How-to: Remove the MobileMe menus and settings

Apple provides pre-installed support for MobileMe in OS X. However, some who have not subscribed to this service have expressed desire to remove various MobileMe settings and icons.

Apple Discussions poster Sigafoose writes:

"I don't use MobileMe, [the MM menu seems to have] got here on it's own. Feels like Microsoft back when telling me what I want on my computer."

While Apple makes the various MobileMe-related options on the computer are harmless if not used, some users may prefer to not have them there at all, especially in some cases where the MobileMe sync menu seems to have suddenly appeared. This sync menu, along with the MobileMe system preferences, are the two items related to MobileMe that users may wish to have removed.

Removing the MobileMe Sync menu (or any menu) While removing the menu items can be done in the specific settings or applications associated with the menu, the easiest way to either move menus for organizing them or removing them altogether is to press the command key and then simply drag them off the menu bar (drag them around on the menu bar to organize them). The menus should disappear in a cloud puff when removed.

Remove the MobileMe System Preferences pane While for some users clearing up unused menus is all that's needed, the System Preferences also have MobileMe settings. To remove these preferences, users should go to the /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ folder and remove the following two items:

1. Mac.prefPane
2. Internet.prefPane

It is recommended that users first backup these files to a safe location and then delete them (which will require users to authenticate with an admin account). When Apple releases system-related updates or security patches, users should first replace the files and then apply the updates, to avoid any potential conflicts. The files can then be removed after updating.

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