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Replaced my iPhone Battery

Two weeks ago (November 16, 2018) I scheduled an appointment to replace my iPhone 6S battery at the Apple Store.  I wanted to get this done while the price was still $29.99.  A quick diagnostic and it was determined that I needed a new battery.

batterie-1.jpg

I left my phone with the technician and was asked to come back in an hour.  My phone was ready right on time.  Thanks Apple!

If you need your battery replaced under the “slowing down iPhones due to battery health”, you better hurry.  It ends in 2018.

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How to Disable Norton Security Extensions Popups on Mac

Back in October 2018, I purchased a 15″ 2017 Macbook Pro and to use as my main computer for home and the office.  To be compliant, I installed Norton Security on my Mac and enabled all the features including those pesky browser extensions.  The browser extensions disabled my ability to search Google from my Safari home screen and disabled my password manager, 1Password (one of my favorite applications).  So I removed the extensions and thought everything was good to go.

Screen Shot 2018-11-13 at 2.56.42 PM.png

Every few days I would receive a pop-up asking me to install the Norton browser extensions.  No matter what, you can’t get out of it.  Your only options are to Remind Me Later or Add.  I searched the Internet and found that nobody had a solution.  So I reached out to Norton and had the issue fixed with 30 minutes.  All you need to do is install the extensions for all your browsers and then turn them off.  Here are the steps

Safari

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.33.33 PM.png

  1. Open Norton Security and click Advance.
  2. Click on Safe Web and select Safari.
  3. Install Norton Safe Search and Norton Password Manager extensions in Safari.
  4. With Safari still open, click Safari from the menu bar and select Preferences.
  5. Click on Extension and remove the check from the box.

Google ChromeScreen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.34.04 PM.png

  1. Open Norton Security and click Advance.
  2. Click on Safe Web and select Chrome.
  3. Follow all the prompts to install the extensions Norton Safe Web, Safe Search, and Password Manager.
  4. Click the three dots on the menu and select More Tools and then Extensions.
  5. Turn off the Norton extensions by clicking on the blue slider button.

Ten days and about five different Wi-Fi networks later, and I have not been bothered with extension pop-ups!

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Boot Up Problems with MacBook Pro 2017

Today my new MacBook Pro (15-inch 2017) arrived by FedEx.  Nope, I didn’t take a picture or shoot an unboxing video.  No time for that.

I purchased the MacBook from B&H Photo.  Yes, yo can get the better Coffee Lake processor with more RAM and most likely a faster SSD in the 2018 model, but that was too far out of my price range.  After I got over the initial hiccup with the setup (which is what this post is about), I am enjoying my new 2017 MacBook Pro.

While I was setting up the Mac, I received an error after connecting to my home Wi-Fi.  A critical software update was needed but there was an error.  I clicked Try Again, and everything seem to work.  I was able to set up with macOS High Sierra and everything was good to go. Critical_Software_Update_2Then I plugged in the charger, and nothing.  No power, no chime, no change in the battery icon.  Weird.  I rebooted the Mac and the same error came back, and nothing was letting me get past it.  I found a discussion on an Apple Community and it resolved my problem.

Here are the steps and the link to the article I found:

  1. TURN OFF MAC, REMOVE USB-C POWER SUPPLY CABLE AND ANY PERIPHERAL
  2. WAIT 10 SECONDS
  3. PRESS SHIFT + CONTROL + OPTION + POWER FOR 10 SECONDS
  4. WAIT 5 SECONDS
  5. CONNECT USB-C POWER SUPPLY
  6. POWER ON.

Minor issue fixed!  I am able to charge the Mac, update to macOS Mojave, install almost all of my apps, setup iCloud, and a few other things.

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iPod Touch 4 Still a Great Music Player

Last week I found an old email from Apple welcoming me to my iPod touch.  This was my third Apple product I bought, and it was amazing!  It came with 32GB of storage and can play all of my games, videos, YouTube videos, and music with space to spare.  I used this as my camera on our Disney World vacation, and took it camping with me.

Last year I wiped and reset the iPod and left it on the charger for the longest time.  I had no intention of using it in my Jeep.  My music is on an SD card and I use Sirius XM or stream Apple Music when I travel.  But the last couple of days, I’ve been driving my old Subaru which does not have an SD card reader or Bluetooth.  It has a an AUX connect that works well.  So yesterday I uploaded all my music to the iPod Touch and played music on the way to work, and I’m listening a rock music playlist with some of my favorite artists including Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Van Halen, Kansas, David Bowie, David Gilmour, and Bob Seger.

My iPod Touch is still working great for music, reading email, reminders, address book, and some web sites.  Definitely one of my better purchases.

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Replacement Battery for iPhone 6S

Last week I found out my iPhone 6S was part of a group of phones manufactured between September – October 2015 with a faulty battery which caused the phone to shutoff.  (iPhone 6s Program for Unexpected Shutdown Issues).  My phone didn’t have that problem.  Instead, the battery would drain quickly and I would need the charger around 2:00PM.  I did remove some of the applications that might have drained the battery so quickly, and was planning on doing a reset of the phone during Christmas season.  However, a free replacement battery is usually a good thing.

I made my appointment for last Saturday.  The guy assigned to me from the Genius Bar ran diagnostics and asked some questions about my phone and why I thought the battery needed to be replaced.  He told me my battery had a maximum capacity of 84% after 14 months of use.  We verified the phone’s serial number and placed an order for a new battery.  Now we wait…

 

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iPhone 5S Color Choice

At work, there are several clients who are thinking about purchasing a new iPhone 5S.  I was amazed how many wanted to get a new iPhone in Champagne/White vs White/Silver and Black/Slate.  Most of everyone I’ve talked to are looking forward to a bump up in storage from 16GB to 32GB (for entry models).

Are you thinking about purchasing a new iPhone 5S?  

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Finder Background Color Button Locked

Finder (software)
Finder (software) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over the last 18 months, I’ve been using my iMac as my main computer.  I configured multiple Desktops (spaces) changed the screensaver, installed programs, games (Diablo 3 and Steam for Team Fortress 2).  Basically making it my own, just like I do with Windows and Linux.

 

So one day I was looking at other features of Finder, and decided to change the window color from white to green for the Documents folder.  You can do this by clicking the gear icon and Show View Options.  After I goofed with the colors, I reset it back to white.  then I noticed I can add a picture to the background.  I copied over a jack-o-lanter picture I found last year and there was the small picture I copied.  Then I decided to change the Arrange by from None to Name and clicked the Use as Defaults.  I closed the window and didn’t think anything of it for a week.

 

When I came back a week later, I noticed some of my Finder windows had the jack-o-lanter as the wallpaper.  I went through the process to remove the wallpaper, but noticed I could not change the wallpaper.  It was stuck with the jack-o-lantern.  After some searching on Google, I found a post by Pigstick on mac-forums.com which explained how undo what I did.

 

Change the Arrange by to None, then you can reset the background to any color or change the picture.  Don’t forget to click the Use as Defaults button.

 

Thanks Pigstick!