Technical Support & Troubleshooting Flashcards

A Mac trainer is helping a student whose Mac won't wake from sleep, requiring a hard shutdown each time. After ruling out third-party apps, what should be reset?

Answer: SMC (System Management Controller)

The SMC controls low-level power management functions including sleep and wake behavior, and resetting it often resolves sleep/wake issues.

A user's Mac is running hot and the fans are loud even during light tasks. In Activity Monitor, which column should the trainer check first?

Answer: % CPU

A runaway process consuming excessive CPU causes heat and fan noise, making the % CPU column the first place to identify the offending process.

After a student deletes files and empties the Trash, their Mac storage shows no improvement. What is the MOST likely cause?

Answer: Time Machine local snapshots are consuming the space

Time Machine creates local APFS snapshots that can occupy significant space shown as 'Other' or 'Backups,' which purge automatically as space is needed.

A user reports that Face ID on their iPhone fails consistently after screen replacement by a third-party repair shop. What explains this?

Answer: Face ID requires the original Apple-paired front camera module; third-party replacements break the secure pairing

Apple's Face ID components are cryptographically paired to the Secure Enclave; non-Apple screen replacements that swap the TrueDepth camera break this pairing.

A trainer's student accidentally deleted their entire Documents folder. Time Machine was not enabled. What is the BEST recovery option?

Answer: Check iCloud Drive if Documents was synced to iCloud, or use a third-party data recovery tool

If iCloud Desktop & Documents sync was enabled, deleted files may be recoverable from iCloud.com; otherwise, third-party tools offer the best chance of recovery.

A user's iPhone shows 'SOS Only' in the status bar while in a location where they previously had full service. What should be investigated first?

Answer: The carrier plan has expired or there is a network outage

'SOS Only' typically indicates the device can reach emergency services but not the user's carrier network due to an outage, account issue, or roaming restriction.

Which macOS feature should a trainer use to prevent unauthorized software from being installed on a shared lab Mac without disabling it entirely for the primary user?

Answer: Gatekeeper with App Store Only setting combined with parental controls or MDM restrictions

Setting Gatekeeper to 'App Store' and enforcing restrictions via Screen Time or MDM limits software installation to approved sources on shared systems.