Tag Archives: iCloud

fixed : set iPhone to be found even when off

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
People told us that we can no longer use Find My iPhone to retrace our iPhones when the iPhone is turned off…

Is that true ? and is there no way to prevent that ?

Answer :
Yes, it’s true.
By default, the Find My iPhone (Find My Device) option is always on on your iPhone. You just need an Apple/iCloud account active on your iPhone to be able to use it.
But it’s true that if you loose your iPhone and it (accidentally) gets turned off, or it gets willingly turned off by someone who found or stole it, you will no longer be able to trace it.

Here’s the simple extras that you can set to prevent this from happening :
– on your iPhone, open the Settings.app
– in the Settings page, scroll down and click on “Face ID & Passcode”
– when the “Enter Passcode” page opens, enter your iPhone unlock code
– on the Face ID & Passcode page, scroll down and make sure that “Stolen Device Protection” is ON
– then scroll down further, and in the ALLOW ACCESS WHEN LOCKED chapter, set the slider at “Control Center” to OFF
– then, click on “< Settings” (top left) to return to the main Settings page
– there, at the top, click on your own name
– on the Apple Account page that opens, click on “Find My”
– on the Find My page that opens, click on “Find My iPhone”
– on the Find My iPhone page that opens, make sure that all sliders (“Find My iPhone”. “Find My Network” amd “Send Last Location”) are all switched ON
– then click on “< Find My” top left to return to the Find My page
– then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to close the Settings.app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : Mac’s internal storage nearly full due to iOS Files

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
My Mac is slow, and I can’t install updates anymore… I found out, by looking in Settings > General > Storage, that I only have about 5 GB of free space… and after the waiting for the internal storage volume bar to color up and indicate which types of files take up most space, I found out (by clicking on it) that the Applications have two sections : not only Applications (which are the installed macOS Applications I presume), but also something called “iOS Files” which take up about 45 GB…

What are those iOS Files ? and can I delete them to free up memory space ?

Answer :
Yes, it can be a good idea to free up some free space on the internal memory of your Mac by deleting those iOS Files. They are in fact backups of your iPhone(s), which you don’t need on your Mac if your iPhone is being backed up to iCloud.
Basically there are 2 ways of deleting these iOS Files from your Mac, one is deleting them without connecting your iPhone to your Mac, the other is a way that requires your to connect your iPhone. But if you have so little free space left (only a few GBs) you will need to combine the two to solve your problem :

  • first, make sure your iPhone is being backed up to iCloud, so open your iPhone
  • then, open the Settings.app
  • in the Settings window that opens, click on your Account ( your Own Name )
  • in the Account window that opens, click on iCloud
  • in the iCloud window, go to the “Saved to iCloud” chapter and click on “See All”
  • in the Saved to iCloud window, make sure taht everything that you want to include in your backups turned ON
  • then, go back into the iCloud window, go to the “iCloud Backup” chapter and click on it
  • in the iCloud Backup window that opens, make sure that “Back Up This iPhone” is switched ON
  • then, click “Back Up Now”
  • when the backup is finished, go to your Mac
  • on your Mac, open the Finder.app
  • when the Finder window is open, press the [CMD]+{SHIFT]+[G] key combo on your keyboard
  • in the search window that opens, in the search field, typ the following :
  • ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
  • then press Enter
  • in the Finder window that opens you will see a folder named Backup
  • drag&drop that Backup folder onto your Trash
  • then, empty the Trash
  • when warned that some files can’t be deleted, just continue
  • when the emptying has finished, open the Trash and drag the Backup folder back into the location that it used to be in ( which is in the MobileSync folder inside the Application Support folder )
  • now your Mac should have a lot more memory space freed up, but you’re not finished yet
  • now, connect your iPhone to your Mac using a USB or USB-C cable
  • on your Mac allow “trust this computer’, and unlock your iPhone by using your unlock passcode or face-recognition
  • NOTE : if you get a warning that a software update is needed for your Mac to recognise your iPhone, install that update first
  • now, your iPhone will appear in the sidebar of the Finder
  • when your iPhone shows up, click on it
  • in the iPhone’s settings window that opens, click on the General tab
  • then, in the General tab, in the Backups chapter, choose “Backup your most important data on your iPhone to iCloud”
  • then, go on to the Options chapter, make sure that only “Manually manage music, movies and TV shows” is checked and click the Apply button
  • then, exit the iPhone in the Finder and unplug the iPhone’s cable from your Mac
  • now, open the Finder.app again and press the [CMD]+{SHIFT]+[G]
  • in the search filed that opens, again, typ the following :
  • ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
  • and press Enter
  • now, in the window that opens, click on the Backup folder
  • when the Backup folder opens, drag&drop all it’s contents ( usually only one folder with an unpronounceable name ) to the Trash
  • then empty the Trash
  • and close the Finder.app
  • That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : VanMoof.app on AppleWatch keeps giving No Data error

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
I have an electrical S1 VanMoof bicycle and can only unlock the lock that’s build into the fram with the app on my iPhone or AppleWatch. This used to work great for years, but now, every time I try to use the VanMoof.app on my AppleWatch, I immediately get a warning screen saying “No Data – First, open the VanMoof app on your phone.”, but when I open the VanMoof.app on my iPhone nothing changes on my AppeWatch, not even after restarting the app or restarting the AppleWatch… and I can’t find any option in the VanMoof.app on my iPhone to reconnect with the AppleWatch or give access to data…

What can I do ?

Answer :
If you encounter these problems, the solutions outlined in this post will probably not fix your problem., so you are best off doing a complete reinstall of your AppleWatch.
Since your AppleWatch is automatically being backed-up to your (synced) iPhone, there’s no need too worry about data-loss …according to Apple – especially if your iPhone itself is continuously being backed-up to iCloud or to your Mac/PC.

To do a complete reinstall of your AppleWatch, do this :
– on AppleWatch, press te crown once
– in your collection of apps, find the Settings.app (grey circle icon with a white sprocket/gear in it)
– click on the Settings.app
– in the Settings screen that opens, scroll slightly down to β€˜General’ and click on it
– in the General screen that opens, scroll down to β€˜Reset’ and click on it
– in the Reset screen that opens, click on β€˜Erase All Content and Settings’
– in the next screen, typ your AppleWatch unlock code
– in the next screen, scroll down and click on the red β€˜Erase All’ button
– then the AppleWatch restarts and theΒ  white Apple logo will appear
– eventually there will also appear a timer circle around the Apple logo
– wait until the entire circle has turned from grey to white
– now, on your iPhone a pop-up screen will appear, saying “Apple Watch – Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch.”
– then, click on the “Continue’-button
– now the “Set Up Apple Watch” screen will appear on your iPhone
– click the ‘Set Up For Myself’-button (assuming your AppleWatch was originally set up for your own personal use)
– the screen of the AppleWatch will now have turned into the blue pulsating pixel blob used for pairing
– when the “Hold Apple Watch up to the Camera” screen appears on your iPhone, point the iPhone’s camera at your AppleWatch to start the pairing
– if the pairing goes wrong, use the “Pair Apple Watch Manually” option and you will need to input the number code that appears on your AppleWatch (after swiping the blob away) into the field on your iPhone
– when the pairing is done, you will get the “Make This Your New Apple Watch” screen on your iPhone
– click the Continue-button and follow the on-screen instructions that will guide you through the rest of the reinstalling process (which is fairly straight-on from there)
– when done, you will have your AppleWatch setup exactly as it used to be
…with one big difference : the ‘No Data’ warning in the VanMoof.app will be gone and you can now use it as it was intended

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : open your open pages from macOS Safari on your iPhone

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I overheard someone telling they could open the internet pages they have opened on their Mac from their iPhone also. I’ve never seen it in practice, but I think it would be great to be able to continue browsing on my iPhone what I had started on my Mac. I have asked my colleagues and friends, but no-one could tell me how to do that.

How do I do that ?


Answer :

Yes, you can continue the internet browsing you’ve started on one Apple device on another Apple device, if you use iCloud.
First step is to activate iCloud Safari syncing. To do so, do this :
– on your Mac, goto Apple-icon (top-left in the menu bar)
– select System Settings from the pulldown menu
– in the window that opens, click on Apple ID (just below your name, top left)
– when the Apple ID page opens, click on iCloud
– when the iCloud page opens, click on the “Show more apps” button
– in the popup window that opens, make sure that the slider at Safari is set to ON (green)
– then, exit the System Settings
– now, on your iPhone, open the Settings.app
– in the page that opens, click on your own name (Apple ID, iCloud+, Media & Purchases)
– in the Apple ID page that opens, click on iCloud
– in the iCloud page that opens, click on Show All
– in the Apps using iCloud page that opens, make sure that the slider is te to ON (green)
– then close the Settings.app

With iCloud Safari syncing set, you can now see the webpages you have open on your Mac from Safari on your iPhone. To do so, do this :
– first, make sure you have at least one page open in Safari on your Mac
– then, open the Safari.app on your iPhone
– now, in the Safari.app, click on the Tabs-icon (bottom right – two squares on top of each other)
– then, in the preview page of all open tabs (open pages), click on the Plus-sign (bottom left)
– when the Favourites page opens, scroll down to the bottom
– there you will have at least one chapter named “From Mac…” with “Show All” next to it
– click on “Show All” and find all the pages you have open on your Mac
– if you don’t see the “From Mac..” chapter, click the “Edit” button at the bottom and make sure that the slider at “iCloud Tabs” is set to On (green) and return to the previous page

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : My Card in iOS Contacts.app is not me

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
Something’s gotten mixed up on my iPhone… for some reason, when I click on “My Card” in the top of my Contacts.app… someone else is showing up… it’s not me… it’s someone who is in my contacts, but it is not me… I may have accidentally linked het “My Card” label to that contact, but I can’t remember when that could have happened… if I select the “My Card” entry, I can edit it, but that deletes the contact info of the person that has been linked to “My Card”, and creates a duplicate of my own contact info…. that is not the proper way to do this.. but I can’t find a way to link “My Card” back to me…

How do I link the “My Card” back to my own contact info ?

Answer :
To link the “My Card” back to your own personal contact info on iOS, do this :
– open the Settings.app on your iPhone
– scroll down and select “Siri & Search”
– in the page that opens, scroll down to “My Information”
– there you will see the wrong name listed next to “My Information”
– now, click on “My Information”
– then, your entire list of contacts will be shown, scroll down to your own contact info and select it
– then, you get back in the “Siri & Search” page, there you will now see yourself listed next to “My Information”
– then, exit the Settings.app
– now, open the Contacts.app and scroll to the top, there, you will now see your own contact info listed alt “My Card”
– not that iCloud will now make sure that this update/fix is synced/corrected accross all you Apple devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone)

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰


fixed : iCloud syc error – Desktop files on Mac have ‘cloud exclamation mark’-icon

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
I was trying to access some files I have created on my Mac from my iPad, but the files that are in folder XYZ on my Mac’s Desktop are different from the ones that I can see in that same Folder XYZ when I access it from the Files.app on my iPad. Some files in Folder XYZ are the same and some are not… closing/quitting the Files.app on my iPad and reopening it doesn’t help… And when I look on my Mac, the files that are invisible on my iPad turn out to have a ‘cloud with an exclamationmark’-icon next to them on my Mac… I’ve also checked on my iPhone, and there I get to see the exact same content of Folder XYZ as on my iPad, but not the ones that are on my Mac…

This appears to be an ICloud syncing problem, but how do I fix it ?

Answer :
Yes, this is a syncing problem that iCloud sometimes runs into…
since there is no forced sync or manual sync option, this is how to fix it :
1- make sure that your Mac, your iPad and your iPhone all run the newest version of their OS (macOS, iPadOS, iOS)
2- make sure that your Mac, your iPad and your iPhone are all connected to a stable internet connection (either over Wifi or Ethernet)
3- make sure that you are logged in on iCloud with exactly the same account on all devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone)
4- if all the above is in place, restart your Mac without remembering open windows (to increase you chances on fixing this iCloud syncing problem, restart your iPad and iPhone as well)
5- wait for your Mac to restart/reboot entirely before doing anything else on it
6- wait for iCloud to sync back and forth amoung your Mac, iPad and iPhone (depending on the amount of files you have in your iCloud folders and your internet speed this may take up to 10 minutes or even longer)

That’s it !
…in 99% of the cases, this simple solution will fix your iCloud syncing problem
enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : share EPUB (with digital watermark) accross Books.app on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
I want to purchase an eBook that is not available in Apple Books. I have found it is available on the website of a bookstore in EPUB (with digital watermark) version. It seems like I should be able to download it after purchase and then read it in Books.app on my iPad or iPhone, but is it also possible to read it in the Books.app on my Mac ?

How do I do that ?


Answer :

Yes, you can buy an EPUB (with digital watermark) [ a.k.a. EPUB with social DRM ] and then read it on Apple’s Books.app on either iPhone, iPad or Mac. To do that, do this :

NOTE : if you buy an eBook on Amazon, it will only be available in the Kindle.app (that will automatically sync across your devices also), but getting a Kindle eBook into Apple’s Books.app is problematic… so if you prefer to read all your eBooks in Books.app, avoid buying eBooks on Amazon.

  • first, make sure that you are logged into your iCloud account on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac (with the same iCloud account)
  • on your iPhone (or iPad) go to the online bookstore that sells the eBook in EPUB (with or without personal watermark or Social DRM)
  • purchase the eBook
  • when the download link appear, click on it
  • now the eBook will be downloaded to the Files.app on your iPhone (or iPad), which means it will be visible on the Desktop of your Mac also (which is automatically synced in iCloud)
  • now, on your iPhone (or iPad), click on the eBook in the Files.app and choose “open in Books”
  • now, the eBook will open in Books.app and is ready for reading
  • it will stay in the Library of your Books.app
  • if you have iCloud syncing switched on (most of us have) the eBook will now be available for reading in Books.app on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac
  • if the eBook is not showing up on all devices, recheck in Settings.app if iCloud-syncing is switched on for Books.app
  • if you want to manually add the eBook to your iPhone or iPad, do this :
    • – open the Files.app and find the eBook
    • – click on the eBook and choose “Open in Books”
    • – then wait for the eBook to open in Books.app
    • if you want to manually add the eBook to your Mac, do this :
    • – on your Mac, find the eBook on your Desktop (or in the Desktop folder)
    • – Option-click (right-click) on the eBook icon
    • – from the pulldown menu that appears, choose Open With > Books
    • – now wait for the eBook to open in Books.app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰