Mac Support

You are responsible for the system administration and the security on your Mac!
MacBooks or other Apple hardware can be ordered over CIS, but will not be set up by CIS. (Set up your new MacBook)
Software needing a license is available but usually users need to install it themselves (see Basic Mac Software).
If you encounter problems you can contact CIS for help. (help-it@mpimet.mpg.de).
Feel free to improve the documentation!

How do I install software not from App Store on Mac?

If you want to install e.g. Microsoft Office but don't have a license you can either drop by or install our CIS-QuickSupport and contact the Help Desk.

For more details, please have a look at our Using Mac Software page.
(Here you will also find guides for Using Scientific Software and Compiling ICON on mac.)

How can I connect my MacBook to the MPIM or eduroam wireless WLAN network?

In order to connect your MacBook to the MPIM or eduroam network we provide an easily installable configuration file called mobileconfig.

You can download the configuration file if you visit http://cat.eduroam.org or download it directly from here

For a detailed installation guide, see Wireless Apple Mac OS X

Should I use the iCloud?

We highly recomment to not use the iCloud and disable all iCloud services. Any data in the iCloud is transfered to Apple and under US-jurisdiction. While the data is secured Apple still can access the data. Transfering any files including private data e.g. your adress book (in the sense of the GDPR (DSGVO)) to the iCloud, is a violation of the data privacy laws. For a centralized address book and calendar please use the GWDG Exchange Server. To exchange data between devices you may use the GWDG owncloud.

I am new to Mac. Where do I start?

If you never used a MacBook before, have a look at our Mac Basics

If you just switched from a Windows Workstation to a Mac, you might find those articles useful:
Mac tips for Windows switchers
What's it called on my Mac?

How can I print with my MacBook using our printers inside the institute?

If you want to print your documents using our network-printers, please visit the following page: Adding a Printer on Mac OS X

To plot a poster you need to use the web form

How do I set up my email and calendar on my MacBook?

Email
You can either install Thunderbird or use the pre-installed Apple Mail tool.
For a detailed instruction on how to configure Apple Mail, see How to use e-mail service at MPI-M using Apple Mail

Calendar
To utilize the calendar in connection with Apple software you need to set up an Internet Exchange Account.
For complete details about configuring the calendar, see How to use the calendar server with Apple calendar and contacts

How can I connect to the Windows Terminal Server using Mac?

To connect from a Mac you will need the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client for Mac. You can download it from: MS RDP Client for Mac.
For further details, have a look at our Windows Terminal Server page.

How can I establish a VPN connection on Mac?

We offer a VPN connection to the institute network using the eduVPN Client. For further details please visit our VPN page.

It's easy to move your files from another Mac or PC to your MacBook. You can transfer information to your MacBook from an old computer - or from a Time Machine backup on a USB storage device - with an Ethernet cable and adapters.

For complete details about all the migration methods, see the Apple Support article How to move your content to a new Mac

Tip: For best results, make sure your Macbook is running the latest version of macOS. To check for software updates, click the App icon in the Dock, then click Updates in the App Store toolbar.

If you used Time Machine to back up your files from another Mac to a storage device (such as an external disk), you can copy the files from the device to your MacBook Pro.

Transfer using Ethernet.
To transfer your data over Ethernet, use an adapter to connect the Ethernet cable to your MacBook. Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to your other computer (you might need another adapter, if your computer doesn’t have an Ethernet port). Before transferring your data using Ethernet, make sure your battery is fully charged.