We lead off with news of a weird bug causing iPhones and iPads to power down at night and restart in the morning, potentially causing users to miss alarms and calls. Those still using iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 have updates to 16.7.1 to eliminate a couple of security vulnerabilities. Adam Engst distills several TidBITS Talk discussions to recommend iPhones and configuration approaches that may help those whose physical and cognitive capabilities have declined. Finally, Glenn Fleishman tells the months-long story of data refusing to sync with iCloud Drive from only one of his two Macs. He shares numerous techniques for unsticking iCloud Drive syncing, though the solution to his problem required intervention from Apple engineering. Notable Mac app releases this week include GraphicConverter 12.0.7, Scrivener 3.3.4, and DEVONthink 3.9.4.
Some users have awoken to their iPhones and iPads asking for a passcode due to an unprompted restart the night before. Many people may not care what their device does at night, but beware that it could prevent alarms from triggering and block emergency calls.
Apple has updated iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 with fixes for the vulnerabilities addressed in iOS 17.0.3 and iPadOS 17.0.3. You don’t need to rush to update unless you work in a large business or government agency.
Many people find themselves helping older friends or family members with reduced physical or cognitive capabilities. Adam Engst distills advice from a pair of TidBITS Talk discussions that asked about the best iPhone and simplifying the iPhone experience for older people.
As with all its services, Apple offers no real troubleshooting when iCloud Drive synchronization stalls in macOS. Glenn Fleishman encountered a problem that took months to diagnose and fix. In the process, he went through the wringer of trying nearly everything suggested online, via Apple support, and from colleagues. In the end, the magic that fixed it was undisclosed engineers.
Watchlist
Brings improvements and bug fixes to the Swiss Army knife of graphics apps. ($39.95 new, free update, 244.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance update for the long-form writing tool. ($49 new, free update, 64.7 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance release for the document and information manager fixes bugs related to macOS 14 Sonoma. ($99 new, free update, 140.7 MB, macOS 10.14+)
