Latest Mac How To
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How-To
How to keep a MacBook’s battery healthy
All batteries degrade over time, but you can slow the deterioration of your MacBook's battery performance with these simple tips.
Mac 911
How to use your Mac to snap pictures or scan documents with your iPhone or iPad
Apple hides this feature in plain sight, letting you have a scanner for your Mac without a USB cable or other software.
Mac 911
How to cut your ex out of your iCloud account
If you once shared an iCloud account across devices, an ex-partner might still have access.
Mac 911
How to mirror your Mac display through AirPlay
The way to use AirPlay to mirror a Mac display is obvious. The manner of doing so is different with different versions of macOS.
How-To
How to add a second screen to your Mac or MacBook
If youu2019re having to adjust to remote work, hooking up a second monitor to your Mac is one of the best ways to go about it.
Updated
How to use Terminal to securely erase free space on a Mac's mechanical drive
Learn how to use Terminal to securely erase free drive space.
Mac 911
How to migrate a startup volume from an Intel to an M1 Mac
Apple chose a different startup scheme for its Apple silicon models that prevents booting up from an Intel-targeted disk.
How-To
How to unlock an iPhone, iPad or Mac when its owner passed away
If the owner of a iPhone, iPad or Mac dies, how can you recover the data from the device? We run though your options.
How-To
How to play audio files in the Terminal
Learn how to play, convert, and get info on audio files using some macOS Terminal commands.
How-To
Apple tells users how to avoid cracked screens
Following reports of M1 MacBook screen problems Apple publishes support document detailing how to avoid screen cracks.
How-To
How to copy a failing drive to a backup using Mac Recovery
If youu2019ve gone through routine troubleshooting and nothing fixes your drive. you may want to try to recover the startup volumeu2019s contents by booting using recoveryOS.
How-To
How to AirPlay from iPhone to Mac
AirPlay is a handy way to stream from iPad, iPhone or Mac to your TV screen, but can you stream to your Mac? Here are the options:
How-To
How to use Optimized Storage in macOS
This feature in Appleu2019s Mac operating system promises to free up precious storage space.
Mac 911
How to encrypt Time Machine backups
Apple offers different ways to manage Time Machine encryption for local and network backups.
How-To
How to convert images into text on iPhone, iPad & Mac
The best apps for OCR and details of the Live Text feature coming in iOS and macOS Monterey that will copy words from pictures.
Mac 911
How to check if your Mac has a Recovery partition installed
Years ago, Apple automatically created a Recovery partition when installing macOS. But it can get corrupted, overwritten, or deleted.
Mac 911
How to get service on an Apple laptop battery
Lithium-ion batteries slowly shrink in capacity; a replacement may be covered under warranty.
How-To
How to create a temporary email address
Avoid spam and the risks of your email address falling into the wrong hands – keep your email address private with this feature.
Mac 911
How to check the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad battery level in macOS
While not a secret, you have to hunt to find your Magic Keyboard, third-party mouse, and similar wireless devicesu2019 current charges.
Mac 911
How to find the path of a file in macOS
If you need to copy the full set of nested folders or Unix file paths, there are two Finder tricks.
Mac 911
How to share a Wi-Fi connection on one Mac over ethernet to another
If youu2019ve got a Mac that has a wobbly or slow Wi-Fi connection, consider a relayed ethernet link.
Mac 911
How to erase your iPhone, iPad, or Mac remotely after a theft
You can ensure your data remains safe through erasure. Here's how you can use the Find My app to remotely wipe out a device.
How-To
Noise cancelling is coming to FaceTime, but you can get it now
New features coming to FaceTime this fall will reduce background noise on calls from/to Mac, iPhone & iPad. You can get them now.
Mac 911
Live Text destroys these paid text extraction apps
If you are trying to access text in imagesu2014whether documents, photos, or formsu2014you have many options available, including a new one that's included in the upcoming macOS Monterey.
How-To
macOS Terminal shortcuts
Many people stay away from the command line because of the tedium of typing long commands. But you can save lots of time and type less by using the command history functions.
Mac 911
How to use Script Editor to re-authorize a balky AppleScript in macOS Catalina and later
New requirements for your permission to let apps and scripts control system elements and apps may block old scripts.
How-To
How to verify your Mac's drive health using Disk Utility
It’s a good idea to check on the health of your Mac’s internal storage on a regular basis. You can do this using Disk Utility, an app that comes with every Mac.
How-To
How to sync Pinned Tabs and Safari settings between Macs
The new version of Safari will make it easier to sync Pinned Tabs in Safari from one Mac to another. Here's how to do it now.
Mac 911
What Mac do you have? Here's how to find out OVERRIDEN
Apple has several ways of identifying a Mac, each of which is found in a different location or by another method.
How-To
How to change the window background color and image for macOS’s Terminal
Learn how to make Terminal use a user-defined background image each time you open a new window.
Mac 911
How to stop macOS Mail from using a bad email address
Apple wants to make it easy for you to use email addresses. But at the same time, it can lead to using a bad email address.
How-To
Apple repairs: price guide and how long repairs take
Need to get your MacBook, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch repaired? Here's what you need to do and how much Apple repairs cost.
How-To
How to run Windows on a Mac for free
Here's how to get Windows for free and install it via Boot Camp, Virtual Box or VMware without paying a penny.
How-To
Apple offers free downloads of OS X Lion and Mountain Lion
Take a trip back to 2011 and 2012, when people worked in offices and Apple was still naming operating systems after cats.
Mac 911
What to do with a dead Mac's built-in SSD to secure your privacy
But what if your Mac dies and you want to get rid of it without private data some other party has the potential of retrieving? Here's what you can do.
Mac 911
Four ways to extend displays to your Mac (now and coming soon)
If you're short of display territory and want to add more options, you have four to choose from.
How-To
3 super-cool ways to control your Mac with your Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch isn't just for filling activity rings—you can also use it to control your Mac. Here's how.
Mac 911
How to use an iMac as an external monitor
New iMacs can use Universal Control, but or iMacs from 2009 to 2014 can be used as external monitors when running certain versions of macOS.
Mac 911
How to fix macOS Accessibility permission when an app canu2019t be enabled
Accessibility access is often required for utilities. Thereu2019s a Terminal trick you may need to use when you canu2019t grant that permission.
How-To
Got a new 24-inch iMac? Do these 5 things first
To get the most out of your Mac experience, there are a few things you should do first before doing anything else.
How-To
How to use iCloud to back up your Mac
Hoping to back up your Mac to iCloud? Time Machine doesn't work with iCloud, but you can use the service to store files safely.
Mac 911
Take control of Time Machine backups with the TimeMachineEditor utility
You can use a third-party utility to set a schedule and other controls for Time Machine backups. And the utility is free.
How-To
How to get the Hello screensaver on your Mac
There's a 'Hello' screen saver coming in macOS 11.3, but you can get it now, although getting it to work on older Macs is tricky.
Mac 911
Laggy performance in macOS Big Sur's Finder? Try closing tabs
While thereu2019s no consistent pattern, a tabbed window may bog down normal Finder functions.
Mac 911
How to reveal hidden files in macOS (and hide visible ones)
A few techniques let you see files marked as hidden, whether intentionally or otherwise, and reverse their status.
Mac 911
Save Mac storage space by cleaning out abandoned log files
Log files are important for troubleshooting, but many apps are not good at cleaning out old ones that aren't useful anymore. Here's how you can see what's gong on with log files on your Mac.
Mac 911
Major Keynote 11 update makes it better for online meetings
You can now display a presentation in a window and have your notes and slide-navigation tools in another window. Here's how it works.
Mac 911
How to share a Macu2019s drive with another Mac, whether Intel or Apple silicon
You can access the startup volume on one Mac as a drive that appears on another thatu2019s directly connected. This is known as Target Disk Mode on Intel Macs; it's still available on Apple silicon Macs, too.
Mac 911
How to find every troubleshooting boot mode on an M1 Mac
When Apple released the M1 Macs, they also changed the boot modes that were available with Intel Macs. Learn what you need to do to get into Recovery Mode and other boot modes—and also what procedures are now gone.
How-To