Is etrecheck legitimate

vesta822 wrote:

My 2015 MacBook air, is showing its age.

It would be better to lead with that and describe the problems you are experiencing. That's an older computer. If you've upgraded it over the years, it may now be running a newer operating system than what it was designed for. You can't put new wine in old bottles.

In searching around I found Etrecheck on this board. Sounded a bit too good to be true: a diagnostic tool

You may be projecting advertising campaigns from various scam "clean up" apps onto EtreCheck. I've tried to be very clear about what EtreCheck can and can't do. I've seen no evidence that anyone on this forum has been misrepresenting it (in a positive way, at least 😄 ).

developed by "...one of the most respected users of the ASC"

LOL!

"recommended by Apple Support."

Not a chance.

Plus the post mentioned that if you run Etrecheck, you get a snapshot of the system, it can "help identify the more obvious culprits" adversely affecting a Mac's performance.

This part is true.

Instructions were to run Etrecheck, allow full disk access, copy & send the report via a text button, paste it & get a response with an evaluation to figure out problems.

You don't need Full Disk Access. I tried to get people to stop including that. Full Disk Access is only used to get additional Time Machine information, backups being very important, especially when a computer is sick and data is at risk. EtreCheck's Storage tool does need Full Disk Access, but it should be pretty obvious why.

Feeling a bit queasy about opening my mac up online, anybody have any experience with this?

Then don't use it. Easy enough.

Unfortunately, the worst part about EtreCheck is that it's a tool for Apple computers. That means it's part of a vast network of consumer misinformation. Nothing is more valuable to "social media influencers" than a juicy subject like Apple that virtually guarantees the clicks, the dupes, the marks, and the followers. The Apple scam business has never better.

So what ends up happening is that people put their absolute trust in the scammers, hackers, and influencers and distrust the few honest people in the industry.

vesta822 wrote:

Are you suggesting I outline the issues I'm having with my 2015 MBA?

Yes.

I have done that previously and I get alot of advice, sadly nothing very effective as a fix.

I can't comment on any questions or replies that I haven't seen. Are you talking about this thread? You didn't say much there. The less information you provide, the less helpful replies will be.

Basically its very slow now and email takes ~5" to load.

Do you mean 5 minutes? Because that could mean either 5 inches or 5 seconds.

There are many possible explanations. It's hard to be specific with an answer. You could try erasing the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system. But to make this really effective, you have to avoid restoring from backup. Otherwise, you stand a good chance of restoring whatever was making it slow in the first place.

For comparison, I can tell you that I have a 2014 MacBook Pro topped out on Big Sur that still runs fine. And I have a 2017 MacBook Pro topped out on Ventura. It feels much slower than the 2014 does.

My concern is that it's going to konk out of me one of these days, all my beautiful data will disappear, and I'll be rushing out to buy a new one.

A 2015 is still a little new to be worried about spontaneous failure. If it were a 2010 or 2011, that would be a bigger risk.

Given your diagnosis that the 2015 is an old machine, should I just buy a new one before the catastrophe?

I wouldn't be too worried about a catastrophe. You should still be making backups. It's just 9 years old at this point. There's lots of features that you're missing out on. If you choose to get another Apple device running the latest OS version, then you might have compatibility problems.

3. Etrecheck interested me because I wanted to know how long my machine has before experiencing irreversible 'cognitive decline'. I have zero expertise in 'fixing' problems, so I won't probably be able to fix anything if with the great info I received from the etrecheck report.

Advice?

EtreCheck really isn't for you. It's for us. I mentioned above that you'll get better advice the more information you provide. EtreCheck is designed to give us all the information we could possibly need. That EtreCheck report, combined with your description, will give us a good start on identifying where the problem is.

4 .I could use some help sorting out my files, deleting others, and figuring out how much memory and SSD I will need on my next computer. Omni Disk Sweeper was recommended as a way to sort large files: agree?

Or should I find a good Mac specialist to help me.

You've got a bunch of good Mac specialists hanging on your every word right here. Omni Disk Sweeper can help resolve storage problems. (In all fairness, EtreCheckPro also has this capacity.) But storage use usually doesn't have any impact on performance unless you have less than 30 GB or so of free storage.

As far as new computers go, it doesn't matter too much. Any new one will be ridiculously faster than the one you have now. The biggest problem people have with new computers is trying to be stingy and getting the smallest hard drive that Apple offers. Then they try any one of a number of convoluted schemes to move their home directory or startup volume to an external drive. That's always a royal mess.

FWIW. I have been using EtreCheck for years now, and have asked folks (having difficult issues with their Macs) to run an EtreCheck report. They are also asked to (optionally) post their reports here so community members can assist them with potential solutions.

None of these reports provide any user identifiable information.

You are free to use, or not use, EtreCheck ... but, if you need assistance, it will greatly help your fellow Apple users help you.

Yes it is a legitimate diagnostic tool. There is no personal information provided in the report which is perfect for posting it here where there are many experienced users who can suggest solutions for an issue you are having.

vesta822 wrote:

Feeling a bit queasy about opening my mac up online, anybody have any experience with this?

Etrecheck is a safe app that is very helpful. It does not run online; you download & install the Etrecheck app on your Mac, it runs locally on your Mac and produces a diagnostic report. It doesn't send the report anywhere. You can save the report locally on your Mac; and/or copy it to the clipboard to paste into a Word document, post here in the Community, etc.

Many people use etrecheck and it was developed by a member of these forums.

See Using EtreCheck - Apple Community