Where is my Mac (and maybe my iphone?) hiding stuff I may need?
May 4, 2016 4:42 AM Subscribe
Tomorrow is my last day at a job I’ve been at for years. For all that time, the company has owned my only computer and my only phone. Much of what’s on both is the company’s, and of course I’ll leave that behind. There are some personal documents that I know are mine, and I know how to keep them. Is there other stuff tucked away on the Mac or the iPhone that I may want to keep? What, and how?
The computer is a MacBook Air. I’ll buy a replacement for it, but probably not until the new models come out (likely mid-June). Until then, I’m saving my things on an external hard drive.
-My personal email at least is in a separate google account, so I should be all set with that.
-I use google photos, and I see sync messages sometimes, so I think my photo library is all set(?)
-The applications all belong to the company, so I’ll leave those behind (and I can’t just back up the whole computer).
-A keychain file (com.apple.security.plist) is what prompted this question, when I heard that I may need that.
What/where else should I check for things that I might want to keep?
The phone is an iPhone 6. I already replaced it with another iPhone 6 (that I bought used). I backed up the company iPhone to the computer, and then restored the used iPhone from that backup.
-I initially thought that got everything I needed. I clicked around in a bunch of apps and things generally looked good. So, I backed up the replacement iPhone to the computer and to iCloud, and switched over to using the replacement iPhone for several days.
-Then, I found out it didn’t get some contacts. I've just been recreating them as I come across gaps.
-Then, I found out it didn't get any of my music or ringtones because I hadn’t checked some ‘Sync’ checkboxes. So, I used DeTune (with help) to grab those.
Now I’m wondering if there’s other stuff I missed, and if so, what I should do about it. I still have both phones, but I’m hesitant to futz with them any more unless there’s something important missing.
I’ve been in this job for years, so anything that I’d ever have on a computer or a phone is on their computer and their phone. I don’t want to take anything I shouldn’t, but I also don’t want to end up kicking myself for missing something I would have been ok to take if I’d known. I'm not tech-phobic, but not tech-savvy either.
The computer is a MacBook Air. I’ll buy a replacement for it, but probably not until the new models come out (likely mid-June). Until then, I’m saving my things on an external hard drive.
-My personal email at least is in a separate google account, so I should be all set with that.
-I use google photos, and I see sync messages sometimes, so I think my photo library is all set(?)
-The applications all belong to the company, so I’ll leave those behind (and I can’t just back up the whole computer).
-A keychain file (com.apple.security.plist) is what prompted this question, when I heard that I may need that.
What/where else should I check for things that I might want to keep?
The phone is an iPhone 6. I already replaced it with another iPhone 6 (that I bought used). I backed up the company iPhone to the computer, and then restored the used iPhone from that backup.
-I initially thought that got everything I needed. I clicked around in a bunch of apps and things generally looked good. So, I backed up the replacement iPhone to the computer and to iCloud, and switched over to using the replacement iPhone for several days.
-Then, I found out it didn’t get some contacts. I've just been recreating them as I come across gaps.
-Then, I found out it didn't get any of my music or ringtones because I hadn’t checked some ‘Sync’ checkboxes. So, I used DeTune (with help) to grab those.
Now I’m wondering if there’s other stuff I missed, and if so, what I should do about it. I still have both phones, but I’m hesitant to futz with them any more unless there’s something important missing.
I’ve been in this job for years, so anything that I’d ever have on a computer or a phone is on their computer and their phone. I don’t want to take anything I shouldn’t, but I also don’t want to end up kicking myself for missing something I would have been ok to take if I’d known. I'm not tech-phobic, but not tech-savvy either.
Personally, I'd buy an external hard drive and back up the whole dang thing.
Then you can make sure that nothing is left behind.
Just because you back the whole thing up doesn't mean you have to use what's not yours.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:06 AM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Then you can make sure that nothing is left behind.
Just because you back the whole thing up doesn't mean you have to use what's not yours.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:06 AM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
For legal/ethical reasons guster4lovers' suggestion might not be practical with many employers. (For example: trade secrets, private records, employer-owned research data, HIPAA restricted stuff.)
Possibly this is so obvious that you didn't mention it but just in case don't forget to deauthorize your old devices from iTunes, and your other iCloud stuff.
posted by Wretch729 at 9:23 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Possibly this is so obvious that you didn't mention it but just in case don't forget to deauthorize your old devices from iTunes, and your other iCloud stuff.
posted by Wretch729 at 9:23 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Often overlooked are email addresses of previous recipients, which Mail app auto-fills even though they're not in your contacts (then a couple months later on the new machine you wonder why it doesn't auto-fill addresses you've used for years). In Mail app go to Window -> Previous Recipients and add to contacts as needed. Then export contacts again.
posted by yoHighness at 3:09 PM on May 4, 2016
posted by yoHighness at 3:09 PM on May 4, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks all! This was all helpful, and the absence of a zillion more responses with lots more to check is reassuring, too.
posted by daisyace at 10:12 AM on May 5, 2016
posted by daisyace at 10:12 AM on May 5, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Sometimes your Contacts (and calendar events) are actually stored on your mail server, not on the phone or laptop. Like, we have Office365 at work, and I have some contacts in there and some in iOS Contacts and some in Gmail -- but they all sort of slosh together in the Contacts app. :7(
Do you have any Reminders that maybe didn't go over? The way to be sure would be to turn on the old phone/laptop, go to the iCloud Settings/Control Panel, and make sure that everything is sync'ed up to iCloud. I also got both a new work iPhone and laptop hard drive about a month ago, and I am also struggling to feel confident that I didn't lose everything. It's kind of unsettling, I know. :7(
posted by wenestvedt at 6:47 AM on May 4, 2016