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TinkerTool System 8 Version History

Release 8.4 (Build 230315)

  • Added new feature to manage the user accounts of FileVault.
  • Added new feature to check the personal recovery key of FileVault.
  • Added new feature to list the user accounts which are capable of decrypting a given APFS volume.
  • Added new feature to determine which user accounts are defined as owners of an APFS volume (only on Macs with Apple Silicon). “APFS volume ownership” is required to manage the startup security policy for a macOS installation, to perform macOS installations and updates, or to run the “erase all contents” procedure.
  • Added support for future versions of macOS 13.
  • The preference setting to automatically show the sub-feature overview menus when switching between application panes is now enabled by default. Experienced users can disable this option any time via the settings window.
  • The feature to analyze Ventura “Background Items” has been extended to support very complex setups.
  • The wording to describe the different types of recovery systems on Macs with Apple Silicon has changed for clarification.
  • If the installation of the security component is damaged, the application will now determine the exact technical reason together with individual instructions how to resolve the problem.
  • Fixed a problem where clicking the button to analyze Ventura “Background Items” appeared to have no effect in some cases.

Release 8.3 (Build 230215)

  • Added new feature to detect and to remotely analyze a Content Caching server in the local network. Such servers can cause issues during macOS software updates.
  • Added new feature to reset the macOS service management of Background Items. This is helpful for users who are flooded with repeated notifications of added Background Items, or who see incorrect entries for these items in System Settings.
  • Added new and unique feature to analyze the list of Background Items maintained by macOS. The allows the confusing and often erroneous entries in System Settings to be better understood.
  • The list of model series for the download of IPSW files was updated.
  • The list of Apple-provided system jobs was updated.
  • The item to repair features of the macOS network user interface which could be damaged by the 11.2 update was removed. It is no longer needed in macOS 13 Ventura.

Release 8.2 (Build 230123)

  • Added new feature to download IPSW files from Apple. IPSW files can be used to perform a full restore with factory reset in DFU mode on Macs with Apple Silicon.
  • Added new feature to clear the message index database of Apple Mail. This is helpful to resolve issues when searching for email messages no longer works correctly and produces incomplete results.
  • The currently selected Time Machine backup time interval and encryption mode are no shown on the Time Machine pane.
  • The user interface for the Flash Drive status has been redesigned. This allows the Diagnostics pane to be shown with reduced height and resolves issues where some controls were difficult to access on small screens.
  • Fixed a layout problem on the pane “User > Repair Defective Settings” for cases where the pane was resized to its minimum.
  • Internal changes for features with Internet access, enhancing compatibility with third-party firewalls.

Release 8.14 (Build 221220)

  • Because many users are confused by the bad quality of macOS 13.1, this version adds more protection against operating system defects and provides additional user guidance.
  • Adds protection against cases where the application is configured for automatic software update checks, but is operated with a network firewall that doesn’t allow the necessary Internet connections. In specific cases, this could result in intermittent program termination instead of an error message.

Release 8.12 (Build 221214)

This version adds additional workarounds for defects of macOS 13.1.

Release 8.11 (Build 221212)

This is an emergency update which has become necessary because Apple released a build of macOS 13.1 with several critical defects. These defects can prevent TinkerTool System 8 from launching successfully under specific circumstances.

We are downgrading the security component of TinkerTool System 8 to technology of macOS 10.12 Sierra to avoid specific new features of macOS 13 which are not ready to be used at the moment. Over the last 6 months, Apple has not been capable of providing system services that comply with the specifications of Ventura.

Release 8.1 (Build 221205)

  • Added new pane to regain access to the power schedule of macOS. As in older versions of the System Preferences application, the Mac’s features to schedule power-on, shutdown, sleep or restart events in regular time intervals during the week can be controlled by a few mouse-clicks.
  • In addition, the power schedule of macOS for one-time events can be reviewed and fully edited.
  • A toolbar was added to the main control window. It will cause macOS to show the titlebar of the window with a more aesthetically pleasant look.
  • Optional control items have been moved from the sidebar to the toolbar.
  • The items in the sidebar now automatically respect the user’s general preference setting for sidebar display size.
  • The items in the sidebar now maintain their status information for expanded or collapsed sub-items when relaunching the application.
  • A new preference setting was added to allow the user to always prefer the feature overview of a pane instead of having the last used sub-feature opened.
  • All Internet links in the Quick Context Help feature have been updated because Apple has finally published the user manual for macOS Ventura.
  • This version fixes a problem where the general reset feature may not have worked as expected for the Cloud Protection pane.

Release 8.0 (Build 221019)

  • Added full support for macOS 13 Ventura. TinkerTool System 8 can only be used with macOS 13 or later. It allows the integration of TinkerTool 9.
  • The application uses a completely new user interface, based on the style specifications for the program “System Settings”. This also includes searching for features by keyword.
  • The application window can now be resized. When showing tables with many columns, previous additional functions to “show in separate window” are no longer necessary.
  • A new button has been added to optimize the currently shown pane in size, automatically selecting the smallest possible size to control all user interface objects.
  • The auxiliary program for privileged operations now uses the latest Ventura technologies. It is no longer necessary to install it upon first start, it only needs an approval to run.
  • If you integrate TinkerTool into TinkerTool System, its panes will also become accessible by keyword search.
  • The feature to scan open network ports had to be removed. The necessary components are no longer available in macOS 13.
  • The feature to automatically clear erroneous background services is blocked temporarily. Ventura uses new technologies to control such services, but they are currently not mature enough. It is planned to re-enable this feature later when macOS 13 has reached the necessary level of reliability.

TinkerTool System 8 begins a new product line. The section above lists changes in comparison to TinkerTool System 7, version 7.91. For more information about the version history of TinkerTool System 7, please see the respective application.