Everyone knows that Macs have a great reputation for performance, but, alas, it doesn’t mean they are immune to issues. The good news is there are some easy fixes for common Apple Mac problems, and I’m going to go through them with you today. Read on to find out how to get beyond the most frequent issues that arise with the Mac.
Intermittent Wifi
There are a lot of reports of Mac users suffering from intermittent Wifi issues. And, it is often down to your router, rather than your computer. The problem lies with the Mac’s frequency range. Apple has set up their recent models to work best on a 5GHz Wifi network, so it is essential that your router knows this. You will need to access your router in the system preferences menu and click on the 5GHz option, which will tell your Mac to join the correct frequency.
Failing hard drive
On older Macs, things will start to go wrong, just like on any other computer. The problem often lies with your hard disk. There are a few signs that things are starting to go wrong, such as sluggish performance and corrupt data. You can use third party tools such as Drive Genius to fix problems, but if you have no experience, it’s best to hand it over to a pro. And, the sooner you get things looked at, the better. I repaired my Mac hard drive after a few years of hard wear and tear, and it’s working as good as ever.
Freezing
Freezing is another common issue that is likely to happen at some point during your Mac ownership. If your computer doesn't respond or hangs on a screen for an extended period, you’ll need to do one of several things. First of all, try a Control-click on the frozen app icon, and select Force Quit. Be aware that you risk losing any saved data - which might be an issue if you have just finished a lot of work. The next option is to perform a manual restart. Avoid this method as much as possible, as it will corrupt some of your files, and will often lead to other issues down the line.
Won’t shut down
Mac won’t shut down, despite all your efforts? Your best bet is to leave it alone for a while. The operating system will, in most cases, sort itself out eventually. However, if it’s taking a long time, check to see if there are any frozen applications open. Try manually closing them down, and see if it works - you should be able to find them in the Dock. As above, use Force Quit. You can also force your Mac to close down - but as we mentioned before, this can lead to further issues. If it starts to happen regularly, you may have to reinstall OS X or bring your Mac to a specialist.
OK, so there are the four most common problems I have experienced! Take a look at my blog for other common issues that crop up on your Apple Mac.