MacMini: 2014, OS Monterey Version 12.7.4

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Level 1

9 points

MacMini: 2014, OS Monterey Version 12.7.4

I changed my password for Apple. I was confused and told to change my password. So I did. I must have done something wrong, as all my desktop Icons have disappeared. Also, I was told in the interface with Apple that I could lose my backup in the cloud I think. The password change was successful. I was being asked questions about my iPhone, and I think I chose the wrong thing.

I lost it. I think it was my confusion with dealing with Apple's questions. I'm going to cop out to age here. I'm 85 and get confused with this stuff.

I need guidance on the wording to use when I log onto my account. I'm not sure how to phrase it.

I know this is confusing. My iPhone and my Mac are no longer linked.

Mac mini, macOS 12.7

Posted on Oct 27, 2025 4:40 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 27, 2025 7:29 PM in response to xnt1081

It's not clear what you did.

If you erased the Mac and reinstalled macOS from Internet recovery, that would explain documents being gone, but I'm not sure that you could have gone through that process by mistake.

As for your iPhone and Mac no longer being linked, presumably they were linked before through

Being associated with the same Apple Account
iCloud-based synchronization of things such as Photos, Contacts, Calendars, and Notes
Connections to the same e-mail accounts (which would also offer a way of synchronizing Contacts, Calendars, and Notes)

If your iCloud and Internet Accounts settings on your Mac were changed or erased, then it could be that you just need to tell the Mac to use iCloud and e-mail accounts in the same way that your phone does, to have them start sharing data again.

Note that while iCloud can store backups of iPhones and iPads, it is not meant to be a backup service for a Mac. There are other Internet-based services that are meant for backup, but most people make backups onto external drives. You can do that with Apple's built-in Time Machine utility, or with the third-party Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! clone backup utilities, but either way, it's a good idea to back up any data that you care about.

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