Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
I'll see what I can do to resolve whatever conflicts you are still experiencing. Most everything you have been told is exactly correct. These updates are perfectly normal and always happen to accommodate a new iDevice, whether you own that device or not. They have been happening for all of us for decades, but the dialog box changed within the last year or so to become more noticeable. Every time you connect an iDevice to your computer a check is made to see if the connectivity database on your computer matches the latest version on Apple servers. If not, you get the dialog. The database has nothing to do with phone calls, only connectivity (as stated earlier). If you have a new device and it isn't listed in your database, it will not connect. Apple wants you to keep it current, which is why it pops up for older devises, but you can just ignore it if that suits your needs and your iPhone properly connects. My choice is to always chose to update. There have been a few times when an update comes out and there was no new iDevice and just guessing that there was a bug in what they last posted.
?
I'll guess again that the 18.4.1 update contained an old copy of the database, which would explain why you got the notification you noted.
?
The only way to turn it off is to disconnect your computer from the internet before connecting your iPhone.
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Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
Why, because I am getting conflicting information, and I want to find away to turn off the message.
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
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On May 17, 2025, at 12:59 AM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Why do you need to call Apple? What problem are you trying to solve?
Here we go again, Ben. I miss understood what you wrote, but did you read the Apple Support I mentioned,? ?? The first section reads:
"If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad When your device is turned on and connected to your computer, it?should appear in the Finder, iTunes, or the Apple Devices app.? Look in the Finder, iTunes, or Apple?Devices ? On a Mac using?macOS Catalina or later, your connected device should appear in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder.* On a Mac using an earlier version of macOS, it should?appear in iTunes. For more information,?learn about viewing your device in the Finder or?iTunes."
I guess it is time to call Apple. Or maybe I don’t understand ?""If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad.”
Thanks, Ben for the exchange.? On May 16, 2025, at 17:56, Ben Rosenthal via <ben@...> wrote:
? The update doesn’t likely have anything to do with phone calls. If you plug your iPhone into your Mac and?keep the software on your iPhone up to date, these software updates enable your Mac to continue communicating with your iPhone.
The notice is an invitation to install the update, not exactly an alert. Perhaps the only way to “turn it off” is to stop plugging your iPhone into your Mac.
If your Mac rings when a call comes in, you can disable Calls From iPhone in FaceTime preferences as FaceTime manages this feature. Again, this is unrelated to the software update notice you asked about.
Thank you for telling me what it most likely does.?So is there any way to turn off the alert? Is there any way to turn off the alert?
I don’t use the Mac to make phone calls, so I see no need for the update. If I have to use a usb cable to connect the iPhone to the Mac, I don’t need this feature. We need another setting to turn this feature off.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
On May 15, 2025, at 6:59 PM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
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Fascinating New Product For M4 mini!
So...this isn't a "recommendation", as I haven't tried this product. It's just so interesting that I thought that some folks might want to know about it. It is sort of a docking station for the M4 mini that turns it into more or less a Mac Pro, and it's reasonably priced!
ACASIS Workstation
This product adds two ultra high speed SSD's (that can be configured as a RAID if you like), extra ports (including support for up to three monitors), and active cooling.
Currently $99 as part of a Kickstarter campaign.
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
Why do you need to call Apple? What problem are you trying to solve?
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On May 16, 2025, at 21:27, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Here we go again, Ben. I miss understood what you wrote, but did you read the Apple Support I mentioned,? ?? The first section reads:
"If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad When your device is turned on and connected to your computer, it?should appear in the Finder, iTunes, or the Apple Devices app.? Look in the Finder, iTunes, or Apple?Devices ? On a Mac using?macOS Catalina or later, your connected device should appear in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder.* On a Mac using an earlier version of macOS, it should?appear in iTunes. For more information,?learn about viewing your device in the Finder or?iTunes."
I guess it is time to call Apple. Or maybe I don’t understand ?""If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad.”
Thanks, Ben for the exchange.? On May 16, 2025, at 17:56, Ben Rosenthal via <ben@...> wrote:
? The update doesn’t likely have anything to do with phone calls. If you plug your iPhone into your Mac and?keep the software on your iPhone up to date, these software updates enable your Mac to continue communicating with your iPhone.
The notice is an invitation to install the update, not exactly an alert. Perhaps the only way to “turn it off” is to stop plugging your iPhone into your Mac.
If your Mac rings when a call comes in, you can disable Calls From iPhone in FaceTime preferences as FaceTime manages this feature. Again, this is unrelated to the software update notice you asked about.
Thank you for telling me what it most likely does.?So is there any way to turn off the alert? Is there any way to turn off the alert?
I don’t use the Mac to make phone calls, so I see no need for the update. If I have to use a usb cable to connect the iPhone to the Mac, I don’t need this feature. We need another setting to turn this feature off.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
On May 15, 2025, at 6:59 PM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
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Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
Here we go again, Ben. I miss understood what you wrote, but did you read the Apple Support I mentioned,? ?? The first section reads:
"If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad When your device is turned on and connected to your computer, it?should appear in the Finder, iTunes, or the Apple Devices app.? Look in the Finder, iTunes, or Apple?Devices ? On a Mac using?macOS Catalina or later, your connected device should appear in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder.* On a Mac using an earlier version of macOS, it should?appear in iTunes. For more information,?learn about viewing your device in the Finder or?iTunes."
I guess it is time to call Apple. Or maybe I don’t understand ?""If your computer doesn't?recognize your iPhone or iPad.”
Thanks, Ben for the exchange.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 16, 2025, at 17:56, Ben Rosenthal via <ben@...> wrote:
? The update doesn’t likely have anything to do with phone calls. If you plug your iPhone into your Mac and?keep the software on your iPhone up to date, these software updates enable your Mac to continue communicating with your iPhone.
The notice is an invitation to install the update, not exactly an alert. Perhaps the only way to “turn it off” is to stop plugging your iPhone into your Mac.
If your Mac rings when a call comes in, you can disable Calls From iPhone in FaceTime preferences as FaceTime manages this feature. Again, this is unrelated to the software update notice you asked about.
Thank you for telling me what it most likely does.?So is there any way to turn off the alert? Is there any way to turn off the alert?
I don’t use the Mac to make phone calls, so I see no need for the update. If I have to use a usb cable to connect the iPhone to the Mac, I don’t need this feature. We need another setting to turn this feature off.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
On May 15, 2025, at 6:59 PM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
Again, option+v ? √√√√√√√ ? ?doesn’t matter if caps are on or off
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On May 14, 2025, at 1:38 PM, kurt youngmann <tgobbi@...> wrote:
Can someone please tell me how to make a check mark on the Mac keyboard.
Thanx,
Kurt Youngmann
***
“The most erroneous stories?are?those we think we know?best --?and therefore never?scrutinize or?question." -?Stephen Jay Gould
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Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
The update doesn’t likely have anything to do with phone calls. If you plug your iPhone into your Mac and?keep the software on your iPhone up to date, these software updates enable your Mac to continue communicating with your iPhone.
The notice is an invitation to install the update, not exactly an alert. Perhaps the only way to “turn it off” is to stop plugging your iPhone into your Mac.
If your Mac rings when a call comes in, you can disable Calls From iPhone in FaceTime preferences as FaceTime manages this feature. Again, this is unrelated to the software update notice you asked about.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 16, 2025, at 17:03, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Thank you for telling me what it most likely does.?So is there any way to turn off the alert? Is there any way to turn off the alert?
I don’t use the Mac to make phone calls, so I see no need for the update. If I have to use a usb cable to connect the iPhone to the Mac, I don’t need this feature. We need another setting to turn this feature off.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
On May 15, 2025, at 6:59 PM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
|
Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
Thank you for telling me what it most likely does.?So is there any way to turn off the alert? Is there any way to turn off the alert?
I don’t use the Mac to make phone calls, so I see no need for the update. If I have to use a usb cable to connect the iPhone to the Mac, I don’t need this feature. We need another setting to turn this feature off.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 15, 2025, at 6:59 PM, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
|
Re: Update is required to connect to your phone?
Periodically, Apple issues software updates designed to make your Mac talk to your iPhone more reliably. These don’t install as part of normal macOS update channels and only pop up when you plug your iPhone into your Mac. I’ve never seen a problem with these.
As of macOS 10.15, iPhone device/sync/backup management takes place in the Finder whereas prior versions used iTunes.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 15, 2025, at 14:43, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
<Screen Shot 2025-05-15 at 2.27.33 PM.png>
|
Update is required to connect to your phone?
Since the recent update to iOS 18.4.1, I get the message. “A software update is required to connect to your phone.”. Since this did not pop up before this update, instead it opened Photos to transfer the photos from the iPhone to my Mac mini, I have to ask by and what does it do?
iPhone XR, now running iOS 18.4.1 Mac mini, late 2012, running macOS 10.15.7, Catalina, the highest OS it can run
I am being cautious because some updates mess up old OSes and are not easily reversible.
After reading,?, I find I can connect to the iPhone in the?sidebar of any window in the Finder, with the added benefit of no longer opening Photos.?
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
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Ah, that made me think I was back working for Vestas. Good memories.
Brent??
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
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On May 15, 2025, at 10:51 AM, Peter Rasmusen < peter@...> wrote:
Sorry for my last mail, it was obviously not to this list.
If the list mom or list dad or whatever can delete it, please do. If not, just leave it and forget about it.
It wasn’t very interesting anyway.
:-)
Peter
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Ah … clever. I just did.?
Thanks Ben!?
:-)?
Peter
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On 15 May 2025, at 20.07, Ben Rosenthal via < ben@...> wrote:
You can sign into ?to delete your message. On May 15, 2025, at 10:51, Peter Rasmusen < peter@...> wrote:
Sorry for my last mail, it was obviously not to this list.
If the list mom or list dad or whatever can delete it, please do. If not, just leave it and forget about it.
It wasn’t very interesting anyway.
:-)
Peter
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You can sign into ?to delete your message.
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On May 15, 2025, at 10:51, Peter Rasmusen <peter@...> wrote:
Sorry for my last mail, it was obviously not to this list.
If the list mom or list dad or whatever can delete it, please do. If not, just leave it and forget about it.
It wasn’t very interesting anyway.
:-)
Peter
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
I have always used the √ sign and has never had any complaints.?
But it’s an interesting question, and I love mysteries, so … yes, there is a solution (probably more, but here’s one) and it’s simple:?
You can easily make your own shortcut …?
System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Text Replacements?
Click the + to add one and type e.g. ;v (or whatever else you feel like, that you normally don’t use) and then paste in this:??
It works for me in instantly in Messages and I also made it work in Mail too, but I had to dig a little to make it wok in Mail. So here’s the trick.?
1. Open Mail
2. Create a new email
3. In the menu bar, click Edit > Substitutions > Text Replacement
4. Make sure it’s checked/enabled
5. Type the shortcut (e.g., ;v) in the body of the message, then hit space — it should convert to ? Now it also works in Mail.? ? It seems it also works in Text Edit and in Safari, if you ever have to type text in Safari.?
I also tried in Word, but no luck … Word has it’s own text replacement, so you have to set up you're replacements sin Word.?
For other apps, I havent tested.?
But anyway … it seems I can be made to work faily easy.?
I also came across an app called Espanso () … it’s free, but and its a bit tricky to get started with. You have to use Terminal.
If needed, I can - to the best of my abilities - try to type a relatively simple “how to”.?
But at least now you know how to get ? that is not a √?
:-)
Peter
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On 15 May 2025, at 16.51, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
On May 15, 2025, at 7:42 AM, Jaqi Thompson via groups.io <yywomyn@...> wrote:
None of the Character Viewer checkmarks I found look like the one Randy has; where did that one come from?
Different fonts have different, usually hidden, extended characters. ?I think that one was from Lucinda Grande. ?You have to hit some combination of modifier keys to get it. ?I just pulled it from a form that I once created. There used to be utilities that would give you a list of all of the extended characters included with each of your installed fonts. ?I haven’t looked lately to see if any of these still exist. ?Nowadays I just save time and cut and paste special characters from past documents if I don’t know where and how to access them. _______________________ Randy _______________________
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
On May 15, 2025, at 7:42 AM, Jaqi Thompson via groups.io <yywomyn@...> wrote:
None of the Character Viewer checkmarks I found look like the one Randy has; where did that one come from? Different fonts have different, usually hidden, extended characters. I think that one was from Lucinda Grande. You have to hit some combination of modifier keys to get it. I just pulled it from a form that I once created. There used to be utilities that would give you a list of all of the extended characters included with each of your installed fonts. I haven’t looked lately to see if any of these still exist. Nowadays I just save time and cut and paste special characters from past documents if I don’t know where and how to access them. _______________________ Randy _______________________
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
Hi, Otto, Of course you are right, Option v ?√ ?is a square root symbol! ?It also makes a beautiful checkmark. ?My old mind knew that once upon a time, but had completely forgotten that way to get a checkmark from the keyboard as Kurt requested, as well as forgotten that a square root symbol was on the Mac. Also, in my first reply to Kurt, I said the iPhone emojis, aka Character Viewer, has two checkmarks, but there are actually 5 or more versions: ? ??? ?? ?? ? ??
When you do a Search in Character Viewer, just enter “check”. ?That gives you more options than the full “checkmark.” ?Some of those additional options are not checkmarks at all, but searching “checkmarks” does not bring up all the actual checkmarks.
And, of course, you can re-size using command+ or command-
None of the Character Viewer checkmarks I found look like the one Randy has; where did that one come from? Jaqi?
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On May 15, 2025, at 4:23?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
On 15 May 2025, at 11:30, Randy B. Singer via < randy@...> wrote: On May 14, 2025, at 10:38 AM, kurt youngmann <tgobbi@...> wrote:
Can someone please tell me how to make a check mark on the Mac keyboard. Copy and paste this: ?? ?
Or Show Emoji & Symbols (Character Viewer) > Bullets/Stars (3rd row from bottom) > Add to Favourites,
Otto 10.15.7
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I didn't remember how to get a checkmark, so I went to my Keyboard Viewer. ?
Odd. ?Although it shows as an A+ on the toolbar, it briefly changes to the US keyboard, when I click on it. I have always had an Extended keyboard (A+).
Unsure when it changed, but even though the System shows there is an A+ connected, the only keyboard display is the US keyboard.
Disconnect/reconnect finds and reconnects the A+, but still only shows the US keyboard in the viewer.
Another change in recent upgrade/updates? ?
I guess I should test EVERY MacOS feature and function after every update…once I find where they got moved and/or renamed
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
On 15 May 2025, at 11:30, Randy B. Singer via < randy@...> wrote: On May 14, 2025, at 10:38 AM, kurt youngmann <tgobbi@...> wrote:
Can someone please tell me how to make a check mark on the Mac keyboard. Copy and paste this: ?? ?
Or Show Emoji & Symbols (Character Viewer) > Bullets/Stars (3rd row from bottom) > Add to Favourites,
Otto 10.15.7
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
On May 14, 2025, at 10:38 AM, kurt youngmann <tgobbi@...> wrote:
Can someone please tell me how to make a check mark on the Mac keyboard.
Copy and paste this: ?? ?
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible?(4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find?Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Re: a very simple question (I hope)
As I said earlier, it’s actually a square root symbol, but it’s “close enough”: √ opt-v vs ? Character Viewer > Bullets/Stars
Otto
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On 15 May 2025, at 00:10, Bob Hasselbrink via < hippie1@...> wrote:
I guess Option + v, which I have always used, could be considered a concept of a check mark.
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Al Varnell
Brent
Ben Rosenthal