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Category: Problem Solving

Adam Engst 4 comments

Solving the Backblaze “Permission Denied” Restore Error

The relatively new Backblaze Restore app makes it much faster and easier to restore backed-up files to your Mac, but if your initial restore fails with a “Permission denied” error, here’s the solution.

Adam Engst 28 comments

macOS 15 Sequoia’s Excessive Permissions Prompts Will Hurt Security

macOS 15 Sequoia displays permissions prompts for apps that require screen recording permissions—more than just screenshot apps—at least once per week and after every restart or logout. Adam Engst explains why this is both unnecessary and counter-productive.

Adam Engst 44 comments

macOS 14.6.1, macOS 13.6.9, iOS 17.6.1, and iPadOS 17.6.1 Fix Advanced Data Protection

Apple’s latest updates address a problem that prevented users from turning Advanced Data Protection on or off. What other problems might they fix as well? Read on for details and our installation advice.

Adam Engst 32 comments

Help Build a Tool To Track Apple Support Page Changes

It’s possible to write software that can traverse the entire universe of Apple support pages. Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were a tool that would tell you which pages were new or had changed? 

Adam Engst No comments

Talking about Troubleshooting on the Chit Chat Across the Pond Podcast

In which Adam Engst and Allison Sheridan talk through Adam’s solar inverter connectivity problem as an example of how small assumptions can prevent successful troubleshooting.

Adam Engst 14 comments

How to Turn Off iCloud Private Relay to Work Around Outages

Apple’s iCloud Private Relay traffic anonymization service went down last week for some users, causing various connectivity problems in Safari and other apps. If you experiencing connectivity problems, try turning off iCloud Private Relay temporarily.

Adam Engst 21 comments

Solar Inverter Connectivity Problem Reveals Weak Troubleshooting

After failing to reestablish Internet connectivity for his solar panel inverters following a spate of power outages, Adam Engst finally figured out the problem with the help of a support tech who made him break it down into its constituent parts. Read on to learn from his mistakes.

Adam Engst 12 comments

Crash Caused by Apple Mail’s Previous Recipients Window and Editing in Contacts

Mail will crash if you open its Previous Recipients window and then edit a contact in Contacts. This bug has existed since macOS 12 Monterey and continues to plague the betas of macOS 15 Sequoia.

Adam Engst 26 comments

Apple Publishes “Longevity, by Design” White Paper

Although much of the white paper addresses issues surrounding repairability, Apple points out that the larger goal of longevity requires a more all-encompassing approach.

Adam Engst 2 comments

Fixing Slack for iPhone’s “Only Some People Can Post” Error

If Slack on the iPhone displays “Only some people can post.” in channels where you should have posting permissions, force-quit it to fix the problem.

Adam Engst 4 comments

In Your Face Provides Persistent Notifications for Events and Tasks

Tired of being late to meetings because you were focused on a task and missed a subtle notification in the corner of the screen? The In Your Face app takes over the entire Mac screen for its alerts, ensuring you never miss an event again.

Adam Engst 20 comments

Solving the macOS Installer’s “Failed to Personalize” Error with New Firmware

A TidBITS Talk user was unable to update macOS on an M2 16-inch MacBook Pro, receiving a “Failed to personalize” error each time. The problem turned out to be related to firmware, and the little-known solution required restoring with Apple Configurator.

Adam Engst 5 comments

iPhones Pause MagSafe Charging During Continuity Camera

Don’t bother getting a Continuity Camera mount that incorporates a MagSafe Charger to prevent your iPhone’s battery from draining during meetings. It won’t charge wirelessly—and maybe not even over a USB cable—while using Continuity Camera.

Adam Engst 60 comments

Widespread Reports of Apple ID Accounts Being Inexplicably Locked

If your devices mysteriously ask you to reset your Apple ID password and then lock your account, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to do but go with the flow.

Adam Engst 7 comments

Listen Later Adds Features Requested by TidBITS Readers

The Listen Later text-to-podcast service now features outro music after each podcast episode and provides a Chrome extension for easier submission. Also, if a paywall is blocking you from converting an article to a podcast, TidBITS readers have developed a workaround.