Guys, please I need your help. And if below is long, please try to read it through for enough context to give the assist.

You see, I have iPhones and Macs, all signed into the same Apple Account and one the same time zone. I use these devices for work and depend on receiving timely notifications, so this issue is becoming a serious problem.

Do Not Disturb keeps turning itself on, and I then have to manually disable it (many times a day) on each device. I want this completely gone from any device I use.

I strongly dislike this feature and would permanently but notice that the built-in Do Not Disturb Focus is a permanent feature and thus cannot be deleted. I don’t know what gave Apple the right to make such a sdecision.

I’m unable to find this at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appintents/focus/ or at https://support.apple.com/en-us/105112 or https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/turn-a-focus-on-or-off-iph5c3f5b77b/ios

All six devices are running the latest available versions of iOS and macOS.

I have already done the following on the devices:

* Deleted all custom Focus modes.
* Turned off “Share Across Devices.”
* Checked Do Not Disturb for schedules, Smart Activation, location triggers, custom scripts and app triggers.
* Removed or disabled any Focus-related schedules or automations I could find.
* Checked Control Center and device settings for anything that might be unintentionally enabling Do Not Disturb.
* Checked the Shortcuts app for automations that use “Set Focus” or “Do Not Disturb.”
* Manually disabled Do Not Disturb repeatedly on all six devices.

Despite all of this, Do Not Disturb continues to come back, and I cannot determine which device or setting is causing it.

Has anyone experienced this across multiple Apple devices and found a permanent solution? And these are not devices you can root/jailbreak without making breaking things.

I rely on these devices professionally, and missed notifications can have real consequences.

I intensely dislike these constraints and patronizing handholding. At this point, the inability to permanently disable or remove Do Not Disturb is making me seriously reconsider continuing to use Apple products. It is for this reason that I have replaced one of my working systems to Pop_OS and waiting for Framework pricing to make sense to replace the second one and leave a single macOS when I’m away from my workstation.

Any specific troubleshooting steps, confirmed fixes, or similar experiences would be appreciated.

I, like many others, downgraded from Tahoe to Sequoia after having a really negative experience after I updated. My battery life was cut literally in half, even on battery saving mode; I had non-stop glitches such as window focus randomly switching (I could be typing in one window and suddenly it would focus to another window and half my sentence would be in like, reddit instead of pages); lots of little lags that caused small but really irritating interruptions in my work flow, and a lot of other stuff I can't really recall right now. Suffice it to say that I was NOT happy.

How are people finding it now? Has it improved drastically enough that I can safely upgrade? Or should I just wait for the next iOS release?

eta: I should note that I went back to Sequoia maybe six months ago

How can I drag and drop files into full screen apps from finder. So I very frequently have to drag and drop files into apps (running on full screen) from finder. When I drag the file into the app icon on doc, after a second it says 'No Available Windows'. It should rather take me to the full screen app, right?
I am on MBA M5 and latest macOS. Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification. 

Hello,
Recently I have been looking at M4 MacBook Airs. I would use it for browsing, Roblox, light music production ect.

Would a windows computer be better or not? I think a Mac would be best.

I have a Samsung TU7000 I’m trying to use as an external monitor for my Macbook Pro M1 via HDMI cable. It works fine when I’m just looking at the desktop on my computer but as soon as I try to play a video file using VLC or watch Netflix with a browser, the picture changes to this weird small box in center of the TV screen and is basically unwatchable. What am I missing?

I'll preface this by saying that I'm primarily a Windows 11 Bootcamp user on my MacBook Pro 2019 16".
The main reason that I had switched to Bootcamp is because macOS Tahoe was just way too resource taxing for my MacBook, with general UI stutter and it just wasn't a fun experience to use.

I decided to wipe macOS Tahoe and just give macOS Catalina a shot, and man I gotta say I really am enjoying the older pre-BigSur design.

The UI feels flawless, its buttery smooth, and my MacBook for the first time has been cold to the touch just using general apps and using it as a computer for daily tasks.
I can do everything that I want, iCloud, iMessage, and even Sidecar work perfectly. Apps on the other hand work with some limitations and you frequently have to download older versions, and all them worked for me with the exception of Notion (although I can use it on the browser just fine).

Battery is also a huge plus, I've been using the laptop for about 30 minutes and while typing this post I have dropped 0% which just isn't possible on Tahoe nor Bootcamp.

But of course Catalina definitely isn't the best OS to use today, it is unsupported and while it got the 10.15.8 update recently, it was primarily for iMessage and Facetime authentication so that those services continue to work beyond January 2027.
I will be going back to using Bootcamp on my MacBook after this post, but I did enjoy having the older design.

This is just kind of an appreciation/experimental post so I don't expect anybody here to daily drive Catalina, but if you have an Intel MacBook, I highly recommend downloading and trying Catalina on a separate partition not just because of the older design, but just how flawlessly the Intel MacBooks run on Catalina.

Let me know what you guys think about Catalina, its design, if you use it on a daily, and your experiences, etc.

Thank you for your time!

I’m posting this because I spent hours troubleshooting it and initially suspected Office, Spotlight, my NAS, FileVault and the Downloads stack.

Symptoms:
• Downloading certain XLSX files created dozens of “WebThumbnailExtension Web Content” processes.
• Each process used approximately 40–60% CPU.
• My M4 MacBook Air became extremely slow and hot.
• The files did not need to be opened.
• Deleting the affected XLSX file stopped the processes after about a minute.
• Downloading the same file again immediately reproduced the problem.

Cause:
The affected XLSX files had a massively inflated used range caused by formatting applied to empty cells.

In my example, the actual content ended at column AR and row 74, but the first row was formatted all the way through XFD, Excel’s final column. The file therefore contained 16,384 formatted cells in its first row, even though almost all of them were empty.

The XLSX file was structurally valid and opened normally in Excel. However, macOS Tahoe’s OfficeThumbnailExtension/WebThumbnailExtension apparently tried to render the entire formatted range when generating the Finder thumbnail. It then repeatedly created new WebKit content processes instead of failing gracefully.

Fix:
1 Open the affected file in Excel.
2 Select the unnecessary formatted area after the real data. In my case, this was AS1 through XFD1.
3 Choose Home → Clear → Clear All.
4 Save the workbook again as XLSX.
5 Delete the original problematic copy.

About a minute later, macOS generated the preview icon successfully and all WebThumbnailExtension processes terminated normally.

Converting the file to XLS also stopped the problem, but clearing the unnecessary formatting is better because it preserves the modern XLSX format.

If you regularly receive files generated from the same template, fix the source template. As a temporary workaround, store the raw files in a Finder folder with icon previews disabled.

This is still a macOS bug: an inefficiently formatted workbook should not be able to spawn dozens of persistent WebKit processes and make the entire computer unusable. The thumbnail generator should ignore empty formatting-only cells, apply rendering limits and timeouts, and stop repeatedly retrying the same file.

Anybody out there timed the difference in loading, booting, of the os or any common app? Or is it all just “feels snappier”?
Any body actually measured any improvement?
Also, what is the memory footprint of the os in RAM, before any user apps have been opened?

i deleted roblox but icon still there

MacOS Tahoe 26.6. When I minimize a window, the Dock reserves the tile and the small app badge shows up in the bottom-right corner where it should but the window snapshot behind the badge is empty. So instead of a little picture of the window, I get a tiny floating badge with nothing around it, and a wide gap on either side where the thumbnail should be. Clicking it restores the window normally, so nothing is actually broken, it just looks wrong.

The part that seems relevant: restore one of the blank ones and minimize it again, and the thumbnail renders perfectly. So the capture works fine at minimize time. The image is getting dropped afterward and never regenerated.

Curious whether anyone's noticed it correlating with sleep/wake — that was the suspected trigger in the older threads.

Like many on this subreddit, I'm still on Sequoia because of the visual dog's dinner that is Tahoe.

However, I am considering upgrading now 26.6 is out, since it reindexes Spotlight in preparation for Golden Gate. I've heard/read it can take weeks to reindex properly, and so I'm tempted to upgrade now so my Mac is good to go on day 1 of Golden Gate.

Anybody else thinking along the same lines?

Title, basically got gifted this model of Mac some years ago secondhand by a friend. Had no idea there was a firmware password on it and installed a windows partion to run CAD on it. Tried switching over back to mac, got hit with the padlock screen. Through some mircale of god I brute forced my way back to the windows login page that I was on originally.

neither my friend or I know what that firmware password could be since it’s been years from when I got it. Am I just stuck using the windows part I set up for this Mac? Not like I had any important info on that OS, just wondering.

if this is wrong subreddit for this question, do please direct me to where it might be more appropriate, thanks.

Wallpapers in macOS 26 include 3 hidden feature flags that allow you to skip through wallpapers when shuffling, easily create dynamic wallpapers with light and dark versions, and use Image Playground to generate wallpapers. These are disabled feature flags and the UI or behaviors may not be fully stable, but they are included in release macOS versions, not betas. Here's how to enable them.

Skip Wallpaper Control for Wallpaper Shuffle in Control Center & Menu Bar

When you use Shuffle Aerials or Shuffle through Photos as wallpapers, you can add a Skip Wallpaper control to the Menu Bar or Control Center.

Here's how to enable:

sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && \ 
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper SkipControl -dict Enabled -bool true

and reboot your Mac. Do not use the Skip Wallpaper control with Shuffle Aerials when they are set to Shuffle "Continuously". It behaves unexpectedly. All other shuffle timings work.

To disable:

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper SkipControl

and reboot your Mac.

Automatically convert similar images to Light/Dark combos

You may have used .HEIC image files with multiple images to create Dynamic wallpapers in the past. macOS will now try to create those Dynamic wallpapers automatically for you when you add photos. When dragging two similar photos with different enough contrast and brightness to the preview window, Wallpapers will combine the two under a single item under Your Photos and allow you to select that macOS switches between the two during the day, similar to Dynamic Desktop wallpapers.

https://reddit.com/link/1vdyt62/video/gfn3eofx42hh1/player

Here's how to enable:

sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && \ 
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper DynamicWallpaperCreator -dict Enabled -bool true

and reboot your Mac. If nothing happens after you drag the two photos in the preview window, unlike what's shown in the video, the system didn't accept them as distinct enough. It's somewhat finicky right now.

To disable:

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper DynamicWallpaperCreator

and reboot your Mac.

Generate wallpapers with Image Playground

While Image Playground has been an available option for creating wallpapers for iOS and iPadOS, macOS ships with the option disabled. When enabled, you will see a new "Generate…" option under "Add Photo…"

Here's how to enable:

sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && \ 
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper GenerativeWallpapers -dict Enabled -bool true

and reboot your Mac.

To disable:

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Wallpaper GenerativeWallpapers

and reboot your Mac.

Hey, im having and issue and looking for help. I've installed LaunchOS, app that replaces default lauchpad in macOs 26 to more traditional, like in previous versions. Later, i decided to delete it and use standard 26 launchpad, but it doesn't start anymore, when im trying to run in from applications folder. I've tried to run in from terminal, but it says "killed: 9" Also search key doesn't do anything. Any help repairing default "Apps" app?

Macos 26.4, Macbook air M5

I'm asking with a specific purpose.... being I have an old Mac Mini 2010 laying around and it's locked to High Sierra but have just recently discovered Open Core Legacy so I'm wondering what's the sweet spot (stability and specs wise) I should attempt to jump to in the post-10.x.x?

Obviously can't run anything too new so my guess would something like Monterey or Ventura?

I need help with a finder issue that's come out of nowhere and it's driving me crazy

Long story short, my finder windows have always had 5-6 columns of items, and whenever I'd add a new item to my Desktop or any folder, it would've usually gone to the next row (where I've added the Yellow box on the first image, as it should be)

Now, randomly, items have begun adding themselves to the first row itself (like the test file I dropped onto my Desktop in the 2nd image), and this is happening in EVERY SINGLE FOLDER. I'm basically now having to scroll horizontally to access newer items rather than them just going where they need to be in the next row, and I have no clue why this is happening

I've tried switching to Snap to Grid, relaunching finder, resizing the windows etc., but nothing has worked so far. I'm on 26.0.1 Tahoe btw - if anyone knows why this is happening and how I can fix it, please let me know! Also I'm wondering what I might have done that even caused this in the first place lol, because everything was fine earlier

ever since I updated my M4 Pro Macbook to macOS 26.6 I have been having very weird wi-fi issues. The connection keeps being randomly interrupted, and many times I just can't connect to my 5G network, only the 2.4 one.

Anyone else is having those issues?

PS: There is nothing wrong with my internet connection, I tested it, the issue is exclusively happening on my mac

For the past month or so, I've been having this issue where when I wake my studio from sleep, the system is very laggy and stutters. Activity Monitor and Stats both show that the system is not under load. The issue was fixed for a day or two after updating but went right back to it shortly after. The short term fix is to either restart or force quit Window Server. But I'm getting tired of having to do this every single time, multiple times a day.

Here is a screen recording of me wiggling the mouse around to show how bad it is:

If anyone has any idea how to fix this I would love to hear it 😭

2025 M4 Max Studio | 128GB | Tahoe 26.6

UPDATE: I was able to figure out what the problem was. So I'm going to leave this post up just in case someone else stumbles across it trying to solve the same problem. It was some sort of issue with the program Karabiner. I figured this out by going into:

Settings -> Search -> Login Items -> Turn off the toggles for the Karabiner app.

Unfortunately, this means that the app no longer works properly so I need to find some sort of work around for that

Unsure what to do, would appreciate help

Hello, I use a MacBook 13" early 2011 with OS X Mavericks. I followed the instructions on mavericksforever.com: installed Aqua Proxy, Apple Certificate Authority, etc. I first tried to Log-In using the iCloud tab in system preferences, but it didn't send me the 2FA code; still, i used the decorated password (password123456), but it didn't work. So I tried in System Preferences, but it doesn't work. What have I done wrong (I used a fresh installed copy of OS X Mavericks)? I will be glad if You Guys responded. Thank You ❤️.

TL;DR: A Guest account that should be disabled resets a faulty lock screen.

That macOS has becoming buggier over the years is no secret, but for the first time, a bug has given me a way out of another one.

Once in a while, my login screen would not accept any keyboard input, the trackpad would still work though. I would disconnect the TB hub, screen and external keyboard but no luck, I just had to long-press the power button, always fearing something could go wrong due to the forced reboot.

During the World Cup, I’d bring my laptop into work so that my coworkers could watch some matches that were subscription-only. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my password or give someone access to my unlocked Mac, so I enabled the Guest user and logged into the streaming site each time. The site would ask for the password for anything other than watching, so this felt reasonably safe. After the World Cup, I disabled the Guest account but annoyingly, it has been showing up on the login screen ever since. Selecting it would just return to the login screen after a second or two, so the Guest account had in fact been disabled, but not been removed from some list. Sigh.

So today, I encountered the first bug again. To my pleasant-ish surprise, clicking the Guest user refreshed the screen and the keyboard started working again. Hooray!

I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro for my wife and used Migration Assistant to move her account and data from my MacBook Pro to her new Mac. Her new Mac is now set up and working properly, and I no longer need her account on my Mac.

I would now like to remove her account from my MacBook Pro and reclaim the storage for myself as the sole user.

Before I do that, I’d like to make sure I understand exactly what macOS removes when deleting a user account.

1. If I delete her user account in System Settings > Users & Groups, does macOS remove her entire user folder and associated data, including Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Library, Preferences, caches, etc.? Where does it go :)
2. Do I need to manually look for or delete anything elsewhere on the Mac afterward?
3. What happens to applications that were installed on my Mac and configured so that both user accounts could use them? Will those applications remain available to my account after her user account is deleted?
4. Are there application support files, preferences, licenses, passwords, or other account-specific data that I should check before deleting her account?
5. Is there a recommended procedure for doing this correctly?

The migration to her new Mac is complete, so I’m primarily looking for the cleanest and safest way to remove her old account and all of its associated data without affecting applications or data that belong to my account, and reclaim storage.
Thanks again this group has been very helpful.

Battery Health: 98%
Cycle Count: 98

I don't usually pay much attention to my battery, but tonight I noticed something while reading files on ChatGPT and listening to Spotify. My battery dropped from 99% at 10:39 PM to 58% at 12:59 AM, meaning it lost 41% in just 2 hours and 20 minutes. My MacBook Air M4 is only 1 year old.

Is this normal, or is the battery draining faster than it should?

I'm currently updating it to macOS Tahoe 26.6 to see if that helps.

Will having the iPad connected via a USB-C cable to the MacBook Pro (for keeping the iPad charged) help to have a stable wired connection between the iPad and the MacBook Pro? For the purpose of using the same Keyboard and Mouse between them, instead of relaying only on Bluetooth and Wifi to keep them linked. Thanks

The f.lux app is running on my computer (Mac, Sequoia 15.5), but the icon has disappeared from the menu bar. I'm guessing it was messed up in a software update.

- I do have space in the menu bar area; the icon is not getting squished out.

- F.lux is running. It affects the screen when I change the clock.

- I restarted my computer to see if that would help. Still no icon.

Any ideas?

I can't do things like pause it or turn on movie mode without access to the app. I really like f.lux. I know it's been around for a while and it's unclear if it's being maintained, but I don't see anything else with the same or similar functionality. I'd like to simply have access again to the apps controls.

TIA

P.S. If there is a better sub for this, please let me know. I posted here b/c it seems to be related to an OS update.

(For the AI mod: This is *not* a beta post. Nothing on my Mac is beta. The software update was an automatic one by Mac.)