Some technical support articles are difficult to find and some are downright wrong. As technology design changes, it’s up to developers to update their documentation and they don’t always get it right. Further, sometimes their write-ups are thorough enough but not linked from enough places to easily locate.

Here are some tips for finding the solution to your problem when the creator of your product fails to deliver.

Download macOS

Apple has provided macOS for free since OS X Mountain Lion (10.8). From OS X Lion (10.7) to macOS High Sierra (10.13), Mac operating system upgrades were delivered via the Mac App Store. Since then, they have been offered through the Software Update area in System Preferences or System Settings.

However, it has been impossible to search the App Store for versions older that the current one. So, what if you want to upgrade to last year’s version because this year’s is still too buggy?

Apple maintains a webpage that has gone by various names — currently “Download macOS” — with links to older versions. Any version back to Lion is available for free, covering everyone with an Intel- or Apple Silicon-based Mac.

The more recent versions link to a hidden App Store page and on macOS Mojave (10.14) or later, upon clicking to “GET” the software, the App Store redirects to Software Update, which handles the download.

This way, you can retrieve the exact version you want to install on a given Mac. If you need to install this on a Mac you have erased, you can use a tool like Install Disk Creator to create a bootable drive from which to install macOS.

Lesson: Learn to identify keywords related to your inquiry, e.g., how to get old versions of macos, so you can search the Internet for what you need. Then, first try visiting a page provided by the maker of the product or service. Second, get familiar with the trustworthiness of other sites.

Cancel Dropbox Subscription

Have you determined that you no longer need to pay Dropbox $120/year for cloud storage? Maybe iCloud Drive is good enough for you to sync files among your devices. Maybe you do all your document sharing and collaboration in Google Drive.

If you wanted to find out how to cancel your plan, you might get lost when trying to apply Dropbox’s own instructions. The company indicates that you must click Settings in your profile and then choose Plan. However, Plan does not exist there.

Instead, click Manage Account or this direct link or the downgrade link and you should find a Cancel or Downgrade option at the bottom. Sadly, Dropbox still makes the process difficult to complete, passing you across three screens where you have to continually indicate you want to downgrade/cancel.

Lesson: Sometimes, you must search the Internet for the right keywords, such as dropbox cancel subscription, and wade through the results, past everything from the Dropbox Help site, looking for one that mentions visiting the page directly. And then you must exhibit great patience as you step through the described process.

An App or Service Interfered With Clicking

When enabling some Safari browser extensions on the Mac, such as 1Password, the above error sometimes appears. Sadly, it provides no reference to what app or service is to blame and no clear path forward.

However, the linked support article where you can “Learn More” includes a workaround that actually helps:

  1. Restart the computer in Safe Mode
  2. Open Safari and enable the extension
  3. Restart normally

Lesson: Don’t just click OK. If there’s an opportunity to learn more, maybe someone was thorough enough to provide a solution.

Are you still coming up empty? Overwhelmed by the results? You can always reach out to me for help and I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction, tell you how to get there, or take care of it for you.