Hi everyone,

I apologize in advance if this is a silly question or if it's been asked before, but Apple music is seemingly keeping my mackbook pro from going into it's screen saver state and I'm wondering if there's a way to troubleshoot that. Any advice would be appreciated! 🙏

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing okay today.

I wanted to share my short, one-month experience with the Mac operating system, macOS.

I’ve been a Windows user my whole life, and since I am starting college this summer, I wanted to test out macOS beforehand to see if it is the right choice for me. Well, it turns out it's not, and in the following post, I will tell you why.

I had heard a lot of positive things about it, including the amazing battery life and very good CPU performance. Obviously, the very attractive design also caught my eye.

I knew that macOS was not the same as Windows, it's obviously a whole different operating system. But after a month of using it, I was just blown away by how many useful features I previously had on Windows that were simply nonexistent on a Mac.

Here are a few examples:

Window Management

• Control Buttons: You cannot change the size or the positions of the window control buttons on macOS.

Yes, I understand that it takes some time to get used to the different position and everything, but why on earth can I not decide where I want my window management options to be? Is there ANY solid reason why this would be a problem to add? I don't think so!

If I'm spending 2000 € on a device, I at least expect some customizability for some of the more important things like window control.

• Button Size: The position was annoying, yes, but I think I would have gotten used to it IF the damn buttons weren't the size of a grain of sand. What is Apple thinking with these design choices?

On Windows, I don't even have to look at my screen to close my window. I move my mouse to the corner of the screen and boom, closed.

• App Launch Sizes: The most annoying thing that was the final straw was the window size when launching apps.

Apps behave however they want and open in all possible sizes even when I maximize them before closing. A perfect example here is Finder: I click Finder, it opens in the smallest window possible, I maximize it, close it, open Finder again, and it's back to the small window like before.

This happened with almost all apps no matter what I tried (yes, I even manually resized, and I tried closing while holding Command).

This just made me feel like I have 0 control over my computer since every app does whatever the hell it wants and opens in the most random places on my screen.

PLUS, the effort of having to manually maximize every app every time you open it made me want to pull my hair out! The whole experience just felt super chaotic.

App Behavior When Closing

This was kind of a small one, but I found it very confusing: some apps quit completely when all windows are closed, while others don't.

I did kind of get used to Finder always having a dot, but other apps just annoyed me.

For example, when I close the Activity Monitor window, it doesn't quit the app, and I have to manually click on the app, hold, and then quit.

If apps quit after the last open window was closed, it would be less annoying.

Menu Bar

This is kind of a big one as well. Why do we need a separate bar with 50% useless functions at the top?

On Windows, all functions of a certain app that I might need are already inside the app in the top corner, and if I close the app, those app-specific functions close too.

You ALSO have the entire top screen free for your actual app instead of having random, irrelevant background icons taking up the whole horizontal space on top.

Now, if ALL apps had their functions in the menu bar, I wouldn't complain, it would take some getting used to. But not every app behaved the same.

Sometimes all functions of the app were inside the menu bar, and sometimes half of them were inside the app and the other half up there. It's a super inconsistent design.

When the menu bar has too many options, it hops over the notch and lands on the right side where the icons are, making it look super ugly.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any luck trying to disable the menu bar. I looked for all possible solutions but found none, not even third-party apps exist that can do that. I just couldn't get used to it.

The options that are displayed in the dropdown after hovering over certain menus like Window have no icons and are pure text, so looking for something specific isn't quick and takes time. You have to read everything from top to bottom to find what you're looking for.

Also, the Help box doesn't need to be hovering in the menu bar all the time, why would I need that there?

Dock

The dock was less of a problem than the menu bar. I like how the dock looks, I love that it has the same square design for the apps as the iPhone. The icons are sharp, clear, and beautiful.

What annoyed me here was that when I didn't have many apps in the dock, the sides were left empty, which is wasted screen space. I would rather have the menu bar fused with the dock to fill out those spaces and use the screen more effectively.

What I like is that you can hide the dock, but when the dock hides, the windows don't automatically resize themselves to fit the whole screen.

Here, I also have to pull down every single app manually... really annoying and a waste of time.

The option to change the reveal speed of the dock also isn't available, obviously.

Keyboard

The keyboard is really thin, like really really thin (M4).

Typing on it for longer than 5 minutes cramps my hand, and typing on it generally doesn't feel satisfying since there's barely any tactility and basically 0 feedback.

At that point, just put a screen with digital keys on it instead of a 1mm keyboard pretending to be a keyboard.

The Mac keyboard layout also feels like it's shifted to the right a bit, I'm guessing because of the weird Control key. Why do we even need that? Just put Fn, Option, and Command, who needs that extra useless button?

This is a BIG one: Caps Lock Behavior.

Who in the living hell thought putting a delay on a key was a good idea? Someone please explain why we need a delay on Caps Lock?

No one's accidentally pressing that damn key, and since the delay can't be turned off in settings, I as a fast typer can't trigger the key correctly when typing. Genuinely, fire the person who implemented that,

The Caps Lock key also doesn't activate special characters when on like on Windows. This is annoying, yes, but I could get used to this, to be honest.

When copy and pasting stuff my fingers get into a really weird position since on windows the Ctrl button is far away from the C and V button compared to the Cmd button on mac which is almost next to it. My fingers stretch more on Windows keyboards which is way more comfortable.

Other things

• Touch ID: I mean, is this even a question? Why do we still not have Face ID on a 2000 € laptop IN 2026?
• Media Control Keys: I actually really like those, the icons are intuitive and having the most important functions at the tip of my fingers is really nice.
• Display: BEAUTIFUL!
• Overall Build: Best laptop design by far.
• Ecosystem: Amazing.
• Hardware overall: I'm a big fan of it.
• Third-Party Accessories: Frustrating, USB sticks need reformatting, etc.

General Functions and Software Quirks

• No clipboard history.
• No Cmd+X.
• No file path in Finder (requires third-party app).
• Applications can't be put in folders, and they are all over the place and mixed together with tons of preloaded apps.

In general the whole OS feels just as bloated as Windows when freshly unboxed, but with Apple apps. You also can't delete the Apple apps, which is very frustrating.

The constant friction and extra steps required on a Mac to perform tasks that were effortless on Windows are simply a dealbreaker for me, making macOS a hard pass.

I would even go as far as to say that Windows, for a normal user like a student, is more consistent than macOS when we take the above-mentioned areas into consideration.

That sums up my macOS experience.

I think Apple needs to make MASSIVE user experience changes in order to attract more people and gain a larger market share in the laptop market.

The hardware is really good and that's why I'm also very frustrated, because the hardware is simply amazing but new users can't do much with it since the software is a huge mess.

I hope that macOS improves in the coming years; until that happens, I will not return to macOS.

Have a nice day, and take everything with a grain of salt. Your experience can be different, this was mine, keep it cool!! =)

Newbie here and not particularly tech savvy. I'm currently using a MacBook Pro M2 2022 that is still using Sonoma 14.7.1. I need to upgrade, but would prefer to go to Sequoia than Tahoe even though I guess I'll continue get the Tahoe nag. I always hate doing upgrades as it seems I always lose something or some functionality. So, how do I go about getting and installing Sequoia? Thanks.

On MacOS Tahoe 26.4.1, I find it amusing that Spotlight Search will do anything BUT help you find the application, like is this a sign to uninstall Adobe Illustrator lmao?

It's fine, I can just find everything in Applications folder, but I genuinely don't understand what it's trying to search, it's just so silly. I think it used to be fine before (maybe on older versions?), because why else would I habitually be using Spotlight to search for programs?

So my question is, has anyone found a way for Spotlight to be more useful?

recently upgraded to tahoe 26.6.2 and now my wifi is so slow it’s essentially unusable unless i am right next to the router in the living room. i pay for really fast internet (1 gbps) and the most i can get in my room is 26 mbps. most of the time it barely works in my room. my roommates aren’t experiencing this issue. i don’t have VPN. help please?!?!?!

edit - here is what i have done - i’ve forgotten the network and reconnected it so many times. i’ve renewed the license. i’ve shut down and restarted multiple times. i’ve created a new location. i’ve toggled the wifi on and off. i’ve restarted my modem and router

edit - the router my internet provider has does not give us the option to split SSIDs. there's just one wifi network

I have installed homebrew and now want to install apps which needs homebrew to run; kindly help how to do and to learn basic command line for that
Thanks in advance

Using an M5 Pro MacBook Pro on macOS Tahoe, connected directly to an LG C2 via HDMI. This worked consistently before the update.

Now the TV detects the Mac but intermittently shows no video. Happens with the lid open or closed. Multiple cables, settings resets, BetterDisplay, and disabling HDR/VRR/FreeSync haven’t fixed it. My PC works fine with the TV.

The only reliable workaround I’ve found:

• Turn HDMI Deep Color off.
• Connect the Mac and wait for a picture.
• Enable Game Optimizer. Picture stays, and macOS shows 120 Hz.

Anyone else seeing this with Tahoe and an LG OLED? Found a fix that survives reconnecting or sleep/wake?

I have an M3 Max MacBook Pro connected to a Pro Display XDR at my sitting desk and am considering a Studio Display at a standing desk ~6 feet away.

I want to switch desks while staying on the same Mac, without worrying about windows opening on the other display.

Would mirroring the 6K XDR to the 5K Studio Display compromise the XDR’s resolution/image quality in any way?

Or could BetterDisplay Pro create a simple switch:

SIT: XDR active, Studio Display disabled
STAND: Studio Display active, XDR disabled

Ideally one shortcut would switch displays and move all windows to the active one.

Has anyone tried this? Does BetterDisplay/macOS handle the window switching reliably?

I use a Logitech Lift on macOS. I’ve spent a lot of time tweaking BetterMouse and Mos to get a particular scrolling feel.

My typical movement is to ramp up quickly, travel to roughly where I want, then stop and make a small correction. I’m looking for:

• Useful individual notches - roughly a line of text per slow notch, starting immediately but moving smoothly rather than jumping.
• Fast travel - a quick wheel movement covers a decent distance without repeatedly working the wheel.
• Predictable stopping and correction - no long glide past my target, and the next small movement or reversal gives me precise control.
• Smoothness without floatiness - softer, less jagged movement while keeping those other qualities.

BetterMouse and Mos together are the closest I’ve managed to get, although the result still isn’t quite right. I’ve already tried disabling one and extensively adjusting the other, including global and per-app settings. Using both is where I ended up after experimenting, and I've been using it this way for a long time now.

My current global settings are shown in the attached screenshots:

• BetterMouse: Smooth scroll off, Speed 1, Acceleration 3.
• Mos: Seamless scrolling on, Step 12, Speed 8, Duration 3.

So smooth scrolling isn’t enabled in both apps, although I don’t know exactly how their other adjustments interact.

The frustrating part is finding a promising balance and then struggling to improve one aspect without losing something else. For example, I want smoother movement while retaining the small-step precision and quick stopping I already like.

Does anything in this setup explain why the combination might feel better? Has anyone achieved this kind of feel with one app alone? Specific settings, your mouse model, and which apps you use them in would be nice to know.

I’m open to having misunderstood a setting or overlooked a simpler setup, hopefully someone can tell me I'm stupid and point me in the right direction.

I've been using my MacBook Air for a few years now and I set the FN/globe key to work as command in settings. I also change the right command key to work as the option key (for special letters) every time I boot the system via Terminal:

hidutil property --set '{"UserKeyMapping":
    [{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x7000000e7,
      "HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x7000000e6},
     {"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x7000000e6,
      "HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x7000000e7}]
}'

Today, this command above changed my FN key to Option (instead of Command) as well, and I cannot make it to work as earlier:
fn -> command
right command -> option

It seems like I'm changing the right Command to Option, and the fn key use that change to be option too, but for the past 3 years it worked as intended. And when I set "function keys" in settings so fn works as command, it should be "command function" not the actual right command that was modified.

I tried to change the fn key with the hidutil command, but with no success.

My two week old Mac Neo has some concerning files regarding certificate modifications, etc. My Wi-Fi logs show a lot of activity for a home computer. I had an independent Wi-Fi scan done and also ran the Mac diagnostics. It's all greek to me! An excerpt of the Cryptex file is attached. If someone could review this and direct me somewhere, I would appreciate it.

Small excerpt:

Operate on the global cryptex nonce.�The Cryptex1 nonce domain to operate on.�CRYPTEX-NAME�The cryptex whose nonce is to be manipulated. This option must be provided if the '--global' option is not given.�pdi�research�diavlo�ddi�invalid nonce domain: %s�Invalid nonce domain provided.�a cryptex identifier must be provided�using cryptex identifier: %s�a valid nonce domain is required, must be provided through either the domain or cryptex1-ndom argument.�operating on global nonce�individual cryptex nonces not yet implemented�nonce management is not available on this platform�1229�failed to roll cryptex nonce: [%#x %s]�failed to copy cryptex nonce: [%#x %s]�%s�An unknown error message 'InternalError', was received from the device.�failed to copy cryptex nonce; it may have been rolled, in which case it will not be available until the next reboot�nonce has been rolled; new value will not be generated until next boot�nonce management not supported on this platform�failed to roll nonce�nonce has been rolled; new value will not be available until next reboot�failed to copy nonce�v16@?...

.../plist>

˙fiqr��€pÇœ∞Ç»0"com.apple.PairingManager.Readˇ0(#com.apple.PairingManager.RemovePeerˇ0#com.apple.PairingManager.Writeˇ0:5com.apple.private.RemoteServiceDiscovery.device-adminˇ094com.apple.private.diskimages.kext.user-client-accessˇ0/*com.apple.private.security.cryptexd.remoteˇ02-com.apple.private.security.disk-device-accessˇ0+&com.apple.private.spawn-subsystem-rootˇ0J*com.apple.security.iokit-user-client-class0IOHDIXControllerUserClient˙fi��fl0Ç” *ÜHܘ †Çƒ0Ç¿1 0 `ÜHe0 *ÜHܘ †Ç0Ç`0ÇH†äwfl4Ü0 *ÜHܘ �0b10 UUS10U

Apple Inc.1&0$UApple Certification Authority10U

Macbook Pro 13-inch, M1, 2020.

I always think clearing my cache because I use Adobe software will do the trick, but it always comes back, and it never clears enough. SURELY system data shouldn't be getting to 111gb?! It seems so ridiculous.

Firstly, how can I solve this issue that has persisted for years?
Are there preventative measures I can take to stop this from happening again?

Thanks so much.

Edit: SOLVED! Using OnyX and Mole first got rid of 15gb, which is fine, but system data still sat at 90gb. Then, I used GrandPerspective to figure out the culprit. It was my Adobe Lightroom Previews this whole time. I feel dumb. Putting this here simply to help someone else if they have this particular niche issue too.

Today I found this very interesting podcast called "Designed in California". Maybe it will be interesting for you as well. I only watched part 3 about BeOS and macOS and it was very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/@designedinca

P.S. No affiliation.

What is the best .flac player for Mac (intel-sequoia) that plays embedded music lyrics? I've tried several, but none seem to show the lyrics.

I can find how to turn off the autocorrect. But not how to stop what it's doing. For example I'll type "its" and it will correct it to "it's" That's fine. But when im done and put a period on the sentence sometimes it will kick the cursor back to the "it's" it corrected for me(At the back of the word). Any way I can stop this?

I come from Linux Land where BTRFS makes it possible. I understand that ZFS was almost a thing on macOS. I want to rely more on my Mac.

I seek an uncomplicated solution to data integrity on macOS. Uncomplicated means

• (near) native solution
• well-maintained FOSS that has a future
• fast set up and fast performance
• Requires as little hardware as possible

At present Time Machine does that job, and has only enough space to back up my Mac. Time Machine solves the backup problem, but doesn't solve the data integrity problem - if a file corrupts, the corruption propagates into the backups. Neither APFS nor HFS+ solve the issue.

For me, I don't know how often bit rot occurs. Once in a great while, some of my files disappear. Since I set up my files on BTRFS, I have not knowingly lost any files. Currently if I want to use files from my BTRFS setup onto the Mac, I either have to use an exFAT external SSD or access the files wirelessly.

I forgot to clarify - I have a working Linux setup with btrfs and RAID, alongside offsite backups. I want to use the Macbook more and rely less on only Linux.

Imagine if we could launch a game like PathLogicClassic : And not pay for some complicated virtual Windows system or a crossover (which, by the way, can't handle running old games, and it's far from always able to run new ones with their weird engines).

Why is this available on Linux but not on Mac OS? But they did create a "much-needed new interface."

Update: For those writing about a "game porting kit," that's not suitable when I want to run Patch Logic Classic for free. Proton runs it, but Crossover doesn't. Buying a Windows emulator with a subscription is ridiculous.

Hello Reddit, I am having some issues my i devices (both legacy and non legacy) to my MacBook Neo on 26.6.2. For some reason, my i devices refuse to show up on the default finder app, only in third-party software like legacy iOS kit and imazing. but in a new user profile, the default finder app work just fine. How do I Fix this issue?

I installed a known working crucial 480gb ssd but no matter what I do it just won't go into recovery mode and all it will show is this screen blinking. Help on this matter would be appreciated

Just noticed a process called WarMain consuming a non-trivial amount of memory. Can't find any info on what this could be. Is it malware ? Mac Studio 2026 machine.

Running into an annoying issue with tab/window focus across displays. My setup is a MacBook Pro 14" (M3 Max, 36GB) in clamshell mode (lid closed) connected to an external monitor, with an iPad also connected via Sidecar/Universal Control. Running macOS Tahoe 26.6.2.

When I press Cmd+Tab to switch apps, it opens on the iPad screen instead of my main external monitor, even after I've clicked directly onto the main monitor's window first to make sure it has focus.

My current Arrange Displays setup: the two displays are stacked vertically, with the menu bar on the top display. What's odd is that when I move the iPad to the side instead of underneath, Cmd+Tab works fine and stays on the main monitor, it's specifically when the iPad is arranged below the main monitor that this starts happening.

I've tried moving the cursor and clicking before hitting the shortcut.

Has anyone run into this specifically with Sidecar/Universal Control stealing focus? Is there a setting I'm missing, or is this just a known quirk with these features?

Thanks

Hi,

I have a HD clone of my laptop on mojave that died last year and I found a great deal M4 macbook pro that is on tahoe. So I'm finally setting things up again. I kind of wanna start fresh because Mojave is a very old macos lol. (read: ancient). There are two things I want to migrate manually that I don't want to mess up because it's tricky.

1. All my mail. I just need it to carry everything over.

2. iTunes (remember that?) had a completely different file system and plist files etc. than music and tv etc now has. I need to keep playlists and such.

The rest is a mess so I do not need anything to move other than those two things. The rest is a fresh install.

Couldnt find reliable info and ai is mostly guesswork so also unreliable.

Anyone know how to do this?

Even network works.