Little Bear’s care trail
Step-by-step help, without the guesswork.
Each guide explains the safe path first, the technical boundary underneath it, and what to collect if you still need support.
Apple TV preview
Test Mac Doctor TV safely
The private TV preview combines current-account device summaries, Apple Home, and local learning games. Use this sequence while the television, iPhone, and iPad are awake so each result is easy to report.
- Install only the signed development build supplied for the registered review Apple TV. There is no public tvOS TestFlight or App Store download yet.
- Open Learn & Play, choose Add Player, then select Sign in with Apple. Confirm Apple’s own account prompt appears, complete or cancel it, and verify the app returns to player setup without becoming stuck.
- On two iPhones or iPads, open Mac Doctor Mobile’s TV controller, choose a different guest or Apple name on each device, and confirm that each phone lists the registered review Apple TV only once. Before approving anything, compare the matching six-digit codes shown on the phone and television. Stop immediately if the codes differ.
- Test denial first. Deny the first visible pairing request and confirm that phone gains no roster seat, remembered profile, or control. Reconnect it, approve that matching request, then approve the second phone. The TV should show exactly one named roster entry per approved phone—not a transport name plus a duplicate guest—and each device should move only its own colored character cursor.
- Disconnect and reconnect one approved phone. Only that phone should become inactive; its reserved roster seat, player number, name, and color should remain during the reconnect window and reactivate on reconnect, while the other players stay in place. Briefly changing apps should not end the session. After force-quitting and relaunching, an old in-memory route must not regain control and the phone must receive a fresh visible pairing decision. Test Just this session and Remember me on this TV separately; a remembered profile may remain visibly inactive but still cannot become an active player without a new encrypted join, and Forget must remove it.
- Treat Share my device cards as a request, not approval. Joining a game or enabling that choice must not add device cards. Cross-account household cards must remain absent in this build, and legacy invitation flows should not be used. Testing resumes only after a dedicated privacy-filtered sharing area, visible revocation, and two-account isolation are implemented.
- Use the Siri Remote or Apple’s Control Center Remote while a companion phone or game controller is connected. Each controller that tvOS reports separately should operate only its own seat. The player strip should show each Game Center display name or guest name with the correct controller type; do not count duplicate transport labels as extra players.
- Follow the setup in order: players, characters, rounds and knowledge level, then game and categories. Remove an extra roster entry, choose at least two rounds, change game modes between rounds, and confirm the final podium ranks the same players with honorable mentions below third place.
- Open Community, switch between Friends and Global, then select Care Board, Fast Clues, Repair Relay, and Signal Hunt. Confirm each game shows its own personal best and heading, and that Apple Leaderboard describes the same selected game and scope. Apple has already returned physical Friends and Global results for all four games; report any mismatch without including the Game Center account name.
- Complete a genuine round and confirm the podium identifies whether the report calls finished, then open Community and check the separate latest-round Apple readback. If the report naturally says incomplete, select Retry once. It should either complete or explain that the one retry was used while keeping the round saved locally. Do not change network, account, or consent settings just to force a failure.
- Use the Siri Remote to move through every navigation destination, each Care Board edge, Settings control, and answer direction. Left from the character grid should reach the menu without moving two focus systems, completed clues should never trap focus, and Back should leave the current game before it can close the app.
- In Apple Home, approve Apple’s permission prompt only if you want to test the household. Sort accessories by room, type, reachability, and name; verify real outlet labels and supported power, brightness, and color controls. Unreachable accessories must say so, and battery must appear only when Home reports it.
- Open Live Cameras and test one camera full screen, Show All and Stop All, the 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12-camera layouts, and one custom rows-by-columns layout. Picture in Picture should begin off; add it deliberately, move it through the available positions, navigate another tab, then remove it.
- Try Compact, Comfortable, and Large text at both 4K and 1080p. Labels, selected states, explanations, and action buttons should remain readable from normal viewing distance.
- Confirm startup audio, each game’s music, character-selection audio, volume choices, and Stop Preview behave predictably without overpowering spoken questions or interface sounds.
- Keep private device details hidden for shared-room testing. A player, Game Center friend, nearby device, or Family Sharing member must never become permission to reveal an inventory.
- Report the Apple TV model, tvOS version, app version, screen resolution, selected theme, text size, controller types, and exact action sequence. For Home or sign-in failures, say whether Apple’s permission sheet appeared without including account names, camera images, addresses, or private device details.
Little Bear’s note: Apple has enabled User Assigned Device Name for the shared App ID, but replacement Mobile and tvOS profiles have not yet been generated, downloaded, decoded, and verified in a signed physical build. Current builds therefore keep the safe “Apple TV” fallback. Sign in with Apple identifies a player; it does not grant household-device or Apple Home access.
Back to topics ↑Setup
Install and permissions
Start with the least access you need. Mac Doctor explains a permission before sending you to Apple’s system control.
- Install only a verified Mac Doctor build or an Apple TestFlight/App Store build shared for testing.
- Read the purpose shown before granting access. Apple’s Settings app remains the final authority for system permissions.
- Grant Full Disk Access on Mac only when you want protected locations included in a scan. Without it, Mac Doctor reports the boundary instead of pretending the scan was complete.
- Location or Wi-Fi access is used only when needed to reveal details Apple otherwise withholds, such as the connected Wi-Fi name.
- Background updates and notifications are optional. You can change them later in Mac Doctor and Apple Settings.
Little Bear’s note: A denied permission should reduce only the related feature. It should never unlock itself or silently broaden access.
Back to topics ↑Readings
Understand a health check
Use the plain-language status first, then open technical details when you need evidence for troubleshooting.
- Battery shows the latest operating-system reading and whether the device is charging, on battery, or using AC power.
- Storage separates total capacity, space in use, and space currently available. A completed scan adds file-category detail without redefining the drive’s capacity.
- Performance readings are snapshots or short live samples. A high CPU or memory value can be normal during demanding work, so consider duration and memory pressure too.
- Thermal, fan, and sensor details appear only when Apple exposes them on that hardware. Missing sensors are labeled—not estimated.
- Network checks distinguish interface state, reachability, latency, and measured transfer speed so one result is not mistaken for the whole connection.
Little Bear’s note: When a number looks wrong, record the device, OS version, app version, time, and comparison source before refreshing it.
Back to topics ↑Storage safety
Scan, review, then clean
Storage recommendations are evidence to review—not permission to delete everything in a category.
- Confirm the selected volume. Macintosh HD, external drives, network shares, and Time Machine destinations have different access and safety boundaries.
- Sort by category or size, then inspect items in manageable pages. Never select all categories merely because one category is open.
- Prefer app-provided removal or Apple’s Storage settings for system-managed data. Avoid deleting Library, application-support, package, backup, or system files by hand.
- Use temporary or permanent recommendation exclusions for items you intentionally keep.
- After cleanup, empty Trash only when you are certain the files are no longer needed, then rescan to confirm the result.
Little Bear’s note: Mac Doctor should never classify a protected operating-system or application dependency as an automatic cleanup target.
Back to topics ↑Before cleanup
Back up and offload safely
A second copy is useful only when you can verify it and understand which copy is authoritative.
- Keep a current backup before a large cleanup, file move, application removal, or system update.
- Do not treat a Time Machine destination as ordinary overflow storage or weaken its protections to make room.
- For large personal files, copy them to a healthy external drive, open a sample from the destination, and compare sizes before removing the original.
- Avoid moving application bundles, Photos libraries, mail data, or active project libraries unless their application documents the process.
- Keep the external drive connected long enough for copying and verification to finish. An interrupted move is not a verified backup.
Little Bear’s note: Mac Doctor can recommend candidates and destinations, but the owner remains in control of every copy and removal.
Back to topics ↑Trusted devices
Remote care and stale devices
Remote health information is most useful when every request remains visible, authenticated, and owner-controlled.
- Confirm the requesting and target device names before choosing Allow Once, Always Allow, or Deny.
- Always Allow applies only to Mac Doctor’s supported request policy; it cannot bypass Apple device trust, locks, Screen Sharing consent, or system permissions.
- A device can become stale when it is powered off, offline, signed out, background updates are disabled, or Apple delays synchronization.
- If request counts disagree, refresh both devices and inspect the signed request status before sending duplicates.
- Screen Sharing remains an Apple-controlled session with visible authentication and disconnect controls. Mac Doctor does not store its password.
Little Bear’s note: An invalid or replay-blocked request may still offer Deny so it can be cleared safely; it must never become approvable.
Back to topics ↑Sharing
Reports, privacy, and support
Review a report in the app before exporting it, especially when it may contain device names, usernames, or file metadata.
- Use the in-app report view to confirm the report type, device, time, and findings before sharing it.
- Share only the report needed for the support question. Remove or redact unrelated filenames, account names, serial numbers, and screenshots.
- Never send passwords, recovery codes, private keys, payment information, or full unreviewed diagnostic archives.
- Synchronized device summaries use the owner’s private iCloud database when enabled; raw storage inventories and local folder bookmarks are not published as general device summaries.
- Delete reports and supported synchronized history from Mac Doctor when you no longer need them.
Little Bear’s note: Support email is separate from private iCloud sync and contains only what you choose to send.
Back to topics ↑Personalize
Accessibility and appearance
Mac Doctor is designed to remain understandable without relying on color, animation, or one input method.
- Choose System, Light, Dark, or a themed appearance that gives you comfortable contrast.
- Status colors are paired with words and symbols. Use the written status when color perception or display tint makes a gauge ambiguous.
- Reduced Motion should remove decorative movement while keeping progress and completion understandable.
- Increase text size or use VoiceOver and keyboard navigation through Apple Accessibility settings.
- If a control becomes clipped or unreachable, include the device, window size, text size, orientation, and a privacy-safe screenshot in your report.
Little Bear’s note: Changing the visual theme or app icon should not change the meaning, severity, or availability of a feature.
Back to topics ↑Account help
Plans, purchases, and identity
Mac Doctor 1.0 preview builds currently offer no paid subscription or in-app purchase. If paid plans are introduced later, Apple will handle App Store billing without Mac Doctor asking for card details or an Apple Account password.
- There is currently nothing to purchase, restore, or manage inside Mac Doctor 1.0 preview builds.
- If a future release offers a paid plan, review its price, renewal terms, and included features in Apple’s purchase sheet before confirming.
- Future App Store purchases and cancellations would be managed through Apple’s supported purchase and subscription controls.
- A Mac Doctor account identity and private iCloud availability are separate states and may require different recovery steps.
- Disconnecting Mac Doctor removes the saved app identity locally but does not claim to sign you out of your Apple Account everywhere.
Little Bear’s note: Never send Apple Account passwords, verification codes, receipts containing personal details, or payment-card information to support.
Back to topics ↑
