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Helpful answers
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Aug 26, 2015 9:05 AM in response to queenpbby crmac,Hello, All:
I'm back, and might have info that relates directly to queenpb's latest post, as well as to the rest of us long-suffering users. It jibes with what PeterOram1 ran down about his recent tech experience, to wit --
I spoke with my latest senior advisor yesterday. My issue had been reported to Apple months ago, and my case has been rattling around with The Engineers since. Now, I have been told that Apple is "aware that there is an issue" (a first in their saying that) and The Engineers told my tech that "they are working on it and it will be fixed in the next update."
I was also told that (as some of us already know) there will be a major iOS update out in September, but that this fix won't necessarily be in that, but will be “coming out shortly.”
I asked if there was anything -- ANYTHING -- that could be done on my end or theirs between now and the fix, and my tech said that no, doing anything further will not resolve the problem. It is, she said, not connected to an individual's user ID, or even the hardware, but coming from some imbedded backup or file over which the user has no control, and it will require changing/fixing something in their software. So, you can try the copybot fix if you like, but I'm still waiting for a native solution.
Not that we haven't figured all this out on our own, but it's somehow a relief (perhaps illusory) to hear that Apple is acknowledging it and has a fix in the works. It was also suggested that even with the fix, a subsequent erase and reinstall (not from iCloud backup) of mobile devices would not be a bad idea, and I am inclined to agree with that.
Yep, it's their problem.
She also indicated to me that they have reports of numerous people with the problem. DUh. No surprise to me having buzzed in and out of this site now for months. We are legion.
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Aug 26, 2015 9:28 AM in response to rdub76by gregory202,Anybody try something simple like turning off that free iCloud service that Apple gives people? Those shortcuts still coming back ? And if yes, from where?
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Aug 26, 2015 9:33 AM in response to gregory202by pagemakers4,you really need to read a lot of this topic. Simply turning stuff on and off fixes nothing. It has nothing to do with iCloud.
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Aug 26, 2015 9:34 AM in response to gregory202by crmac,Don't bother, Gregory, it won't help. Seriously, it won't. The little beasts might go away for hours, days, or even a few weeks, but eventually your iOS will find them and reload them again. This is why Apple needs to do a fix. It's on their end, the files are under tehir control, and -- YES -- it is independent of iCloud. So, if anyone thinks that they stay clear of backed up files or "cloud" activity by having iCloud Drive OR iCloud backups off, don't believe it. There are many other mechanisms by which your iOS devices links to the "cloud," triangulates/syncs with your other devices, etc. Unfortunately, the whole "iCloud Drive" terminology has just confused matters. This is not in iCloud, not as we think of it.
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Aug 26, 2015 9:35 AM in response to pagemakers4by crmac,Yes, read the whole 30+page thread before wasting your time with hopeful fixes.
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Aug 26, 2015 9:39 AM in response to crmacby pagemakers4,The fix is on page 17 but Apple have edited my post so you no longer don't know the app used to fix it! I have been zombie free on all devices since that post. As have many others.
Can't be ars*d anymore with this. It's apple's mess. They can fix it.
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Aug 26, 2015 9:54 AM in response to pagemakers4by o_w_s,The good news: I finally fixed the issue, turning on /off hard reset, waiting for 48 hours...still zombie shortcut free.
And I had the issue on 6 devices! Two iPhones, two iPads, two Macbooks.
The bad news: you need to jaybee your device or use the backup method (haven't tested it though). I found out that the keyboard shortcuts are being shared in device specific folders in at least 3 places in the iOS file system.
Eg. removing them on a Macbook, as described here, does work temporarily, as it erases all shortcuts on all devices. But they come back.
You need to isolate the one culprit that's messed up (hoping it's only one, which it was in my case) and go to these 3 folders, empty them and set their access permissions to 000. essentially blocking whatever is causing the zombies to being synced back to those folders to succeed.
While this sounds like it's only suppressing symptoms and not curing the root of the issue, after 2 days now those folders are back in place with their original access permissions, allowing write access and thus creating new shortcuts.
The old zombie ones are gone.
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Aug 26, 2015 12:24 PM in response to pagemakers4by gregory202,pagemakers4 wrote:
you really need to read a lot of this topic. Simply turning stuff on and off fixes nothing. It has nothing to do with iCloud.
1. if shortcuts are coming from someplace not only to iPhones but to Macs as well and I have to assume that they are coming from iCloud. We can blame IOS 8, but how then without iCloud it comes to computers?
2. I never asked about disabling and re enabling different iCloud features or iCloud I asked about Turning iCloud off completely. Signing out of iCloud on one simple device and never signing back in. Do they come back to that single device ? From where are they coming back if not from iCloud to that device? Are they cached on the phone? Are they coming back after iTunes sync.
I have read your opinion and I respect it, but there was only one question that I asked.
@ crmac
At no point i proposed fixes - I just would like to form my own opinion and asked a simple question if anybody tried that. That is all. Did you?
@anyone.
I believe that those shortcuts are in iCloud - so anyone - what happens if you stop using iCloud (free service from Apple). Thank you for answering only that question if anybody tried stop using iCloud and shortcuts came back or did not?
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Aug 26, 2015 2:49 PM in response to gregory202by crmac,No slight intended to anyone, honestly. I think we're all just really tired of this stupid text glitch, weary of shouting into the ether of the forums (sometimes at each other), and each time someone new discovers the thread -- usually a soul as desperate and hopeful as we once were to find a solution -- it's like being dragged through the whole thing again, shoving a rock uphill like some kind of digital Sisyphus.
Yes, among this group of Apple loyalists, many have tried linking and unlinking the various portals to what we commonly refer to as "iCloud." (We've also tried, many, many, many other things. I think someone even tried chewing gum and rubber bands, while someone else was a proponent of taking the phone to Haiti for intervention and exorcism by a local medical professional. My guess is that many people have just gotten sick of getting emails from "Apple Support Communities," and have disconnected from the tread altogether.) I was just pointing out that even when a user exercises every slider at his/her disposal (on the phone settings or at the Apple platform) to "disconnect" from "the cloud," the phone is still or will routinely be connected to or through "the cloud" anyway.
Part of the problem is semantics: There's iCloud that is sold as a storage app. There's also backing up the phone to what is called "iCloud," which doesn't require purchased storage at all, and presumably the files don't even gather in the same place as they do for the storage app (I don't know). Then there's the way in which all mobile devices inherently triangulate (or greater) through some kind of cloud-based server simply to operate at all. Add to that all the other "cloud" stuff out there, and one's head starts to spin. Which cloud? What cloud? Is that a cloud? On my x-ray? Ooh, look, up in the sky, that cloud looks like a little bunny!
Apple users can exert direct control over the storage iCloud (but only to an extent), and over the place where mobiles are proactively backed-up (again, only to an extent), but that flow-through "cloud" is essentially inaccessible to the end user -- and whether we like it or not, there is an accumulation of data there, and that is apparently where these "backup" shortcut files lurk (probably having a kegger and laughing at us). Whether the third-party fix that has worked for others and was (at one point) described here in detail actually reaches into those particular files, I can't say, but it's worked as at least a stopgap for many. I am among the few (?) who have dug in heels for a fix from Apple. It's their problem, and they need to fix it.
Apple has now acknowledged this, and says it's up for a systemic fix. Granted, they've been sympathetic so far with each of us when we have tried to work with tech, but this is the first that I know of (after PeterOram1's experience) where tech is actually saying: Got it. We're on it. Give us time.
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Aug 26, 2015 2:56 PM in response to crmacby pagemakers4,Crmac great reply. And absolute spot on.
Good ood look to everybody else with their zombies.
Sadly it's taken 30 pages to get a fix (if there is really one coming). I have another half a dozen equally irritating bugs that are months or years old that Apple chose to ignore too.
Ho hum.
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Aug 26, 2015 3:08 PM in response to pagemakers4by crmac,Yeah, well, don't get me started on the hiccups between my iPhone, Apple's new Music, and the bluetooth in my car. But if you want an idea: Certain songs keep getting stuck on the phone itself, then autoplaying each time I get into the car, hang up on a (legal and safe) bluetooth call, or when the GPS voice drops out, or sometimes just whenever it feels like it. No big deal, perhaps, except that one of the songs that keeps getting stuck is "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead!" from The Wizard of Oz. Imagine that in bits and pieces at random times while driving, sometimes way loud. Oh, and it also sticks on Vince Guaraldi, but that's ok. This problem, too, is apparently a "cloud" issue.
Hey, Apple's not perfect. Even when Steve was alive they weren't perfect. We were just all so excited then, and much less demanding and less jaded, so we complained less often. Seriously, maybe we all -- everyone everywhere -- needs to shut the bloody devices off once in a while anyway, right? Write a love letter. Talk to a spouse for ten minutes without interruption of pings and buzzes. Shop for groceries or drive across town -- from memory. Smile at your kids. Take a nap. Whatever. It's amazing what we can do without electronics...
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Aug 26, 2015 5:39 PM in response to crmacby gregory202,@Crmac
O my. I felt like spoiled petulant child when I did read The response. I really didn't intend to come off as one a hole, but here I am deeply sorry if I pinched a nerve, which I did unintentionally and hurt feelings as well. I sincerely appreciate every minute of your guys help and dedication to help others - my respect.
Apple is not perfect, but the problem is not bugged software - every software is bugged by nature and I guarantee 9 is not going to have less of them then 8.
Imperfection of Apple is different, it still attempts to run itself as company that is small in size and targeted for specific customer that naturally likes to complain more then to think (echo from the post above, sorry but I could not agree more) . I guarantee you that I am the same, but sometimes I would like to imagine (due to my vane nature) that I can think.
So did anybody who is with me and likes to think for themselves and not hoping that Apple fixes problem signed out of icloud in settings, deleted extra shortcuts have seen them come back. And I am not referring to iTunes in the cloud, apple music or any other perception of icloud. Just the one that you and me are not paying for, unless we buy extra storage. Settings - icloud - sign out. keep on the phone. Anybody out of hundreds people here?
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Aug 27, 2015 12:41 AM in response to rdub76by iCoco,Somewhere I've read that the issue might be related to existing backups of your iDevices; so as a first step it might be a good idea to:
- Delete every single iCloud Backup for any one of your existing iDevices (system prefs > iCloud > Organize/Verwalten > Backups).
- Immediately perform clean new backups on iCloud
- Delete all Backups from iTunes as well
- Perform clean new backups locally in iTunes
In addition, this is what I did to get rid of the issue:
- Delete all keyboard shortcuts from all your devices (iMac, MacBook, iPhone, iPad etc.)
- Shut down all your devices
- Turn devices on again one after the other, checking shortcuts first (Settings > General > Keyboard ...)
- In case some shortcuts keep returning delete those, shut down and turn on again (in that case, check on every single device again)
- Don’t enter new shortcuts for a few days, just wait and check periodically
- If they keep returning, start over with step 4 again, as long as necessary
- If no zombie shortcut is returning, then start by typing in one first shortcut on your main device and check what’s happening on your other devices. Do this one by one and keep checking.
Annoying, I know, but in my case it worked for some two weeks now. To date, I only have 4 shortcuts on my iMac, and I found that shortcuts are not synced between devices. Now I’m not sure any more if they ever were. Strange.
Lets hope that Apple is really aware of the issue and its causes and will soon be able to fix it reliably. But then … reliability doesn’t seem to be one of Apple main concerns any more … or is it …?
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Aug 27, 2015 12:59 AM in response to iCocoby pagemakers4,The problem is due to rogue files on your iOS devices only. They are to do with backups but are NOT cleared if you delete your backups in iTunes or icloud. The files reside on your ios device.
Nothing else is going to fix this so don't waste your time.
The solution is on page 17 but the mods on here have edited it so it's now as good as a chocolate fireguard.
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Aug 27, 2015 8:01 AM in response to pagemakers4by wendy_is,The solution is on page 17 but the mods on here have edited it so it's now as good as a chocolate fireguard.
PIty, wish there was somewhere else you could post this for our reference.
I really hope iOS 9 does bring relief from this recurring nightmare!