Error

Apple support document addresses activation issues some users may encounter after updating to iOS 9.3

Apple has released a support document Wednesday night to address an issue where some iOS users are unable to activate their devices after updating to iOS 9.3, a software version released earlier this week.

Most reports of the issue seem to come from iPad 2 owners, although a quick search online shows that some iPhone users were also affected. In this support document, Apple offers a few options to try and remedy the problem.

Read this if your new Apple TV is messing up your TV or receiver

Strange things started happening to my TV since first plugging in my new Apple TV a couple weeks ago, and while I didn't immediately connect the dots, it quickly became apparent that the new device was the culprit. After a bit of digging and a lot of commonsense, I figured out my problems and how to fix them. As often, the solution was just at the click of a button.

How to fix “the last iCloud backup could not be completed” on iPhone

Backing up iPhone to iCloud

Yesterday I decided to look at when my new iPhone backed up to iCloud for the last time when I realized that it hadn't actually been backed up since September 25, which coincidentally was the first day I got this new device.

I imagined it was just a small hiccup in iCloud and proceeded to manually initiate an iCloud backup by tapping on "Back Up Now" in Settings. At first, it appeared to work fine as it would show the "Backing Up..." status with the usual "Estimating Time Remaining" message. But after a few seconds, the backup would stop, showing the following error message: "the last backup could not be completed."

No matter what I did, it kept telling me my iPhone backup couldn't be completed. The problem appeared to be a little more complex than a simple reboot, but I eventually figured it out.

In this post, I will highlight some of the steps you can take if you see a similar error. I'm pretty confident these steps could fix most problems related to iCloud.

Software update failed: there is nothing you can do about that error that occurred while downloading iOS 9

Many users trying to update to iOS 9 are reporting various errors, including the most common: Software Update Failed. An error occurred downloading iOS 9. We understand it can be very frustrating, but unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it at this time.

The reality is that thousands, if not millions of people are currently trying to download iOS 9, slamming Apple's servers, and causing those errors you see.

How to sync an iPhone with multiple iTunes libraries

Apple does not allow an iPhone to be synced with multiple iTunes libraries, presumably because users would simply share songs with each other and lower already declining music sales on the iTunes Store. When you sync an iPhone with another Mac or PC, a warning pops up on iTunes that an iPhone can only be synced with one library at a time.

If you proceed to sync your iPhone with the secondary computer, the contents of that iTunes library will automatically replace whatever media you had on your device in the first place. On a side note, that doesn't include things like contacts, calendars or settings. Those are safe, but any songs or videos are not. Fortunately, there is a solution for how to use an iPhone with more than one iTunes library. The method is explained in detail ahead… 

“Fatal” Apple ID error preventing purchases from iTunes and the App Store on iOS and Mac

Last night, I tweeted a picture of an error message I received while trying to download an app from the App Store. The error was: FATAL::Unable to process your request. Please try again.

I had never encountered that error message until then, and I chalked it up to the random iOS 7 problem. After rebooting my phone and logging out of my Apple ID account via Settings > iTunes & App Store, I was met with the same exact error message. Even when trying on another device the error message persisted. I decided to go to bed, hoping that everything would be okay in the morning.

Well, I just tried to download an app again, and was met with the same exact error message. I thought to myself, "Okay, perhaps this is an iOS 7 issue since I had only tried it on iOS 7 enabled devices up to that point." Nope. After trying it on my iPod touch, which is still running iOS 6, I was met with the exact same FATAL error message. In fact, I was met with the same error on my Mac when attempting to download from the Mac App Store. So what gives? Apple's System Status page is showing everything is okay, but that's obviously not the case...

Activation Error: how running an old iOS 7 beta version will get you in trouble

This is a typical illustration of why only developers should install a beta version of a software. In this case, I'm specifically talking about iOS 7 beta, which has been wildly popular among non developers since Apple first made it available in June.

Of course, we've tried to warn everyone that unless you're a developer, you shouldn't really mess with iOS 7 beta. Since yesterday, those that didn't take this warning seriously might have gotten themselves into trouble.

iOS 7 beta 6 was set to expire on October 6, and people who haven't updated to the GM or public release by then found out the hard way that a developer release should really be only for developers.

Many people were greeted today with a message on their iOS device saying "Activation Error - This device is not registered as part of the iPhone Developer Program," rendering the device unusable. Activation Required...

How to fix Cydia error “wow, you exceeded the number of package names this APT is capable of”

Ever since the evasi0n jailbreak came out, we've been inundated with the same support request about a Cydia error that displays the following message: wow, you exceeded the number of package names this APT is capable of. The message also shows a couple more lines of errors but the first one really is the source of the problem.

In this post, we'll explain what "the number of package names this APT is capable of" means, and most importantly, we'll provide you with a quick and simple fix for it...

How to stop Google Chrome’s annoying keychain access request messages

Have you ever had Google Chrome on OS X present a pop up message that states: Google Chrome wants to use your confidential information stored in the...blah, blah, blah...in your keychain?

Even if you select Always Allow, Deny, or Allow, the message continues to pop up each time you visit specific sites. I tried disabling password syncing in Chrome's settings, clearing all saved passwords, etc., all to no avail. Basically, I got to the point where If I saw that message one more time, I was going to rip my hair out!

But I solved the issue, and it was actually easier, and more obvious than I expected. If you're having the same problem, which apparently many Chrome users on the Mac are, then take a look inside for the fix...

How to fix Absinthe Lockdown Error

Even though Absinthe appears to be a very simple and stable jailbreak tool, a few people are still getting some errors despite the 2.0.1 update.

The main errors that pop up seem to be "Error detecting device (lockdown error -5)" and "Could not connect to lockdown"...

Cydia reporting HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error

If you're receiving a HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error when trying to download packages in Cydia, don't worry. Practically everyone is getting that error now because Cydia is so incredibly busy now.

It's the whole "drinking from a fire hose" analogy. There's just too much traffic to handle all of the request because of the recently released Absinthe 2.0 jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1...

How to Fix “Error Establishing a Database Connection” when Using Absinthe

The Absinthe jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 was released a few minutes ago. Of course, we were right on it and we already posted a tutorial on how to jailbreak the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 using Absinthe.

While I haven't had any problem running the jailbreak – well, I had it a few minutes before everybody else – it appears that some users are having a problem when launching the Absinthe app installed on their device, which returns an "error establishing a database connection".

We have a fix for that...