hey MPU,
Does anyone keep a ‘list’ or a ‘wiki’ for lack of a better in Notion (or some other app) of your favorite settings whenever you buy or setup a device?
I did some reconfiguring for some settings for my iPad and I am contemplating writing it all down in Notion, just wanted to know if anyone else does that or has a better suggestion of saving those preferences?
I do in Apple Notes with a note saved to iCloud with each item a checklist. Last time I edited mine was Oct 2022 — and I have just spotted a couple of things I have not yet done but the programs concerned are once-in-a-fortyear things with this year being the one where I tick those things off. Should I ever need to completely reset up my Macs I can reach the note from my iPhone or iPad.
Also noticed a couple of items that need updating as there are better/easier/quicker ways to achieve the objective.
When changing iPhones and iPads I usually screenshot all the most important settings, just in case, even though I usually restore from cloud. For Macs, I always take time to set up as new, so I also screenshot everything in Settings and perhaps my menu bar setup.
On a similar note, I am keeping two lists that help me change devices rather quickly: there is a list of all software that needs to be deactivated (due to licenses or security) before trading in or selling a device; and a list of all other steps required before decommissioning a device.
I also note whether particular software can be deactivated from another device if I need to speed up the process (for example, I can terminate sessions in Spark, Telegram, or Signal from another device, so there’s no requirement to log out on the device).
One list is for iPhones/iPads, the other for Macs. I don’t change devices that often, but these lists help me not forget anything or running into license limits, for example. I followed that list and prepared my old iPad Pro for the trade-in in 10 minutes or so last week. With Macs, things take a bit more time as more software needs to be deactivated before decommissioning a Mac.
+1
I keep “dot files” in a GitHub repository for my Mac.
In fact, I’m now migrating from one Mac to another, using that repo and the GNU tool stow.
Yes, when it’s something that is esoteric.
I always set up a new device by restoring/transferring everything from the old. Certainly keeps me locked to the Apple ecosystem! For things that aren’t pure upgrades, like router settings, I screenshot all the setting pages and refer to them with the new device.