Hello, r/mac community. Apologies if this seems like a dumb question. I am new to Macs and iMacs, as well as trying to learn more about my family’s digital footprint.

I’ve been trying to harden our home network, identify weak points, segment the networks, invest in a home NAS, transition away from apps like Google Drive, Outlook, Dropbox, and iCloud, and learn how to self-host applications like Nextcloud and Immich. I’ve also implemented Tailscale on devices, remote KVMs, blah blah blah. I didn’t realize just how exposed we really were, and probably still are.

The Short Version Question: Is a Mid-2011 iMac safe to use in 2026?

The Long Version Question: I live in an apartment complex, and a few weeks ago, when I was taking the trash out, I found this Mid-2011 iMac. I grabbed some gloves and cleaning supplies, disinfected it, and got it looking nice again.

Then I ran over to Best Buy to pick up a power cable. Once I turned it on, after about 4–5 minutes, it brought up macOS Utilities. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos for a day or two, grabbed a spare SSD (2TB Micron 2.5” SATA SSD), and swapped the drives out.

I booted it up, connected it to the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi meant for IoT devices, and spent another 5–6 hours before finally figuring out how to reinstall macOS High Sierra. I successfully got logged into everything and even set up Time Machine backups by connecting it to our home NAS.

Everything was slow. So slow. Apps were crashing, etc. I installed Firefox for internet browsing and ordered 32GB of DDR3 1,333MHz RAM on Amazon for around $75, hoping that would help the system out some.

A lot of things are unavailable in 2026 for a Mid-2011 iMac—applications, Tailscale, etc. I didn’t even think about this until today, though: Is it safe to have this thing connected to our home network and NAS?
I wanted to ask the community before factory-resetting it, taking out the SSD and RAM, and just scrapping the project.

I have always wanted a Mac or iMac because I already daily-drive an iPhone and iPad.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t have very high expectations for this to begin with, but I thought, how cool would it be to have one for really only the added cost of a power cable and RAM.

Long time lurker, I had an M4 Pro Mac mini(gave to my daughter). Then I got a Mac Pro 5,1 (I love how it looked in the living room). I was waiting for the M5 Studio until Apple priced me out with the recent price hike, and I always loved this design, so I got to tinkering.

7,1 Mac Pro 12 core*, 48gb ram*, Vega 2 /32gb, 2 tb
-2 x Apple Cinema Display 30 in
-Playstation Portal

*Looking to upgrade soon

As mentioned in the previous post I have a Mac Studio M4 Max with 64gb/2TB as a main, Mac mini M4 Pro with 24gb /512gb as a living computer, Mac Pro 5,1 with 32gb/4TB & 3,1 , iPad Pro m4 and 2nd Gen, Mac mini sunflower and a few other MBP 2012/2013 retina/MBA 2015/2019. So I have a few in my stable.

My MacBook Pro with M1 supposedly has fans built in but because of the power efficient design of the SoC etc. they never have to spin up. Having gotten used to it, it is so bizarre to me, how noisy non-Apple laptops are. Like when i'm at a friends house, i'm just chilling out and suddenly an IDLING laptop spins up its fans. Like i get it, sometimes there are updates and virus scans or whatever but many laptops spin up there fans when they are actually merely idling, few background processes and no apps open, how ridiculous is it? This means one of 3 things: 1. Hardware design is crap 2. Software/OS is inefficient/bloated or even sabotaged (planned obsolescence) 3. all of the above. And people are sometimes paying MacBook Pro level prices for this stuff and pretend they have higher or equal value than a MacBook. I try not to be an Apple Fanboy (but they make it hard bro fr), to the contrary, actually there should be good competitors to Apple laptops so Apple cannot sit back and relax, because that's currently what they're doing and they still offer the best hardware/OS combo, though it's getting worse and also repairability is bad so we need healthy competition. I know it's the wrong sub to ask this, but are there actually any really good non-Apple laptops on the market? I feel like these manufacturers have a big client base just based on the belief that Apple hardware is too expensive and traps you in an ecosystem and not because their value or longevity is actually higher. And they have never experienced owning a MacBook, that's why they don't see the value in it. Also, i know that for some purposes MacBooks are not suitable, like specialized software and gaming.

**UPDATE: SOLVED (read below)

MacBook Air M5, 24 Gb and two LG 27" 5K GM9 monitors, each connected over it's own LG provided USB-C cable. Both monitors and macOS are fully updated.

Problem: only one monitor displays at a time. Both have worked together exactly twice in the past month. So I know it's possible! The odd part is that accessories plugged into the dead monitor still work, so the Mac sees the monitor as a hub but not as a display. I have tested with all accessories unplugged so the monitor presents as display only. Same result.

Tried so far: swapping cables, forcing lower output resolutions with third-party apps, every relevant setting on both monitors and the Mac, a CalDigit TS5 Plus dock, and a call with Apple Support. Nothing has changed the behavior.

Has anyone encountered something similar?

**UPDATE (SOLVED):

Thanks for everyone who chimed in. The high-refresh bandwidth theory was a red herring.

I was messing around in BetterDisplay and found its EDID override feature, which lets you feed the Mac an edited copy of the monitor's factory EDID. Both monitors now work flawlessly @ 5K 120 Hz with the MacBook open.

What did I change: the serial number on one of the monitors EDID. Both my monitors had the same serial in their EDID? I think the MacBook was treating both of them as 1 monitor which makes sense why the usb hub still worked on the non-working display.

The weird part: the edited EDID (with only the serial changed) made the MacBook cap the allowed refresh to 60 Hz. BUT when I self capped it at 60 Hz (within EDID override code) the MacBook then allowed for a higher refresh rate within the settings.... it makes no sense to me, but it works!

I have done full power cycles of both monitors and the MacBook multiple times - the monitors still accurately and consistently produce 5K @ 120 Hz. I am so happy this worked!

I want to buy my first-ever MacBook. But I need honest answers from real users. Here are my doubts, and I'd genuinely appreciate your help, folks:

• Can I buy the Neo (8 GB RAM) and not have to purchase another laptop for at least 8-9 years? (I know this is subjective, but I'm a careful user who has a history of using HP laptops for 10-13 years)
• Should I go for the Neo or the M5 Air (for the 16 GB RAM, of course)? (I am awaiting the Diwali period, when I hope for a discount at one of the offline stores)
• I want this laptop to be my go-to resource primarily for content writing activities.

My workload is: 15 tabs (pinned) + 5-odd running tabs for research and Google Docs, content writing + strategy, Gimp + RawTherapee (for hobby photo editing), and maybe a game like AOE III (But this can be handled by my Windows laptop; I won't run any games on a Mac).

I'm thinking about whether I should wait for the rumored Neo 2 or go for the Mac Air M5 around year-end. Because now the M4 has disappeared from offline stores, I fear the M5 512GB may also disappear around the launch of the Neo 2 (rumored) or the M6 Air.

I don't change laptops quite often and want a reliable one for my specific workload at least for the next decade.

P.S.: I don't see myself doing 4k video editing or coding in the near future. At most, I can run some AI agents in my browser, but nothing beyond that. Also, Gimp is enough for me; no Adobe Photoshop required. And one more thing: I'm not a student, so I'm not interested in student discounts, buying online, or using credit cards.
I can just get a store discount at most.

My 2017 MacBook Air just decided that it didn’t want to turn on anymore. I took it in to an Apple Store this weekend, and even they couldn’t get it to turn on or work anymore, so it’s completely dead and useless. I’d like to get another Apple computer because i never had any issues with my laptop (until now, a full 9 years after I got it), and I’m not the biggest fan of non Apple tech (previous laptops would all crap out after 6-12 months).

Now, if I do end up switching for a newer device, I need help deciding on what to do. I have a 2025 ipad that I’m not using as much as I’d like to. I’m not sure if it’d be worth it to trade that in for a new laptop, or keep the iPad and take it with me for occasional work outside of my house since I rarely ever take my laptop out and use it outside of my apartment. I usually use it just to apply for jobs, use Canva for social media graphics, type up personal notes and ideas, and process pictures that I take with my DLSR camera on my laptop, and mainly just use it at my desk in my apartment.

The guy at the store today said to avoid getting the purple iMacs since those in particular have had trouble - they stop working and take months for repair parts to come in for them to fix in store and it almost ends up not being worth it because people spend almost as much money fixing it as if they’d just bought a new computer - and that it’s only the purple color. And that a laptop might be better but again, I don’t use my laptop outside of my apartment and mainly take my iPad with me if I do need to do work.

Would it be worth it to trade in the iPad & get a new laptop, or go for an iPad/desktop combo? I haven’t had to do much research on this since the last time I bought a computer was in 2017 when I was in college and using it for class notes/projects/etc., and it’s hard to not feel lost.

I got my macbook not that long ago and i've noticed i've developed a burning, tingly sensation in my index and middle finger using the trackpad. I don't know what's causing it, but I work long hours without much break so it can get pretty bad. Luckily for you, if your also struggling with this here is the fix.

Just get some "finger sleeves" from amazon. They're mostly marketed towards mobile gamers but work perfectly for trackpads.

they work so well, now i can work for as long as I want with no discomfort and it's also a lot smoother and easier to glide across the trackpad since there's less friction.

Ciao ragazzi io ho un Mac Air che credo risalga al 2013 (🥹), per carità funziona ma ovviamente fino ad oggi mi sono sempre accontentata (si bloccava e perdevo documenti, è aggiornato ai tempi della pietra, non supporta nessuna app, la ventola penso che a poco scoppi e a breve dovrò cominciare a scrivere la tesi). Volevo cambiarlo dunque con una versione più recente, volevo rimanere con il Mac soprattutto perché io ho un iPhone e volevo conservare documenti foto e fare uno scambio veloce tramite AirDrop.
Chiaramente non ho voglia di spendere troppo, mio padre sta cercando qualche MacBook Air M1 (del 2020 quindi e immagino anche usato), secondo voi conviene? Non ho voglia di spendere più di 600, so che c’è il MacBook Neo, però ho sentito pareri contrastanti. Aiutatemi a cercare qualche soluzione economica che possa andar bene

This is more of a whole syndrome than a disease, but I feel it centers on the speakers. I'll do my best to describe it.

One day, I was watching a YouTube video with a desert scene, where there was a lot of wind noise. Out of nowhere, my laptop started to rattle, and the left main speaker started emitting this grinding sound, sort of like rain on a tin roof. This rattling would come back any time I played any noisy or 'grainy' audio. My left main speaker has since been operating at a diminished volume and quality. Then I updated my Mac to the new OS (Sequoia), and the rattling went away. But the left speaker still contributes little to the volume and gives out these popping sounds if you listen closely.

But the worst part is this: my laptop goes through this 'no audio' syndrome at random times. It is characterized by the following symptoms. It refuses to play any audio or video file. For example, if I try to play a YouTube video, it just shows a loading circle for a while, and sometimes eventually tells me to restart the computer. However, restarting does NOT fix the problem. Additionally, sometimes, even the attempt to play a song/video overwhelms my laptop, and it just restarts. I've noticed that my laptop randomly shuts down and restarts when I keep the lid shut and keep it in sleep mode. (I get a notification saying it shut down unexpectedly, and some apps also ask me if I want to keep the recovered files). It can go through these random shutdowns even when the lid is open, but rarely ever when I'm actively using it (unless, of course, I try to use anything related to audio).

Luckily, I have found something that does fix the problem. If you try a few times (ranging from twice to around a dozen times), the audio starts working again, most of the time. The way I do this is by either pressing the space key to start and stop playing a video a couple of times, or by opening the microphone and attempting to make a recording a couple of times. This works almost all the time. But a couple of times a month, my laptop just refuses to do anything involving audio, and no amount of attempts such as those described above helps. No amount of restarting helps either. I just have to wait until my laptop is in the mood again.

A few caveats I've noted over the months.

1. The audio or videos always play if I use earphones. So this might be a hardware issue?

2. I said restarting doesn't help. But when restarting, I can always hear the restarting sound effect. This means that it is capable of playing audio, but doesn't want to. So this isn't purely a hardware issue?

3. The audio NEVER stops working while I'm playing something. It only ever stops functioning when I'm not actively playing something. However, it often fails if I am playing something, pause it for a couple of minutes, and try to play it again.

PS: I don't have AppleCare, and I live in a country without any Apple Stores. This is a grey market product, but it doesn't appear to be compromised in any way. As for why I waited this long before doing anything, it's because this is fixed within a few seconds in most cases, and I've gotten used to it. I know I was irresponsible. Please cut me some slack.

So I got an old 2009 iMac (model number: A1224) for only 5 dollars off of Facebook marketplace, but its screen doesn't work properly when I turned it on it just flashed white and then went to black one time, I was able to get it to show the login screen but I accidentally turned it off and never saw it again, though using a mini display port cable I was able to use it with an external monitor and everything else works as normal, I would just like to know if I can fix this easily to get all functionality out of the mac.

I have the following issue on Safari: it keeps logging me out of websites every 1-2 days and it's very annoying. Seems like it's resetting cookies but not sure what is happening. Running macOS 26.6.1 and Safari v 26.6.

I've tried deleting all safari related files in order to reset it and the issue still keeps happening. Only extensions I'm running are vinegar and ublock lite. Developer tools are off, cross-site tracking is off, not using private relay and the history is set to not automatically delete.

Does anyone have any hints on how to fix it?

any tips you can share for me to transition smoothly since im used to windows.

share apps as well to download (wanna customize it make it more me >.<)

How to take care of it as well.

tyia 😣🫶🏻

Backstory (feel free to skip)

I’ve been using a 2012 MacBook Pro 16GB/512GB for about 7 years as my primary Mac on macOS 15 (OCLP) and a ThinkPad T480 on NixOS as a secondary laptop for about 3 years. I finally got my first job at McDonald’s in May (I’m 16) and saved up US$1.869 (163 working hours after taxes) and bought a refurbished M5 MacBook Pro 16GB/1TB with a nano-texture display. I’ve wanted a M series MacBook since I watched the WWDC20 keynote and saw the M1 MacBooks get announced but at the time I was in primary school and couldn’t afford one.

I’ve been suffering with a 2012 MacBook Pro for too long and I’ve noticed very noticeable slow downs when using apps like Apple Music, playing games like Stardew Valley or Minecraft, or even thinking about opening Xcode.

What I will be using this MacBook for

I will be using the MacBook at school daily (literally just a web browser the whole day) and since I’m bringing it to school I did get AppleCare.
I will be playing games like Minecraft Java Edition with performance mods and maybe shaders, Stardew Valley, Celeste, The Sims, Cities Skylines, Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 (using crossover).
I will also bring it to Starbucks and stare at a blank Proton Doc for an hour while I sip on my overpriced pumpkin spice latte. Maybe some light Photoshop and Lightroom work. Doing some video editing using Kdenlive. So pretty easy things to run for the most part.

I plan on using the MacBook docked with a Ugreen Maxidock with a 4K@60Hz display most of the time at home also with a 2TB NVME SSD for a Time Machine backup.

Software I already use (don’t recommend these)
Homebrew, Neovim, Ghostty, Helium, VLC, Nix, Kdenlive, Obsidian, Anki, Vesktop (Discord), Tinkertool, and Prism Launcher (Minecraft).

What suggestions I need:
I’ll take any software suggestions or even replacements for software I use above.

I also need recommendations for protection like cases and things like that although I’ve heard not to use hardshell cases because it discolours the aluminium or something like that and keyboard covers prevent venting and break the hinge so I need suggestions on protection if any.

Other Notes

Yes I am aware that this MacBook is very overkill for what I plan to do but I do hopefully plan on using it until Apple drops support for it and even beyond if Asahi Linux ever supports M5.

I’m also not new to macOS as I’ve been using it my whole life since 10.6 Snow Leopard (Family iMac) so I know my way around the OS.

I have a old 2011 MacBook Air running on macOS lion whenever I connect to the Wi-Fi says it’s a WPA 2 enterprise network even though it’s not and I’ve tried 1000 different ways to resolve this. I need other solutions if possible I’m not a MacBook type guy more of a Windows guy so I don’t know how to fix this at all
Any help would be appreciated thank you

6 months ago I yanked my laptop by accident after dropping a lil bit of wine on it. I have a keyboard cover so for the most part there wasn’t water damage.

At first the screen was okay but then it switched to a persistent condition: a solid black bar taking up almost a third of the right side and the rest of the screen flickering softly and ghosting.

It was still useable with a second display and I could generally still use it by moving the dock to the left side.

I’ve been using it with my tv to watch videos and stream and rebooting often to make the HDMI connection better.

Then today, completely out of no where the screen is back to normal.

For people who understand the hardware and software, how is this possible? Does this help diagnose the issue?

I had considered attempting to replace the screen myself or just see if the connection got displaced but worried I’d brick it.

Hello! I was curious to know of other people's experiences with transferring phyiscal media to mac, especially in the past couple years.

I have a MacAir 2020 and was hoping to transfer my CD collection to an MP3 player. I was able to transfer a few songs a five or so years ago when the itunes store was still a thing, but now that it's been fully discontinued, I'm worried that there isn't a streamlined way to transfer music. Does anyone know if this process is still compatible with apple music or on mac? Do I even need the itunes store, or are media transfers processed through a different system? Separate question: would I need an ipod, or would any brand MP3 player be compatible so long as it's usb-c? I have conversion cables and the CD extension, so I'm not necessarily worried about that part.

Mostly wondering if the computer system still supports this without access to itunes (I'm incredibly un-tech-savvy, so I apologize if my understanding in this topic is limited or if I have misunderstood how the process works). Thanks in advance for the help!!

Hi, I can’t use recovery assistant as the lid for my MacBook is detached, how can I trick the sensor into thinking it’s closed? I know they no longer use magnets. I still have a very very broken original display, not sure what happened to it as I bought this whole computer for 100 bucks

Edit: So it seems it’s impossible, is it possible to scrap just the necessary components out of the screen to trick the Mac into thinking it’s closed?

It’s activation locked, I guess it’s trash

So I decided to do the "responsible" thing and repair my M4 MacBook Pro myself through Apple's Self-Service Repair program (selfservicerepair.com). Ordered a replacement screen. Felt good about it - right to repair, saving a trip to the Genius Bar, all that.

One week later: order cancelled. No email explaining why, no heads-up, nothing.

I had to open a chat with support to find out what happened, and the answer was… there are no parts. The screen was never in stock. Nowhere on the site during checkout did it say the part was unavailable or backordered. It just let me place the order like everything was fine.

Fine, mistakes happen. So I waited and checked again two weeks later. Chatted with them again, asked when it'd be back in stock. The answer this time: "we don't know when it's going to be available."

That's the whole self-service repair pitch, right? Let people fix their own devices. But it falls apart if you can't even tell whether the parts exist, or give any estimate on restocking. Why let me order something you can't fulfill and can't give a timeline on?

Anyone else run into this with the Self-Service Repair program? Is this normal, or did I just get unlucky with the M4 parts being too new?

This is a MacBook Air M4 which I got last year. And, It’s been around 15 months of using it for my software dev work, but recently I don’t know what’s going on with the display.

Please help

Thank you :)