guess I have a few scripts to write; although, a Time Machine restore is looking attractive about now…

And scheduled startups and shutdowns are only via the shell command, “pmset.”

Isn’t the iPad Pro 11-inch 3rd generation the M1 iPad Pro released last year (which I got)?

Third generation is the 2018 model.

Does iOS 16.1 solve the problem that some traffic will be guided around VPN?

Something is odd then. My “about” says iPad Pro (11-inch) 3rd generation.

I see the discrepancy. The 12.9-inch 3rd generation is 2018. But the 11-inch 3rd generation is 2021.

Here are the tech specifications for the 11-inch 3rd generation iPad Pro.

https://support.apple.com/kb/SP843?locale=en_US

Apple’s support page says this about Stage Manager support:

• A new way to multitask on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) and iPad Air (5th generation)

I do so wish Apple had not gone to yearly OS updates like this. There’s five Macs in use in this house, three iPhones and two iPads. It seems like I’m forever downloading, installing, updating and trouble-shooting. At least on the old two-year cycle the second year was relatively quiet. And, more importantly the quality of the software was a lot better!

Hurray for Apple’s naming conventions – creating confusion for eleventy-seven generations!

The 2018 iPad 11 is actually the third generation of small(er) iPad Pros, but because they were 9.7 and 10.5, I guess Apple decided to restart the generation count. The 12.9, meanwhile, has stayed the same size, so no generation reset.

Anyone having issues with TV OS and the remote that came with Apple TV 4K (1st Generation). The last two updates have caused a lot for me. It behaves erratically and inconsistently a lot but sometimes works fine as before. Most particularly when using the Menu button to ascend in the screen hierarchy - it often fails to ‘land’ on the default control which allows one to ascend to the next level. Sometimes no screen control receives a focus requiring the use of the touch pad to select the ‘default’ control so the Menu button works as expected.

Furthermore, when in ‘cover flow’ mode @ Computers > [Music, Podcasts, etc] > Playlists, scrolling with the touchpad skips every other item…

This started when still running Big Sur and persists since upgrading to Monterey

I’ve sent feedback to Apple TV folks. Makes me hesitant to install any other TV OS updates

I am having a weird problem in mail after updating my iPhone 13 to iOS 16.1. I cannot receive email from one of my email accounts. There is an error that says “No password provided for ‘Personal Email’”. When click the link on the error message to go to settings, there is clearly a password entered. So I delete it and re-enter it, but when I click Done, I get an error message that says that there is no password entered. Has anybody else had a similar problem?

My bad, for the 11-inch iPad Pro, it’s the first generation or later. I’ve corrected the article.

Thread required for Matter?
Currently updating original HomePod (not mini) to 16.1. Here’s the description:
“ Software version 16.1 adds support for Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard that enables a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across ecosystems. This update also includes performance and stability improvements.”
So …?

Apple frustrates me with some of there ‘removal’ decisions. One that really annoyed me was Network Utility which I often used around the office. I simply don’t see any reason to remove a perfectly serviceable utility. The same applies to Network Locations - I have several set up on my MBP as I deal with several clients at different locations.

I do understand they may not be widely used but for the people who use them they’re incredibly valuable and removing them ‘just because’ doesn’t speak well to servicing customers.

What’s wierd is that the network locations selector still exists in the Apple Menu (under Locations), but there is now no way to edit it.

I pulled that from here:

The first specification release of the Matter protocol will run on Wi-Fi and Thread network layers and will use Bluetooth Low Energy for commissioning.

Apple releases the same software for the HomePod and HomePod mini. My assumption is only the latter will work with Matter.

Somehow the password that was entered for that account was changed (I’m assuming that it happened during the update, because nothing else happened) in the keychain. I only realized it when I looked in 1Password and there was a different password for that account. Still weird. Why would an update change a keychain password?

Speaking of removal, Preview in Ventura can no longer display ps or eps.

Yes, the “functionality” is still there, but now one has to edit it with the “networksetup” shell command. Likewise, scheduled startups/shutdowns now require “pmset” in the shell. In a new record, I ran up against both of these in my first hour with Ventura.

Fine. Linux is free and the hardware to run it is a lot cheaper.

I’ve discovered that on my MacBook Pro, (MacOS 13) Mac Mail, which was working ok with Office365 work email, keeps bringing up some weird mailbox error. Restarting the machine thankfully seems to have fixed it.

However, I don’t see the iPadOS available when I go to Software Update.

As Apple has locked down macOS and stripped features, I have found a spare ThinkPad running Linux to be handy to have around.

Not all iPads are “compatible” with OS16.1. Mine updated but by wife’s older iPad did not offer the update.

Mine is a 3rd generation iPad Pro 11-inch (i.e. with the M1 chip) so I would think it would qualify. That’s why I’m perplexed I haven’t seen an option to upgrade it yet.

As with iOS 16 and the iPhone, iPadOS 16.1 is an optional update. Settings / General / Software Update - you should see a link to iPadOS 16 at the bottom of that screen.

That’s why I’m puzzled as l don’t and I have before with previous updates

Sometimes it takes a while for updates to show up. Maybe when the Apple Servers (Masters!) are busy.

For (my) future reference, Josh keeps this article up-to-date:

re: Network Utility - I agree, trilo. It still works fine @ Big Sur and Monterey. I stashed a copy on an attached HD (vs. in Applications where Apple deprecates it every time it does an update / upgrade) and have a handy shortcut to it. I’ve used ping for years with my satellite based ISP as a general speed and ‘weather’ checker

Update. I finally found out what the problem was thanks to this article. https://www.getdroidtips.com/how-to-fix-ios-16-update-not-showing-on-iphone-and-ipad/

Months ago I had tested some iPadOS 15 betas, but although I had left the beta program, the certificate that limits you to iPadOS 15 was still under my VPN/Security settings. Deleting the certificate, rebooting the iPad, immediately brought up the option of iPad OS 16. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and help.

Does Ventura Mail finally remember user specified column width settings again?

OH MY GAWD! Am I the only person in the world who still syncs desktop-iPhone-iPad via USB?

My first sync under Ventura / iOS 16.1 resulted in easily 3-4 thousand spurious Calendar entries on my desktop. I will be days sorting this out, much less discerning any pattern to describe it in a useful bug report.

There is Time Machine, but who knows which files have to be restored to get the complete Calendar database? And then will Ventura just trash it again.

tvOS 16 introduced a problem for setting up users. In order to sync an account and “make use of iCloud features”, it required an iDevice to access the account data (or whatever it does). However, there is NO manual option, so any user HAS to have an iDevice handy, with that account as its main iCloud account. This is not always possible.

Well I do have an old iPhone that could be used in this way. But, to do this, it HAS to be running ?OS 16, which was a bit cheeky when iPadOS 16 had not then been released, so no iPads could be used to complete account updating at the time tvOS 16 was released. Needless to say, my old iPhone cannot run iOS 16. So tvOS 16 has made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to complete account updating (which it requires after the upgrade) on my multiple AppleTVs.

This is so absurd I contacted Apple Support. They agreed it was daft and said they are aware of the problem but we’ll just have to wait for the next update to fix this.

tvOS 16.1 just released and guess what, still the same absurdity. I still CANNOT ‘finish setup’ of the main account on the AppleTVs as I have no iDevice that uses that account and can run ?OS 16. An AppleTV is no longer fully usable without a (latest) iDevice.

Even the other accounts on the Apple TVs for which we do have iPhones on iOS 16 still request in the Settings app to ‘Finish setup on iPhone’, even when having completed exactly that, no matter how many times. Why keep asking for further setup when there is nothing that needs to be done.

Apple are capable of great things, but too often they completely screw things up and then cannot be bothered to fix it in the next OS update (or ever?). Or do they seriously think that DEMANDING an AppleTV user also has the very latest iDevice before being able to fully set up their Apple TV is acceptable? Their arrogance increasingly astonishes. Or is it stupidity?

For anyone on Ventura and Outlook 365, can you verify you can no longer revert to Legacy Outlook? I have option on Monterey under Help. But it seems a colleague on Ventura found you can’t delete attachments (only) from email in Outlook under Ventura (option to remove is missing). And no longer is revert to legacy there (sent me screen shot). Unless this is a setting at admin/enterprise 365 level, I think not having legacy on Ventura is bad. New Outlook, imho, is just awful.

I just tried the native Outlook version 16.66.1 (22101101) that’s included with my Microsoft 365 Home account. It still has the ability to toggle “Old Outlook”/“New Outlook”. It’s found in the Outlook menu in the macOS menu bar. Plus when you’re in “Old Outlook” there’s a slider at the top right of the Outlook window to enable “New Outlook” - the same type of item to toggle back isn’t found in New Outlook, so you have to go to the menu bar.

I did test “New Outlook” and found the same inability to remove an attachment. Switching back to “Old Outlook” did allow me to remove an attachment. Guess it’s time for feedback to Microsoft about a missing feature.

Admittedly, though this might not be the same Outlook version that’s used by enterprises.

Thanks! I am assuming your are on Ventura?
(and perhaps you are right on the Home vs Ent. There are deployment options to enable/disable Legacy and/or New Outlook toggle for Mac M365 Outlook. So I am pursuing that area as well)

Yes, I’m on Ventura.

My iPad Calendar is still intact. Syncing via USB has a “Replace Contacts” checkbox, but it only seems to go from Mac to iOS. Is anyone aware of way to to replace in the opposite direction?

Otherwise, I’m restoring Monterey. This is an incredible mess, and it seems to be actively corrupting as I repair?

Thanks.

Once you recover your Calendar and Contacts data on the Mac you can create an archive via the File/Export menu. I regularly create an archive on an external drive (or bluray disk a couple of times a year).
Not sure how to recover the data - I guess delete all current entries and import the archived data (also in the File menu).
Mind you, this is all under Mojave. I have no idea if it is supported in later macOS.

Been there…File/Export is broken under Ventura. While I was working on this my wife came up and said, "Oh, I’ve meant to tell you, file sharing has been broken since you updated to Ventura. Spent the evening on that. It’s not my network, it’s Ventura. The next sound you here will be me booting into Recovery Mode.

From the response here as well as Ventura 13.1, it’s looking like I could be…

I finally got up the nerve to try Ventura 13.1. The instant I click the “Sync” button in my Finder window, SyncServer and Mingler processes immediately “quit unexpectedly” (love the euphemism… :-) And the Calendar is corrupted.

This is repeatable w/ multiple fresh boots.

No you are not. I use iMazing which does automatic wifi sync but I still connect via usb once or twice a month and do a manual backup. I also use iMazing for adding home grown audiobooks to the books app, via usb sync.

I recently upgraded to Catalina and found the Music App corrupted a few things so I stay away from it as well. I have not tried any of this on my M1 MacBook Air however.