Latest Mac How To
SEE MAC STORIES BY CATEGORY
How-To
Where is the Command key?
The Command key (Apple key or Cmd key) gets a lot of use. Here's where it is on Mac & PC keyboards, and what you can do with it.
How-To
How to AirPlay audio from Mac to HomePod
Bolster your Mac's audio by channelling sound through your HomePod speaker.
Mac 911
A Fusion Mac’s speed getting you down? Give it a boost with an external SSD
You’ll see a significant speed boost if you switch from a hard drive or Fusion drive startup volume to an SSD on your Mac. Here are instructions on how to set it up.
Mac 911
How to set up Sleep mode on a Mac that has bus-powered external storage
External bus-powered drives on a Mac may not dismount properly when the laptop goes to sleep. Here's what you can do to make sure you storage is safe.
How-To
How to turn a Mac’s screen off
Want to turn off the display but not the Mac while mirroring to a TV or monitor? Don't want your Mac to sleep? Here's what to do:
Mac 911
How to revive or restore an unresponsive Mac from another Mac
If your recent series Mac won't boot, you can try to 'revive' or 'restore' it.
How-To
How to save your M1 Mac by booting into Recovery mode
You do it differently than you would on an Intel Mac.
How-To
Can M1 Macs run older versions of macOS?
Need to run Catalina, Mojave or an older version of macOS on an M1 Mac? Here's why you can't – and what your best option is
Mac 911
What to do when switching to a Mac with a smaller drive
If your current Mac has more data stored than the capacity of the new one, you probably feel youu2019re in a pickle. Here's what you can do to make the transition work.
How-To
What is the Option key on a Mac?
You'll often see the Mac Option key referenced, but some keyboards don't have an Option key! Here's which key to use and what Option does
How-To
How to Force Quit on a Mac
If your Mac is frozen and you need to force quit apps here's the Mac shortcut you need (the equivalent of control-alt-delete)
Mac 911
Thinking of upgrading from a Fusion drive on a Mac? Here’s what you need to know
With a Fusion drive, you canu2019t upgrade just the SSD or hard drive components without doing some hard work.
How-To
How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac
Resetting NVRAM can help when something is messing with a Mac, but on Macs with M1 Chip the process is different
How-To
How to reset the SMC on an M1 or Intel Mac
Here's how to reset your Mac's SMC, which controls power and thermal management that could be causing performance problems
Mac 911
See red squares on your Mac’s display? There might be a problem with the GPU
The problem doesnu2019t appear widespread, but users report incidents that date back years.
How-To
macOS 11 Big Sur Public Beta now available: Here’s how to install it
The next version of the Mac operating system, macOS 11 Big Sur, will be officially released this fall. But you can install and run Big Sur now by joining Appleu2019s Public Beta program.
How-To
All the new ways of doing things on M1 Macs
Accessing Recovery mode, restoring from Time Machine, target disk mode and booting from external drives are different on a M1 Macs
Mac 911
How to fix the wrong permissions on several files in macOS
If the way in which a bunch of files can be handled on your Mac has gone astray, thereu2019s an easy fix.
Mac 911
Can’t find the Scheme menu in macOS’s Disk Utility? Here’s how to find it
Itu2019s a minor riddle, but easily solved (we make it up in volume).
Mac 911
How to lock files in macOS Big Sur’s Finder
The Finder lets you lock files, but some aspects are a little obscure.
Mac 911
Put emoji, math, and other symbols at your fingertips with a custom Mac software keyboard
If youu2019re a frequent user of hard-to-access symbols, a third-party tool can let you create a faster solution.
Mac 911
How to share your Mac’s screen the quick and easy way in Messages
Need to help someone by seeing what theyu2019re up to or get help yourself?
Mac 911
How to reserve Time Machine space on an APFS drive
Apple has specific advice on making additional volumes on a backup volume, but it needs some explanation.
Mac 911
Mac screen sharing won’t work? Disable it! Then turn it back on
Paradoxically, you may have to turn off screen sharing in order to get it to allow sharing.
Mac 911
macOS Big Sur’s battery optimization: You can’t do much to tweak laptop settings
Apple relies on your behavior over time balanced against battery wear, but doesnu' let you tweak its choices.
How-To
How to use Touch ID on the Mac
Here's how to set up Touch ID on your Mac so you can use it for Apple Pay and log ons, and also how to troubleshoot issues
Mac 911
How to figure out if a MacBook power adapter or battery has gone bad
There are really three components in a laptop relating to charging a battery.
Mac 911
If you’re using AFP to share a Mac drive, It’s time to change
You may need to tweak some settings to keep sharing volumes after upgrading to High Sierra or later.
Mac 911
How to change the icon of a storage device in macOS
To tell different volumes and drives apart, you can paste in custom icons.
Mac 911
What’s the latest version of macOS you can run on your Mac?
You may be stymied by trying to update with an installer past your machineu2019s capabilities.
Mac 911
macOS Big Sur supports Time Machine on APFS-formatted drives, but there are a few catches
The updated macOS finally allows you to use a drive formatted with Appleu2019s not-very-new APFS filesystem as a Time Machine destination.
Mac 911
How to change your name on your Mac’s user account
Apple doesnu2019t make it obvious, but your full account name in macOS can be changed at will.
How-To
How to adjust webcam settings on your Mac
Apple doesn't have built-in camera settings, but you can use third-party software to really improve your camera quality.
Mac 911
How to check a Mac’s OS upgrade history in System Profiler
You can check to see which updates have correctly installed for macOS.
Mac 911
How to turn on Do Not Disturb in macOS Big Sur
Apple shifted from its former shortcut in macOS to the new Control Center.
Mac 911
How to upgrade from an older Mac operating system to macOS Catalina or Big Sur
Apple supports macOS migrations back several releases, but you can wind up with too big a gap.
Mac 911
How to set up a Mac to run either macOS Mojave or macOS Big Sur
If you are running macOS Mojave because you have 32-bit applications you need to use, there are a few options you can use to upgrade to Big Sur.
Mac 911
How to fix the ‘untrusted_cert_title’ error when reinstalling macOS
This problem appears to be one of the past, but readers keep encountering it.
How-To
M1 Macs can’t be restored after SSD erasure – Apple issues fix
Many users have had problems using the restore feature on an M1 Mac – Apple gives tips on how to recover the new computers
Mac 911
How to recover data from a Mac with T2 or FileVault encryption and without a password
The owner may have died or is incapacitated, or you or someone else has simply forgotten an administrative password, making the contents irretrievable.
How-To
How to create a bootable macOS Big Sur installer drive
Put the macOS Big Sur installer on an external USB thumb drive or hard drive and use it to install the operating system on a Mac.rn
Mac 911
How to tell if your USB-C cable is USB only or supports Thunderbolt 3
Logos help, but without them, youu2019re nearly at a loss.
How-To
How to watch Apple’s November 10 ‘One more thing’ event
The event will broadcast online and is available for everyone to watch. It starts at 10 a.m. PT, and will probably go beyond an hour, so plan accordingly.
Mac 911
When deleting a song from iTunes or Apple Music in macOS, where does it go?
iTunes and Music lack a Recently Deleted album. But you can find songs you deleted in those apps in the Trash.
Mac 911
Does a Time Machine drive need to be always on with a Mac?
You can use it intermittently, but donu2019t forget to plug it back in!
How-To
HP printers stop working after driver certificates get deactivated
If your HP printer has stopped working this solution will help
Mac 911
How to manage the Bluetooth headphone connection dance among devices
You can pair with several devices, but have to manage connecting and disconnecting with most Bluetooth headphones.
Mac 911
Your scanner won’t work with Image Capture? Disable a network setting on your all-in-one
Trying to use a scanner on your Mac and the Image Capture app doesnu2019t work? Hereu2019s a possible fix.
Mac 911
Troubleshooting tips for using an old iMac as an external display for a Thunderbolt 3 Mac
Old iMacs never die, their screens just fade away. But use them in the meantime!
How-To