Quick–fire questions & answers
HOW TO STOP SILENT MODE TURNING ON BY ACCIDENT?
The simplest solution is to hide that switch by putting your iPhone in a cover which effectively insets it and prevents it from being operated inadvertently. A lightweight, inexpensive plastic sleeve or similar should be ideal, and gives a little protection.
WHY DOES MY HEALTH DATA TAKE UP SO MUCH STORAGE?
If you add extra measurements or information, these soon mount up. If you don’t need to access older values, preserve them in an encrypted backup, or share them in iCloud. Then clear your old data through Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Health, and monitor what’s in iCloud via Settings > [Your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Health.
HOW TO CONNECT TWO 4K DISPLAYS TO AN M1 MAC?
M1 Macs only support a single external display, although that can have a resolution up to 6016x3384 pixels at 60Hz, as offered by Apple’s Pro Display XDR. If you need to drive two or more external displays, look for a later model.
ARE THERE ANY USB–C HUBS WITH FIVE OR MORE PORTS?
None yet, and those with four ports normally tie one up connecting the hub to your Mac. There’s a practical limit imposed by power requirements: USB–C must be able to deliver a minimum of 60W per port. To support more than four thus requires 300W, and a special power supply.
CAN I ADD AN EGPU FOR AN M1 EXTERNAL DISPLAY?
No external GPUs can be used with M1 Macs, because they lack the supporting driver. As these are lower– end models, Apple may offer support in future systems. In any case, their Metal acceleration is already fast without extra help.
HOW TO STOP MY BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD STUTTERING?
There’s a long–standing bug in macOS causing this. You may find adjusting the settings in the Keyboard tab of the Keyboard pane can minimize it, and spellchecking will draw your attention to occasional duplicated letters. It’s annoying!
IS THERE A SAFE WAY TO DISABLE SIP?
> There are few circumstances when you should ever consider turning off System Integrity Protection (SIP). Put a sticky note on your display and leave it there until it’s safely turned back on. Don’t forget, or your Mac could get something nasty. Disabling SIP on an M1 Mac is even more difficult — it reduces the setting in Startup Security Utility to its lowest level, Permissive Security, until you enable SIP again.
WHY DOES SYSTEM INFORMATION SHOW UNINSTALLED APPS?
The Installations item in the Software section of System Information draws on the list of receipts maintained by macOS in /Library/Receipts/ InstallHistory.plist, which records all software installed from sources such as Apple updates, the App Store, and Installer packages. That info isn’t available for other apps you install, for example by copying the app to Applications, nor does it record when any installed software is removed.
HOW TO DOWNGRADE MY M1 MAC FROM MACOS 12 BETA?
Downgrade macOS with its firmware and recovery system at the same time. M1 Macs are the only models able to do that, by putting it into DFU mode, connecting it to another Mac on at least macOS 10.5.7, and restoring its internal SSD using Apple Configurator 2 (bit.ly/ml186config2).
HOW ARE THERE TWO FILES NAMED NEW IN ONE FOLDER?
This happens when you disable display of extensions in the Finder’s preferences. The files New.pdf, New, and New.text have distinct names, so co–exist in the same folder; hide extensions, and each shows the same name with different icons.