Applications disappearing on my MAC Mini

Question

Applications disappearing on my MAC Mini

Hello,

I have a MAC Mini (2020), 16GB, MAC OS 26.0.1, no attached storage devices.

Certain applications on my Dock have disappeared, the icons on the Dock are displaying a "?", or are "white" ; when I click on the "?" or, if the icon is still present, I receive an error message "The "name of the application" can't be opened.

I open the "Applications" folder and the application in question is not listed. I have downloaded the applications and re-installed them several times over the past week or so. They work for several days or hours and then suddenly they are gone!

I have contacted Apple Support twice, spoke with two very patient and informative individuals. We have re installed the missing applications, but after some time the applications disappeared.

The applications in question are Tidal, Roon, 1Password, Nord VPN, Tailscale, MicroSoft 365, Quicken.

As you can imagine, this is a very frustrating situation. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Frankie Crisp

Mac mini, macOS 26.0

Posted on Nov 9, 2025 8:03 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 10, 2025 9:21 AM in response to Frankie Crisp

Frankie Crisp wrote:

Hello,

I have a MAC Mini (2020), 16GB, MAC OS 26.0.1,

I have downloaded the applications and re-installed them several times over the past week or so. They work for several days or hours and then suddenly they are gone!

The applications in question are Tidal, Roon, 1Password, Nord VPN, Tailscale, MicroSoft 365, Quicken.

Never heard this scenario before...

Grab hold of the ? and drag them off the Dock— it is simply an alias that has lost its connection to the original.

Go to your Applications folder and drag the app back to the Dock if you want it there.

The current stable release of Tahoe including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 26.1

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

typically it is advised to Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS

restore items backed up with Time Machine

Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support

you do not say if this is an Intel mac or a M-series mac...

or what was your previous macOS..

non-the-less

You can always re-download your third party apps for updated compatibility with your macOS if some how the mysteriously or gone (which is most uncommon.)

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Answer 2

Nov 11, 2025 6:42 AM in response to Frankie Crisp

Frankie Crisp wrote:

I upgraded to OS26.1...after the upgrade about ten of my programs disappeared (question marks over the icons in the Dock). I have a call scheduled with Apple support this morning.

Please download and run (free) EtreCheck, and share the results to the clipboard. Then open a new reply here, and press the Additional Text button that looks like a printed page, and paste and post the hardware and software configuration report here. From that, we can get a little more detail about what is installed and what is running here.

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Answer 3

Nov 10, 2025 9:17 AM in response to Frankie Crisp

Use the Dock on Mac - Apple Support

Remove the blank icons from the Dock, then drag the current ones from the Applications folder to the Dock.

NordVPN 😫 Uninstall that, as VPNs (along with cleaners like BrickMyMac) tend to do far more harm than good.

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Answer 4

Nov 10, 2025 2:03 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks.

Issue is when the icon in the Dock is "white" or a "?" is present, navigating to the Applications folder I find that application is gone, so there is no application to drag back onto the Dock. So at that point I need to download the installer for the application and re install.

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Answer 5

Nov 10, 2025 2:09 PM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks. I have an M1 Mac mini. Previous macOS was up to date (Sequoia?). When there is the "?" or the icon in the Dock is "white" , the application is no longer present in the Application folder.

I will uninstall the VPN and anti virus programs and give that a try.

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Answer 6

Nov 11, 2025 5:52 AM in response to leroydouglas

I upgraded to OS26.1...after the upgrade about ten of my programs disappeared (question marks over the icons in the Dock). I have a call scheduled with Apple support this morning.

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