Macbook pro self-discharging all the time (since update to macOS 10.15.8)

2026-05-15T16:59:36Z

As stated in the title, my 2019 16-inch Macbook Pro has been self-discharging continuously ever since I updated to macOS 10.15.8.

By continuously, I mean all the time. It discharges when plugged-in (I am using the original cable and charger which are in good shape), and it also discharges while it is completely turned off (not in sleep-mode, off). The laptop is pluggged-in most of the time I use it but I need to rely on its battery for work-related field activities.

I bought this computer in 2020 and have happily been using it ever since under Catalina (10.15.4 I believe). I have performed a clean install at every Catalina "upgrade" just to keep things as clean as possible. I have never needed to update to newer macOS versions because I use it for work and have never had any use for the more recent macOS versions. I mostly do scientific computing on it (Mathematica, Python and LaTeX for documents); other than that, I use the Mail, Messages and Facetime apps. I use internet through Firefox, but it is not my main activity on it.

I cannot remember the exact numbers, but prior to the 10.15.8 update, battery capacity was at 92%, with around 200 cycles. Ever since the update (around a month ago) I started noticing that the current charge was around 95% percent every time I turned it on (after plugging it in).

This means that the computer is self-discharging while being completely off. However, I was not alarmed about this at first because I initially thought that I was perhaps doing something wrong. Now I am practically sure that not only the laptop is self-discharging itself all the time, but it is also losing capacity, practically in real-time under my nose.

I have installed "Coconut" just yesterday after finally realizing that something is wrong after all. The following 3 screen-shots span around 1 hour of use this morning. They illustrate that the computer is self-discharging while plugged-in. The last screen shows a 0.1% capacity loss in less than 24 hours.

I cannot understand how the battery lost less than 10% in six years of intensive use and suddenly more than 5% in just weeks. Is there a way I can access the battery usage history to confirm that the battery is self-discharging while completely off?

My guess is that the new firmware messed things up (the current version on it is Boot ROM Version: 2103.100.6.0.0 (iBridge: 23.16.14242.0.0,0)). Is there a way to revert this firmware to a previous one? (I have been told that a clean install of 10.15.7 would not downgrade the firmware).

EDIT

I forgot to mention that this computer has always operated without the battery health management option available since 10.5.5.

How can I download Messenger app in iPhone 5s? The latest version of Messenger and Facebook? [closed]

2026-05-14T14:10:30Z

Badly needed to download the app for school purposes.

Using any of the Square iPhone Apps as a business owner who also works, how do I clock in to work?

2026-05-13T19:33:03Z

My staff all get an option to Clock-In on their Square Point of Sale or Square Team apps, but as owner, once I put in my passcode in POS, it takes me the Checkout tab. Sometimes it prompts me to clock in when I start up the app, but I don't get an interface to clock in and out that is findable. I have looked for months and talked to robot and human Square support. They have no clue.

On the Square Dashboard app, I can go to More > Me > Add Payroll Info... but that is the oddest location and I always forget it.

Square Team app has nothing for me.

I clock in and out several times a day as a small business owner and really need it to be quick and easy. Does this exist?

How to authorize an older version of iTunes (11.4) on Snow Leopard 10.6.8?

2026-05-13T18:46:04Z

I want to use an older version of iTunes (11.4) on Snow Leopard 10.6.8 to install apps on a first generation iPad running iOS 5.1.1.

I have compatible app IPA files, but iTunes will not install them on the iPad as the Mac is not authorized with Apple. I attempt to authorize the machine, but this fails:

“iTunes could not connect to the iTunes Store. An unknown error occurred (-9836).”

This is presumably happening because iTunes is too old; so maybe the backend URLs have changed, SSL certificates have expired, etc.

Is this any other way to get these apps onto the iPad?

How to convert HEIC to JPG while retaining EXIF data?

2026-05-12T04:59:14Z

Some years ago at the start of an extended trip around Australia my camera (a Nikon) gave up the ghost so I started using my iPhone 5s and it took quite acceptable pictures. I used my standard process of transferring my photos (not using the Photos app) and could extract the and manipulate the EXIF data. Due to the COVID-19 enforced travel restrictions I haven't done much traveling or photography.

I the meantime I upgraded to an iPhone 13 but only used it for casual snapshots.

I recently returned from a trip to South Africa and took quite a few photos using the iPhone, which I have transferred to my Mac Mini using Finder. For some reason best known to Apple it quarantined all my photos, but I removed the extended attribute.

I noticed I had a mix of JPG and HEIC images (I am sure there is a setting to control this).

I wanted to convert the HEIC to JPG and reduce the size for uploading to a website.

I have discovered a number of methods (using Quick Action Convert Image or in Preview)

The Convert Image action has an option to Preserve Metadata but this didn't seem to conserve the Date Time Digitised or Date Time Original

My older code could extract this data, but only worked with JPEG files.

My questions are is there a method to convert retaining these attributes or some simple process to extract from the HEIC file (because I have verified that EXIF exists).

Update 1: I have found that the Finder Preview does actually show the Date Time Original - which it calls "Content Created".
What I need now is a method to extract it and use to modify the date. My existing workflow no longer seems to work

Update 2: I have found exiftool -DateTimeOriginal <filepath> extracts the desired Date/Time.

Which software for GPG/PGP email encryption on pretty recent macOS?

2025-11-14T11:45:55Z

Since GPG Suite from gpgtools only supports macOS 13.x, but since weeks the successor of macOS 15 is out, I would like to know which alternative I can use to de- and encrypt emails on a recent os version, macOS 15 for example.

EDIT (2025-11-25): The beta version of GPG Suite (partly supporting macOS Sonoma and Sequoia) has this show-stopper issue without any workaround:

If Mail loses connection to the extension the encryption and sign buttons in compose windows are not updated and might lead to messages being sent in plain that were supposed to be encrypted. In case the extension crashes or Mail loses the connection for some other reason, the compose window UI doesn't reflect that and might still show the encrypt and sign button as enabled, but the message might be sent in plain instead of being sent encrypted.

For a product which is security related, this is a no-go.

Safari keeps opening itself in macOS 26

2025-10-11T12:13:56Z

Lately, Safari keeps randomly opening itself on my Mac.

My default browser is Opera on all my devices, so it isn't some Handoff thing where my Mac is opening something from another device. I never use Safari for anything, and I haven't noticed links opening there instead of in Opera when clicking on them from other apps or anything.

I can't reproduce the problem at will, but I think I've narrowed it down to startup and to whenever I receive a notification from a website (eg YouTube notifying me a youtuber I follow has uploaded a new video).

The former behaviour is strange because Safari isn't listed among my login items in System settings. I've tried adding Safari and removing it again in case there was some weird error going on, but that didn't fix the problem.

The latter case is strange because Safari notifications are turned off globally anyway, even if individual websites have notifications turned on. I'll have to try turning website notifications off.

Running macOS 26.0. I don't recall the problem being there in previous macOS versions.

Thanks for any help.

What keyboard shortcut is there for switching between document tabs in Foxit Reader?

2025-08-18T09:11:02Z

I want to switch between multiple document tabs in Foxit Reader (v 2025.2.x) using a keyboard shortcut.

Tab-switching (or window-switching) keyboard shortcuts I know from other applications (e.g. opt+cmd+L/R arrow; cmd+~) don't work; KeyClu doesn't reveal anything; and Foxit Reader's support article only provides keyboard shortcuts for Windows.

Is it possible to do so? If it is, is anybody aware of a shortcut?

Macbook pro early 2011 no audio EFI Windows 11

2025-04-20T17:43:58Z

I have installed Windows 11 to a Macbook pro early 2011

Audio does not work out of the box, I belive for the reasons described in this post

Long story short, "DSDT table root bridge definition (ACPI PNP0A08 or PNP0A03) is usually confined to a reserved 32-bit space (under 4GB) budgeted to be large enough to host the notebook's PCIe devices"

Although audio works using the "registry" method, but only in Windows "Test Mode" so I would like run without test-mode.

What setup using "clover" mode has functioning audio without test mode with Windows on Mac hardware?

Why am I having Issues when connecting external storage via dongle/hub on MacBook Air M3 but not on direct connection?

2025-03-19T13:46:04Z

With a MacBook Air M3 I have the following issue.

With an external storage device with its own power source connected I experience the following:

When connected directly with USB-C cable Disk utility sees it and the drive pops up and is usable no problem
When I connect with an adapter (ANY adapter) the adapter pops up with a security warning where I have to press allow, but the drive does not show up in finder nor in disk utility.

I have tried with:
- Apple Adapter.
- Belkin Adapter.
- UGreen Adapter.
- Satechi USB-C dock.
I have tried with both USB-C and USB-A cable from the drive to the adapter.

It works perfectly fine with adapter with my Mac Studio and Dell XPS with Fedora.

To extend what I have tested:

Does it matter if your portable Mac is on AC power or Battery power? No.
Does it matter to which port you connect the storage? No.
Do other devices connected make a difference? For example does connecting only this one item fail? No. / I have a similar issue with an USB-C flash drive but that doesn't have external power.

Microsoft outlook client can't do cmd + ` window switching

2024-08-13T00:27:43Z

I've got a new Mac and have installed Version 16.87.2 Microsoft Outlook However, while other apps allow ⌘ + ` to switch windows of the same app, Outlook doesn't! Is there any fix to solve this?

I found posts on StackExchange to remap app shortcuts but I kinda need to know the name of the command in order to modify the existing outlook client shortcuts.

Any ideas?

PhotoBooth: Export multiple photos at once

2024-04-25T11:40:49Z

It there a user-friendly way to copy multiple photos from PhotoBooth at once?

For some really stupid reason, maybe this is a bug, if you select multiple photos there (e.g., by using Shift-click) and try to copy them (e.g, by pressing Command-C or by selecting menu bar > Edit > Copy) to a different place outside PhotoBooth, only the single photo is copied to the clipboard.

I can copy multiple photos at once by opening the ~/Pictures/Photo Booth Library/Pictures folder, but I would prefer a more user-friendly way, that is, without leaving PhotoBooth. Is it possible somehow?

upd.: Yes, this seems to be a bug. From the Photo Booth User Guide:

Export a photo or a video clip: Select one or more thumbnails, then choose File > Export, or drag the thumbnail to your desktop.

This is exactly what I tried, and if multiple photos selected, this doesn't work. Moreover, if multiple photos selected, File > Export is grayed out.

1.41 GB volume not mounted since oclp/sonoma installation on MBP

2024-04-24T15:12:59Z

I was checking my disks after the successful installation oclp 1.4.3/Sonoma 1.4.1 on a MBP 14,3 2017 with Touch Bar. Why I have an 1 Not Mounted volume on my main (startup) disk?  I googled for this situation, I have found the question reported but without answer. Can Someone explain, please? Thanks.

Is there a single USB Wi-Fi adapter/dongle which works on Ventura?

2023-07-10T17:09:31Z

I'm struggling to shop for USB based wireless hardware to work with macOS. I ordered and sent back 2 USB dongles because they were mislabeled as compatible but don't want to list them here.

The closest I have come was TP-Link telling me to downgrade to Mojave (2018!!) to get the "Archer" to work but I can't entertain that old of a macOS on my computer.

Has anyone experienced using macOS Ventura and a USB Wi-Fi adapter working?

Do you need to allow kernel extensions to use samsung t7 hardware on a Macbook pro M1 13 inch?

2022-10-04T07:03:49Z

Do you need to allow kernel extensions to use Samsung t7 hardware on a Macbook pro-M1 13-inch?

Keyboard Access and Dialog Box Buttons

2022-08-30T19:24:38Z

After upgrading to Catalina from High Sierra. I found that I can no longer use the enter key in place of the mouse to click on dialog box buttons. Keyboard access and navigation is currently enabled in keyboard settings.

Voice memo only saving part of audio

2022-06-01T16:35:27Z

I recently conducted a 1h30 interview using voice memo, but when trying to save the file the app froze and did not allow me to press any button. It showed that the interview was 1h30 long, though. I had to close the app, because it was completely frozen for 30 min, and it did only save 17 min of the audio. It was a very important interview, and I was hoping that there was a way I could recover the complete file. I later tested again, with another interview, an the same thing happened - an 1h long interview was reduced to 14 min.

Is there a way to recover my recording?

Can't click in Safari nor interact with menus

2022-01-05T20:22:06Z

I am stuck with Safari :

when I open it, I can't click anywhere (I just here the "bong" sound),
most of menu items are grayed (including Quit Safari),
none of keyboard shortcut will work,

When I force quit and re-launch, I am stuck in the same state.

How can I make a column reference a row in another table?

2022-01-04T23:42:33Z

I have this table that was created by using the "Form sheet" on iPad

Table A
-------------------------------------
Month   | Rent | Groceries | Netflix |
January |  100 |       100 |     100 |
February|  200 |       200 |     200 |
-------------------------------------

Naturally, it's weird that the months are the columns, and not the rows. So I want to create a 2nd table that references this table, but transposed

Table B
---------------------------------
Description | January | February |
Rent        |     100 |      200 |
Groceries   |     100 |      200 |

I can make the Cell reference the other table, but when I click+drag to autocomplete the remaining cells (around 20), they follow the column.

Table B January Groceries points to Table A February Rent.

Of course I could do it manually but it'll take me a few hours, and I'll have to manually update each table if I insert a new column on Table A

Can't boot from Monterey bootable installer, goes to recovery instead

2021-11-22T20:22:38Z

I've created a bootable installer for MacOS Monterey (on a USB flash drive) using the usual method of downloading the installer and using 'createinstallmedia' within Terminal. The command appears to complete successfully. I've done this before with older versions of MacOS and it's worked fine.

However, the installer I created for Monterey is not working properly. If I startup with the alt-option key and select it, it appears to boot from the USB installer, but my machine boots into recovery mode instead. Further indication that something is amiss is the fact that (when booted into my existing system) that the USB installer does not appear in System Preferences -> Startup Disk (even though it does appear when starting up with alt-option).

I've searched for this problem, and have tried the following, to no avail:

Un-checked the "ignore ownership" box (in Finder -> GetInfo).
Gone to the Startup Security Utility, which says that "Firmware password protection is off".
Verified that my computer (2017 Macbook Air) is capable of running this OS, and of course that the certificate is not expired.

I'm at my wit's end. I've tried creating a bootable installer of Big Sur and have the exact same issue.

I have an old USB bootable installer (for ElCapitan) that seems to work fine - the machine will boot up with it, although it too does not appear in SystemPrefs->StartupDisk.

It's a new USB 3.1 32GB stick. I've formatted with "GUID partition map" and "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Here is the 'diskutil' info for it:

/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *31.0 GB    disk2
   1:                        EFI ⁨EFI⁩                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS ⁨Install macOS Monterey⁩  30.7 GB    disk2s2

For the record, output of the 'createinstallmedia' command ...

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Monterey\ installer
Password:
Ready to start.
To continue we need to erase the volume at /Volumes/Monterey installer.
If you wish to continue type (Y) then press return: Y
Erasing disk: 0%... 10%... 20%... 30%... 100%
Making disk bootable...
Copying to disk: 0%... 10%... 20%... 30%... 40%... 50%... 60%... 70%... 80%... 90%... 100%
Install media now available at "/Volumes/Install macOS Monterey"

Why has my MacBook Pro battery cycles is increased?

2021-11-22T05:00:55Z

I have a MacBook Pro (2019), I usually work at home, so I use the MacBook with connected to power but that the battery cycles is increased. Is this normal?

What is the best way to use a MacBook at home, connected to power or using the battery?

Uninstalling Command Line Tools manually in Big Sur

2021-08-23T13:56:31Z

Homebrew seemed to have installed Command Line Tools when I was trying ntfs-3g on Big Sur. I have since given up on this attempt to connect NTFS to my Mac.

Now I'm currently receiving prompts to update CLT for Xcode 12.5 (482.1 MB) from System Preferences. Since I have no use for it, I've been trying to uninstall it. I tried removing /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools but the update prompts continue even after a reboot. I have restored the folder and xcode-select -p now points to that folder again.

This older question for pre-Big Sur versions of Mac points out that I should check pkgutil; did so and pkgutil --pkgs shows that the receipts are still there. One of the comments on the first answer said that the folder for the receipts are not in /var/db/receipts or /Library/Receipts (and indeed they aren't), but in /Library/Apple/System/Library/Receipts (and indeed they're there).

The accepted answer in the other question (I mentioned above) says that I should disable SIP and delete the boms, then re-enable SIP. Another commenter said that I can remove the receipt files through Recovery Mode & Disk Utility, without disabling SIP. In Big Sur, though, that directory is protected by SSV. "Disabling" SSV forever through csrutil just to delete some receipts seems like an utterly terrible idea.

Since I can't seem to uninstall CLT cleanly via deleting the folder, and System Preferences still wants me to update even after deleting the folder, what is the best way to go about this uninstallation at all?

Cannot delete/erase APFS volume

2021-05-10T12:41:18Z

I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) running Mac OS Mojave. When I boot it up, it shows a grey screen with a question mark on a folder.

I have figured out that the issue is with the internal SSD as I can boot from a USB installer with Mojave just fine. I can see the internal disk with diskutil and also see /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/ from the terminal. I was able to recover the few files this way that I hadn't backed up earlier. However this was too slow as even an ls command on the Macintosh HD Volume takes a couple of minutes to execute and the system.log in /var/log shows loads of error messages of this type: Kernel[0]: disk1: I/O error. But, I managed to get the files I needed.

Now I want to wipe the SSD or atleast erase the data from the /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/, but I am not able to do that. I tried Disk Utility but it just hangs every time I open it and running diskutil from the terminal on always ends up with some error. I have tried verifyVolume, repairVolume, eraseVolume, deleteVolume, deleteContainer and eraseDisk with diskutil but they all end with an error which looks something like this: Error: -69877: Couldn't open device or similar to this.

I found this answer here to delete the APFS partition using a bootable USB with Linux Mint. This ended with an error message too saying Input/output error.

Is there any way I can wipe the SSD clean?

The disk and the volume are not encrypted and I have also tried resetting NVRAM, PRAM and SMC but none of that helped. Booting up into Recovery Mode doesn't help either. It shows a spinning globe but there is no progress bar, and nothing happens.

Disable confirmation dialog when moving files in iCloud Drive in Windows 10

2020-10-16T08:05:49Z

My question is similar to this one but when using iCloud Drive in Windows (more specifically Windows 10). How can I stop iCloud Drive asking me for confirmation when I move files in the Windows Explorer?

This is specially annoying because many of the operations are just a rename (Ok, a move operation, but within the same directory), or move within iCloud itself. Also, a lot of times the Windows Explorer remains on top and you don't see the message, getting stuck until you realize why the action is blocked.

Macbook air keeps disconnecting audio source

2020-02-20T11:56:04Z

I have a new Macbook Air (2019 version) with macOS Catalina. My issue is that it keeps disconnecting the audio output I'm using. This has been occurring ever since I bought the mac 3 weeks ago, rendering it useless to play music.

If I plug in my headset with minijack, I'll get to play music for about 1-5 minutes, before the Mac goes into some form of epilepsy mode, where I can observe in the audio settings that the audio output (in this case external headset) is removed and added very rapidly, sometimes naming the source "unknown", like every half second for about 2-3 minutes, before resuming to play music.

If I physically take out the mini jack during this epilepsy mode, the Mac will play music from the internal speakers, which is now named "unknown". During this time I'm not able to change the volume, having to quit iTunes/Spotify to make the music stop.

This occurs suddenly and without any obvious triggers. Its been happening 2 times while writing this post. It seems to happens regardless of external monitors, what programs are running, and happens on 2 different headsets with minijack and even with my bluetooth connected Airpods.

Any ideas?

People can't hear me after about 5 minutes on my iphone6

2020-02-17T17:11:01Z

After 5 to 10 minutes into a phone call the person I am talking to can no longer hear me but I can still hear them. I call back and it works fine for a few minutes. In every other respect the phone seems to work fine. This problem occurs for all calls and makes no difference whether I call them on my iPhone 6 or they call me. I do not use Bluetooth. It has IOS 12.4.5.

This is a long standing problem for about 2 years...

Is it possible to copy a Time Machine backup with rsync to another HFS formatted disk?

2019-12-04T23:16:08Z

Is it possible to copy a Time Machine backup using rsync to another HFS formatted disk?

I am concerned that rsync would not be able to track the hard-linked directories that Time Machine uses.

Finder connects to FTP server, but has blank file list

2019-07-17T19:43:37Z

Description

When I mount a LAN or WAN FTP share in Finder under High Sierra (10.13.6), it lists no files or folders.

Steps:

Connect to the server via Finder's "Connect to Server..." command ("Go" menu or ⌘K)
Enter the share URL as (e.g.) 'ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/'.
Enter the credentials or sign in as a guest user (as appropriate)

Result

The connection is successful (no error). A finder window opens up for the share, but the file display is blank.

Additional info

Packets captured by Wireshark show the correct username and password are being sent, and are accepted, and that my computer receives the file list.

Other FTP clients have no issues connecting or listing files from any of the servers I've tested.

Question

How can I figure out why Finder doesn't display the FTP directory listing?

Is there any way to use a USB camera connected to an iPhone?

2016-06-08T00:44:53Z

I've got an iPhone and I've got a USB camera. Is there any way to plug the camera into the iPhone and use it as the source camera for Facebook Live or other camera related items?

Can I create a keyboard shortcut to open a specific application on OS X?

2011-08-04T06:45:16Z

I want to create a keyboard shortcut to i.e. open Firefox while I am working in another application. I know I can use ⌘ CMD+T when I am in Firefox to open a new tab.

I haven't found a way to create that kind of shortcuts in System Preferences.

Any ideas?

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Finder connects to FTP server, but has blank file list

Description

Steps:

Result

Additional info

Question

Is there any way to use a USB camera connected to an iPhone?

Can I create a keyboard shortcut to open a specific application on OS X?