Containers Update

I posted awhile back that I was having issues with a containerized deployment of Pihole.

I also posted not long ago that I decided to use Portainer to manage my deployment container stacks.

I thought I could fix the original Pihole container, but after seeing it die again, I immediately began work on using a different system as a host for the containers.  

I have three laptops that weren't being used.  Each was running Window desktop OS variants.  I wanted to install Linux on each.

The three candidate replacement systems were:

Dell Latitude E5530:  This system is a very old system that I bought used for $100 - 4 GB of RAM; i5-3380 CPU

Alienware 15 R2:  This system is also an older system, but not quite as old as the E5530 system mentioned above.  This was used by my daughter.  We initially thought the system was broken but I couldn't find anything wrong with it.  It ias 8 GB of RAM and uses the i5-6300 CPU.  It has a 1 TB HDD.  It also has a small (256 GB) SSD.

Alienware M17x R3:  This system is also an olser system but has the best specs of the three candidate systems:  12 GB RAM, i7-2760QM CPU; 750 GB SSD

I installed Ubuntu 24.04 onto each of the three systems, testing to determine how well that Ubuntu version would operate on those hardware platforms (while also keeping in mind that they were laptops).

I found that the Alienware M17x system was the most robust and ran Ubuntu without issues.  The other two systems run Ubuntu well enough, but I noticed they were under higher load when idle.

As the systems already had Ubuntu, it was pretty easy for me to install the prerequisite packages for Docker.  It was super easy to get my containers up and running again on the new host.

On top of that, I installed Portainer not long after getting the new host sorted.  I then had to duplicate the Pihole container from within Portainer so that Portainer would have full control over it.  Until I did that, I had limited control over Pihole using Portainer.  Note that I've already posted about Portainer.

I've been monitoring the new host and redeployed hosts.  I've noticed no issues.

I also kept the original system running (a Dell XPS 8930 with an i5-8400 CPU, 8 GB RAM, and 1 TB HDD).  A Pihole container is still running on that host and it hasn't thrown errors since I moved to a new hosting system, oddly enough.  

About the only thing that I had to enable as a requirement was for the M17x system to not sleep/hibernate when I closed the lid.  I found a way to disable hibernation on that host.

As a server, the M17x runs like a champ, especially when Linux is used.

I'd still be using that system if it weren't for the fact that it tends to eat GPUs.  It's been through two Nvidia GeForce 580M GPUs and those weren't cheap.  I think it was the 580Ms that were fragile.

In fact, all of those Dell systems responded extremely well to Linux, especially the Alienware 15 R2, as Windows was choking it...this was why my daughter stopped using it.  It was running Windows 10 when she stopped using it and while I couldn't find anything wrong with the system, when I was troubleshooting, I saw that the HDD appeared to be what was choking the system. Drive resources were constantly pegged when monitoring Task Manager.  That all stopped when I installed Ubuntu.  That's the power of Linux right there!

I'll update the blog if I see anything bad, but I've been monitoring the new host for almost 2 months and I've not seen any issues.

Which Mac Will Be My Next System?

I've always been curious about the Mac Studio and I'd initially had that on my list of must-have systems until the new Mac Mini M4s came out.

I now have tentative plans to buy the Mac Mini M4.  I want to use that system to heavy-lift creation of my videos, as well as to maybe utilize it for housing of my Docker containers.

I love my current M1 Mini but it is a base model and I'm somewhat limited in the above-mentioned use cases.  While I can crunch video footage, I usually have to kill all other resource-intensive running processes when doing that.  I've not even tried to use Docker containers on that system, since running multiple containers usually requires a somewhat robust system (plus there's some system overhead since Docker can't natively run on Mac systems).

The real difference between the Studio and Mini would be ports and connectivity to peripherals, which would be extremely beneficial.  

As well, you can better spec out a Studio, as the platform is designed to be more open-ended as it relates to performance.  UPDATE:  Nope!!  I was wrong - I can spec out more RAM and undercut the price (drastically) of a somewhat similarly spec'd Studio.

So, my dilemma is, which one would be better for me, a high spec (lots of memory) Mini or a decently spec'd Studio?

I'm Now Managing My Docker Containers Using Portainer

I sometimes end up breaking my container setups because I sometimes get confused with all the layers and config settings (and I don't even have all that many containers), so I began to investigate management alternatives.

Of course, I'm still leveraging a locally managed Linux system (Ubuntu) to run my containers.  I've not tried to install containers on Mac hosts and I'm not even going to try with Windows.  From what I understand, I've to use a VM to run Linux on a Mac host, or use Docker Desktop.  I'd rather just use native Linux since I'm a Linux power user...anything else appears to drastically add complications, plus it's kind of stupid to install Linux on a VM when I've a bunch of Linux hosts that I can immediately leverage.

I decided to try Portainer after watching some usage videos.  It was super-simple to get it running (it's containerized) and it was super easy to shut down my existing containers and run them on Portainer - I just copied each compose.yml into Portainer to set them up as containers.  While I could see the pre-Portainer container (before I'd shut them down), they were only partially manageable with Portainer.  Building them under Portainer gave me full control.

As well, I found where Portainer keeps it's underlying files so that I could leverage them (if need be).  I also keep copies of my compose.yml files (I do not use Git or GitHub for my files - yet).

I'm currently using five containers (three for Wordpress, one for Pi-hole, and one for Portainer), which allows me to use Portainer's community license setup, but I've also found that I can manage the currently running containers (all five) from Portainer, without licensing agents.

Portainer is something I'm going to be using as much as possible.  I haven't even tried the other solutions but Portainer give me the most power; I don't even need to experiment with the other solutions.

iPhone 13 PM sent to Verizon for Trade-in

Well, I've sent my 13 PM to Verizon to complete the trade-in process.  

I didn't really want to send it back, but the trade-in value ($1100) needs to go toward financing the 17 PM.  

I'm locked in now...LOL!  Seriously, though, I'm enjoying the 17 PM.

UPDATE (10/12/2025):  Verizon received my trade-in on 10/10.  They assessed it yesterday, and I  received the full proposed value of the phone, which was $1100!  For those folks who are sceptical, there it is - Verizon provided me the full trade-in value of the phone.  Keep in mind that my trade-in was relatively pristine.  It's used, yes - there was indication of normal usage across three years of ownership, such as some patina around the USB-C port.  The phone was in a silicon case during the three years of usage, but it was, considering that timeframe of usage, pretty clean.  It's all relative.  This was a great way to obtain a 1-TB iPhone, in my opinion...was the first time I've ever attempted to leap upward.  Maybe next time I'll go 2-TB.

Airpods Max - Repair of Connection Loss Issues

For the past 2 months, I've been experiencing connection issues with my Airpods Max headset.  At first, I though I was going to need to visit the Apple Store but I then decided to see if this was a common issue.

The headset would normally disconnect it's wireless connection whenever I moved the headset while it was on my head.  When loosing connectivity, I'd hear a lot of static and popping within the ear cups.  While I could always reconnect, the disconnects would frequently recur, sometimes within minutes of the last disconnect.  It was highly annoying.

I searched on the following keywords:  airpods max keep dropping connection.

I ended up watching the below video, which was super helpful!

I was able to remove the ear cups.  The connections were filthy.  I cleaned them and also used a Q-tip to clean the female connections.  Removing the cups wasn't difficult but also wasn't exactly easy.  Fortunately, I had a SIM card removal tool (although the tip of a paper clip can also be used).

I conducted a quick test and didn't notice any loss of connectivity.  I'll be on the lookout for any issues and if it happens within the next 2-3 days, I'll remove the cups again and reclean them.  Note:  I didn't use IPA to clean the connection points...I just wiped the connections with a paper towel.  At least I now know how to tear down the headset and clean the proper areas, though.

iPhone - Standby Mode

Since first purchasing an Pro iPhone (13 PM), I've been using an app called Fliqlo.  It's an always-on clock app that I use when sleeping in bed.  I enable it and it shows a flip-style clock.  I can control how bright the numbers are displayed.  I can use it in portrait and landscape mode.  As my bedside charger stand only allows charging while the phone is upright, I use Fliqlo in portrait mode.

iOS 26 has a new mode that's called Standby.  It works similar to Fliqlo, but only works when the phone is plugged into a power source and when the phone is on it's side.  I'd love to use this native feature instead of Fliqlo, but I'm not about to buy a new stand just to use it.  IMO, it would be better if Apple allows it to be used in portrait mode, so I sent Apple a feature request asking them to expand on Standby so that it can be used in portrait mode.

As well, I've been reading about a bunch of bugs with Standby, so I'll just wait for those to be sorted.

I'm not sure if iPads have Standby functionality - if so, that would make for an excellent bedside clock display (I've a Mini that can be used in that manner)...I'll test if I can use Standby with the Mini.

17 Pro Max Received, but I'm Experiencing the Dreaded iMessages Activation Unsuccessful Issue

If you're not aware, there's an issue with iMessages and/or FaceTime where your apps won't activate.

I just received the phone today and wasn't even aware this was an issue until my wife said she sent a text and that I didn't reply.  When I looked at my phone, I saw nothing.  I asked her to send another while she was like 10 feet away from me.  She did - I saw and heard nothing.  I then asked her to call me - the phone rang (it was her).  I then grabbed my work phone and did some testing with it (it's an iPhone 15 Pro).

Now my work phone is running iOS26.  The new 17 Pro Max is running iOS26.  My 13 Pro Max is also running iOS26.  Only the 17 PM is having the issue, though.  As well, I can no longer test my 13 PM because I factory-reset it earlier today, but it was fine before I wiped it.

When I use the 15 PM to text to the 17 PM, the 17 receives the text.  When I reply back, the 15 received that text, but the text isn't coming from the phone's number - it is coming from my email address that's tied to the iCloud account, which is odd.

I tried to reach out to schedule an appointment at the local Genius Bar but they screened the issue and refused to allow me to make an appointment.  They did suggest that I log a support ticket but said that they'd reach out to me later - I took that to mean that they actually wouldn't reach out.

I then went to the MacRumors.com forums and searched - sure enough, I saw some folks complaining about it but only saw one person with a solution...that solution didn't work for me.

I then checked Reddit and saw a BUNCH of complaints, as well as several remedies that works for some folks (but not for me).

Someone also said that he tried both Verizon (which is my carrier too) and Apple and neither were helpful.

Lastly, several folks said that they waited (some waited without opening a support ticket and some opened support cases) 24+ hours and the issue auto-fixed itself.

I'm still not sure where the exact problem lies.  It's either iOS26, iMessage, or eSIM (although there are folks with non-e SIM cards and running iOS26 that are experiencing the issue).  Maybe it's a combination of a bug in iOS26 and/or a bug in SIM technology.

Lesson:  never run the latest version of iOS.

So, I'm waiting.  I'll update if/when this is resolved.

UPDATE (9/27/2025):  As of 1 PM EST, the issue appears to have been resolved.  I checked at 6 AM and it was still an issue, but by 1 PM, the issue was gone.  I still don't know what was done to fix it.  I'm assuming Apple did something on their end in reaction to my support request.  Now I can truly enjoy the phone!

UPDATE (10/2/2025):  I updated my phone to 26.0.1.  Before I did, I saw an update note saying that this patch version fixes an issue with phone activation.  So, this was a firmware issue related to phone activation.