Mac Setup

Get the Latest Software

    Make sure you’re using the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.4) or Tiger (10.4.11). To check for updates, choose Software Update from the Apple menu.

Set Up Sync

If you already set up your iPhone or iPod touch with a Mac, sync is set up on that Mac. To set up another Mac, follow these instructions.

  1. Open System Preferences, choose MobileMe, and sign in. If you see the .Mac logo instead, select .Mac and sign in. Follow onscreen instructions if they appear.
  2. Click the Sync tab. Click the “Synchronize with MobileMe” checkbox and select a sync interval. For the most frequent updates, choose Automatically, which syncs with MobileMe every 15 minutes.*
  3. Click the checkboxes to sync your contacts, calendars, and bookmarks with MobileMe.
  4. Click the Sync Now button.
  5. To make sure your data has synced, go to www.me.com, log in, and check Contacts and Calendar.
System Preferences Screenhot

Set Up Mail, iDisk, iWeb, and iLife

When you sign in to MobileMe on your Mac for the first time, MobileMe sets up services for you as follows:

  • Mac OS X Mail is automatically configured for you to send and receive email from your MobileMe account. If you have Mac OS X Leopard, make sure you are using the latest version (10.5.4). If you are not using the latest version, go here to read about setting up Mail on your Mac.
  • iDisk appears in the Finder.
  • You can publish photos, movies, and websites to MobileMe with one click in iPhoto, iMovie, and iWeb.

To sign in to MobileMe, open System Preferences, choose MobileMe, and sign in. If you see the .Mac logo instead, select .Mac and sign in. Follow onscreen instructions if they appear.

Additional Sync Options

MobileMe is designed to keep your contacts, calendars, and bookmarks in sync on all the supported devices you set up. In addition, MobileMe makes it easy to synchronize a variety of Mac OS X settings across multiple Mac computers.

You can set up MobileMe to sync Dashboard widget preferences, Dock items, most application and system preferences, and Mail notes when you’re using Mac OS X Leopard. In Mac OS X Tiger, you can set up Mac-to-Mac sync for keychains as well as Mail accounts and Mail rules, signatures, and Smart Mailboxes.

When you set up MobileMe, just click the checkboxes next to the items you want to synchronize across your Mac computers. You can add or modify these settings at any time.

Back to My Mac

Back to My Mac allows you to securely access your remote Leopard-based Mac computers — over the Internet — right from the Leopard Finder. For detailed setup instructions, download the Back to My Mac User’s Guide.

Want to set up a PC too?

* Based on current version of Max OS X Leopard, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Mac OS X Tiger syncs hourly.