Odd Fix When AirDrop Fails

Short: When AirDrop is failing when you believe that everything on your phone and computer is set properly, open a Finder window on your Mac, open the “Go” pull-down tab, and choose AirDrop. Confirm that your iPhone shows under “My Devices.”

After never having any issues with AirDrop between my iPhone and my MacBook Air, it failed every time. I confirmed the following settings:

1. Bluetooth is running on both devices
2. Wi-Fi is running on both devices and is using the same Wi-Fi Network
3. AirDrop is set for “Contacts Only” on both devices
4. Restarted both devices
5. Personal Hotspot is turned off on the iPhone

When I followed this suggestion, “Go to Finder → AirDrop and make sure it shows your iPhone nearby” AirDrop started working perfectly again.

How to Sort or Search by modified date for ALL entries in KeePassXC

Simply type Asterisk (*) in the search field and every entry is shown in order of the column which is selected. Just click on the header of the “Modified” column to order the list by Modified Date.

Caveat – Do NOT hit the Enter key after typing the “*” in the search field. The list appears immediately after typing the “*” into the search field.

Whey do I need this? There are times that I want to compare two *.kdbx databases due to syncing issues with a cloud service (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc…).

Thanks to beachboy301 on Reddit for coming up with this answer.

Remove Google Updater from Allow in the Background on Mac

Droidwin has a Guide with the steps to remove Google Updater from the Allow in the Background on Mac. Link to their webpage.

Stop Websites From Asking You To Sign In With Your Google Account

Ricky Mondello (Major Apple Software Engineer who works on Safari and especially with security features) posted in Mastodon that there is a setting in your own Google Account that allows you to turn off the floaty prompt that has been harassing us recently. Click on this link and turn off “Google Account sign-in Prompts.”

Vizio P65-G1 (or F1) Stuck on “Successfully paired” Screen

The Fix:

Hold volume up and input buttons on the TV itself until it reboots

Thank you u/NextSouceIT on Reddit [https://tinyurl.com/mtsxu9s5]

PS: I will never, ever, ever buy a Vizio TV again!

Goodbye Twitter, Hello Mastodon

For the obvious reasons many of us have deleted our Twitter accounts and moved to Mastodon. I am very happy with this change.

Mastodon (Mastodon Verification – Mastodon)

How To Reset the Apple TV Remote

1. Press and hold the TV/Control Center button  and the Volume Down button  at the same time. Hold the buttons down for about 5 seconds, or until the status light on Apple TV turns off then turns on again.  
2. Release the buttons, then wait 5–10 seconds. A Connection Lost notification will appear on your TV screen. 
3. After your remote restarts, a Connected notification will appear on your TV screen. 

My 2021 Apple TV 4K with the new remote stopped controlling the volume on my Denon AVR-S730H A/V Receiver. The Apple TV 4K was running the latest tvOS. I rebooted the device several times and unplugged it and left it overnight. I deleted and “Leaned New Device” in the Settings–>Remotes and Devices–>Home Theater Control–>Volume Control area several times. My receiver did not respond to the Apple TV remote.

When I reset the Apple TV remote using the method listed above, the remote started controlling the volume on my receiver perfectly. It took me a long time to find this fix so it is posted here.

Echo Devices Stop Using Apple Music When Requested

When you echo is using the basic Amazon Music service even though you have set it up to use your Apple Music subscription you typically think that the Alexa App is no longer configured to use Apple Music as the default. You open the Alexa App, click on the ‘More’ tab then ‘Settings.’ You scroll down and choose ‘Music & Podcasts’ but find that ‘Default Services still says ‘Apple Music.’

It is likely that the ‘Apple Music’ Skill needs to be activated again. In the Apple Music Skill Settings –> Account Linking, Link your Apple Music account again.

Fix a Vizio P65-F1 That Is Stuck On “Successfully Paired”

Press and Hold both the ‘Volume Up’ & ‘Input’ buttons until the TV reboots.

Where are the ‘Volume Up’ and ‘Input’ buttons? While facing the front of the TV, reach BEHIND the screen at the bottom right.

Here is a link to the reddit article where this information was posted

How To Force Restart An iPhone 11

The Shortcut items that I saved to my Home Screen stopped working. A reasonable suggestion mentioned performing a “Force Restart.” I tried this and the Shortcut item started working again. From the apple website (https://tinyurl.com/3zfkjcyr) described this clearly.

1. Press and quickly release the Volume up button
2. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button
3. Press and hold the “Side” button UNTIL the Apple Logo shows up (about 15 seconds)