Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 34 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals

Category: Problem Solving

Josh Centers 13 comments

Use ChronoSync to Move Large Folders

Moving large folders with the macOS Finder can become an exercise in frustration if it doesn’t gracefully handle errors. In such situations, ChronoSync Express from Econ Technologies can move your data more successfully.

Adam Engst 38 comments

Not Receiving SMS Text Message 2FA Codes? Call Your Carrier

After failing to receive SMS text messages from five financial services websites that use them for two-factor authentication codes, Adam Engst resolved his problem with a quick call to T-Mobile to remove an automatically created system-level block on those numbers.

Adam Engst 24 comments

Picking a Power Station for a MacBook Pro (And More)

After a 2016 MacBook Pro failed to provide sufficient battery life for a track meet, Adam Engst started researching alternative ways of powering it, only to realize that he had something in the car all along that would have solved the problem.

Adam Engst 9 comments

TipBITS: Disable Live Text for Easier Selecting in Preview

Having trouble dragging selection handles in Preview because Live Text wants you to select text in the image instead? Here’s how to turn off Live Text if necessary.

Adam Engst 87 comments

Helping Senior Citizens Reveals Past Apple Lapses and Recent Improvements

After spending several days helping some elderly friends with their Macs, Adam Engst came away with a new appreciation for how difficult some aspects of Mac use are for older people. Some Apple efforts are a step in the right direction but may not be available to today’s users. And there’s plenty of room to improve.

Adam Engst 2 comments

macOS 11.6.7 Big Sur Fixes Email Attachment Bug

If you’re still running macOS 11 Big Sur, it’s worth updating to the quietly released version 11.6.7, which fixes a problem that prevented email apps from opening attachments. It may also help clear Time Machine blockages, but it could also introduce problems by removing Rosetta from M1 Macs.

Adam Engst 16 comments

Solving Connectivity Problems Caused by Interlocking Apple Privacy Settings

In its ongoing effort to protect users’ privacy, Apple has built a series of related technologies into macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, and iPadOS 15. Unfortunately, they can cause network connectivity issues, such that you might want to disable one or more. Here is how we think they work.

Josh Centers 8 comments

Google Lets Legacy G Suite Users Keep Their Email for Free

After initially demanding that legacy G Suite users upgrade to the paid Google Workspace keep their custom email addresses, Google has relented and is now offering individuals and families a free option, but you only have until 27 June 2022 to claim it.

Adam Engst 25 comments

Bad Apple #5: iCloud Drive Folder Sharing Risks Data Loss

iCloud Drive folder sharing has been around since macOS 10.15 Catalina, which makes it all the less acceptable that someone with whom the folder is shared can delete a file permanently and with only one possible—and unmentioned by Apple—option for recovery.

Josh Centers 12 comments

How Apple Works Around Battery Chemistry Limits with Fast Charge and Optimized Battery Charging

Computer hardware engineers are clever, but even they can’t bypass the physical limitations of battery chemistry. Or can they? Apple has implemented some clever workarounds to maximize battery life and lifespan.

Adam Engst 45 comments

Use Apple’s networkQuality Tool to Test Internet Responsiveness

Apple’s networkQuality command-line tool in Monterey provides a new metric—“responsiveness”—that measures latency in a more realistic manner to better reflect your real-world experience with interactive Internet services like videoconference and gaming.

Adam Engst 2 comments

LittleBITS: Named Anchors Fixed, Eolake Stobblehouse Dies

It’s a good news/bad news week. On the plus side, Apple finally fixed the bug that prevented Mail from following links to named anchors, making our table of contents links clickable again. Sadly, however, we mourn a steadfast friend of TidBITS who was responsible for ensuring that all TidBITS staffers could cover the just-released iPad.

Josh Centers 16 comments

Protect Yourself from Blue Light with Digital Color Filters

Blue light emitted from screens has been linked to a number of health issues. Here are a couple of ways you can reduce or block it on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Adam Engst 24 comments

LittleBITS: Unsubscribe Bug Reversed and Virtualizing Monterey on an Old Mac

We’ve resubscribed several hundred TidBITS readers who were inexplicably unsubscribed several months ago, and on a completely different topic, Adam shares a tip on how to run Monterey on a Mac that doesn’t support it.

Adam Engst 16 comments

Yahoo-Backed POP Connections Cause TidBITS Formatting Error

After much sleuthing, Adam Engst uncovers why some TidBITS readers experience a situation where an article in a TidBITS issue would be formatted as a column of text a single character wide. The culprit? An ancient email retrieval protocol as implemented by Yahoo Mail.