My Computer Name Keeps Changing

I system preferences sharing where you go to set your computer name I am noticing that mine says "Rob's iMac (3)" instead of "Rob's iMac". My network hasn't changed, haven't added or removed anything. I am using an airport extreme. One thing I remember is that every once in awhile I will get an odd prompt trying to connect to the wi fi related to this but I can't remember. But the annoying thing right now is that the OS will not allow me to go back and take that "(3)" off. Does it have anything to do with VMware and Windows 7 running on my system? It almost seems like the airport extreme thinks there are now three iMacs on the network......... thx in advance....

I have exactly the same problem. There is one Mac on my network, WiFi is off on the Mac, the other machines are Windows 7 computers. The renames are completely random, sometimes even after waking from sleep. It's Lion that doesn't keep track and it's annoying the **** out of me.
My trusty Snow Leopard white iMac blew itself up (literally) two weeks ago so I was forced onto Lion. It's the worst OS X I've ever used - never had to google so often for workarounds and fixes (scrolling direction, hidden user Library, problems with Mail, keyboard mapping, the list goes on and on...)
If Mountain Lion fixes the renaming issue it might be worth the upgrade.

Similar Messages

MacBook Computer Name Keeps Changing

Recently my Mac computer name keeps changing. It's the normal name, but with a number at the end that keeps incrementing. How can I stop this?
I'm not sure if it's something to do with the fact I had a partition for the public OS X Yosemite, which I have now deleted.
Any ideas? Thanks.

I was having the same problem for awhile, even contacted support so they could screen share and see what I meant.
What I ended up doing was correcting the name and then unchecking all the boxes in Sharing. Open up Airport Utility and reset the router (basically I changed my password only because that's the easiest way to make it update). Go back into Sharing and recheck the sharing options that you had previously. Viola!
So far it's been a week now and my computer name has not changed. Hope this helps

Computer Name Keeps Changing

In the system preferences sharing where you go to set "Computer name" I am noticing that mine says "iMac (3)" I have changed it back but keeps renaming the name "iMac (1),iMac (2), iMac (3) and so on,,, ". My network hasn't changed, haven't added or removed anything. This Only happens when System goes to sleep. Any Help on this???

I had the same problem. I solved it. I use an Apple Airport Extreme. I had connected my computer to the Airport Extreme using an ethernet cable and I also activated WiFi on my computer. My computer kept changing names. To correct this i deactivated WiFi on my computer, connecting to the internet only through the ethernet cable attached to the Airport Extreme. No more name changing.

Why does the local network and computer name keep changing?

After upgrading to Yosemit the local network name and computername on my iMAC keep changes link:
Mycomputer-1
Mycomputer-2
Mycomputer-3
Why?
I have tried to change it back in sharing and network locations.
Is this also the reason the my iPhone cannot find my iPhone often cannot find my iMac when I will sync it? Then I have to restart the iPhone and iTunes on the computer. This happens very very often.
Maybe it also linked to these errors which the log is full of - many every minute:
19/10/14 12.11.09,522 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:256
19/10/14 12.11.09,543 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:12856
19/10/14 12.11.09,561 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:0
19/10/14 12.11.09,565 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:44032
I think the is some bug/clash between bonjour and other network protocols. That is only a guess.

After resetting the computer name and local host name to the correct name without the number I also shotdown my iMac, my AppleTV, my iPhone, my iPad and then rebooted my Airport/Time capsule it seemed to work at least for several days. But yesterday I discovered that my Apple TV now also has changed name to Apple TV (2).
I logged into iCloud.com to see my devices and here it was really wired. My Apple TV was called Apple TV (2) and my iMac also had (2) after the name. Then I checked it on the iMac but here it was correct! Why can it have one name on the iCloud and another on the computer.
I restarted both the iMac, Apple TV and Airport Time capsule then everything was correct also on iCloud.com.
But today the iMac was called the name (2) again on the iMac. And now the local host name also had -2 after the name. It has not always been both names that has changed. That is really wired. And today Wifi was not working on the iMac after wake from sleep. I changed the name back and rebooted again also the Airport Time capsule. Now it is working again.
The log is still full of this messages:
02/11/14 19.22.13,186 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:1901
02/11/14 19.22.25,738 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:34051
02/11/14 19.22.25,758 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:12342
02/11/14 19.22.25,900 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:34051
02/11/14 19.22.25,919 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:1901
02/11/14 19.22.27,636 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:28772
02/11/14 19.22.27,683 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:27693
02/11/14 19.22.27,714 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:28533
02/11/14 19.22.49,833 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:29281
02/11/14 19.22.49,866 discoveryd[53]: Basic DNSResolver dropping message because it doesn't match the one sent Port:0 MsgID:28528
The name is not the only problem. Often itunes will not find my iPhone and iPad. Then i need to close iTunes and restart the iPhone and iPad then it works for some time.
And the iPhone and AppleTV will not always wake the iMac from sleep. I am wondering if the is linked to the changing of name.
I have seen by googling that it can be related to a sleep proxy problem so it seems like that here is two devices on the net with the same name that is why name is changing, but to know this do not help me to solve the problem. I have also seen all the suggestion to turn almost every services off on the computer, but again I it is not a solution and I have the iMac and devises to use the functionality not to shot everything down. So I do not really understand people saying turn off itunes, turn off blueboth, and turn off this and that.
Apple must soon come with a real solution. We are really many people have these problem since we upgraded to Yosemite and iOS 8.
I have also listed some of the iTunes errors from the log below:
02/11/14 19.24.48,160 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.quicklook[1364]) Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.quicklook
02/11/14 19.24.52,279 Console[1368]: Failed to connect (_consoleX) outlet from (NSApplication) to (ConsoleX): missing setter or instance variable
02/11/14 19.25.06,907 iTunes[480]: Entered:_AMMuxedDeviceDisconnected, mux-device:5
02/11/14 19.25.06,908 iTunes[480]: Entered:__thr_AMMuxedDeviceDisconnected, mux-device:5
02/11/14 19.25.06,908 iTunes[480]: tid:17d8b - Mux ID not found in mapping dictionary
02/11/14 19.25.06,908 iTunes[480]: tid:17d8b - Can't handle disconnect with invalid ecid
02/11/14 19.30.19,234 com.apple.usbmuxd[56]: _SendAttachNotification Device 30:f7:c5:30:b8:2b@fe80::32f7:c5ff:fe30:b82b._apple-mobdev2._tcp.local. has already appeared on interface 5. Suppressing duplicate attach notification.
02/11/14 19.30.22,192 soagent[429]: Can't allocate SOHelper <SOMessageHelper: 0x7f9053a102c0> inside com.apple.soagent
02/11/14 19.30.54,871 iTunes[480]: Entered:_AMMuxedDeviceDisconnected, mux-device:6
02/11/14 19.30.54,871 iTunes[480]: Entered:__thr_AMMuxedDeviceDisconnected, mux-device:6
02/11/14 19.30.54,871 iTunes[480]: tid:1a23b - Mux ID not found in mapping dictionary
02/11/14 19.30.54,871 iTunes[480]: tid:1a23b - Can't handle disconnect with invalid ecid
02/11/14 19.32.06,137 com.apple.usbmuxd[56]: _SendAttachNotification Device 30:f7:c5:30:b8:2b@fe80::32f7:c5ff:fe30:b82b._apple-mobdev2._tcp.local. has already appeared on interface 5. Suppressing duplicate attach notification.

My iMac's computer name keeps changing automatically after Yosemite upgrade

This started happening once I upgraded my iMac to Yosemite. It will add numbers to the name of my iMac.
Example: It starts off as say "My iMac"
Then a half day later, it changes to "My iMac (2)"
Then the next day it will be "My iMac (3)"
And if I open the Finder window, it will show "My iMac" and "My iMac (2)" under "Shared" but if you click on them, nothing happens.
When I go to System Preferences > Sharing the computer name will have the number there "My iMac (3)" and say it can be found as MyiMac-3.local
If I change it back to just "My iMac", the number process starts all over again. I even tried naming the iMac something it was never named before and the same process occurs with the adding of the numbers.
Anyone know how I can fix this?

Have had the same issue with an iMac and MacBook Pro, both with Yosemite (MacBook upgraded from the Yosemite public beta). Both previously had Mavericks, and at one time or another would have had both Ethernet cable and Wifi on. This issue has only occurred since the upgrade to Yosemite. I do not use iCloud, so I believe that may be irrelevant and merely coincidental.
The solution provided by an Apple Care rep seems to have resolved the issue. Has stuck now on both machines for the last few hours. Time will tell for certain, but here's what we did:
- in System Preferences > Sharing, remove the (2) [or whatever is extra; mine was iMac (2), so I removed the (2)
- exit Preferences
- shutdown
- restart machine in Recovery mode (machine off, press and hold Command + R, power on, when Apple logo appears release keys)
- may take a few minutes to boot (depends on machine generation/speed, RAM and such)
- open Disk Utility
- select the OS disk (mine was Macintosh HD; selected the 'indented' item)
- run Verify Disk Permissions
- when finished run Repair Disk Permissions
- restart
On the MacBook I tried turning on Wifi and so far so good.
Banish the deux!

Computer name keeps changing by integer Name (2)

My 2011 i7 iMac running 10.7.4, regularly changes the computer name. Always when rewaking it from sleep, the "Name" becomes "Name (2)". It claims "the name is already in use on this network". And this assertion is most certainly false. A quick search informs me this issue has existed since 10.5.8; I am experiencing it on 10.7.4 so I have to assume the cause has not been investigated or not found (or both).
Since the issue seems linked to Shared Resources I am going to try not sharing anything from this iMac from now going forward to see if this ends the behavior.
Whats really iritating about this is that the System Preferences > Sharing panel has a Lock on it that is *supposed* lockout changes to the settings under it. But the system is bybassing that lock mark and changing something without asking. Not okay.

I have been having the same problem ever since updating to 10.7.4. I have read of other people having this problem too, without resolution, so I presume it to be an Apple bug that will get ironed out in the next update.
Hope this helps

Local network computer name keeps changing

I haven't been able to work out why my iMac has bouts of telling me that my computer's name is already in use on the network and adding a number to it. I keep having to go into System Preferences/Sharing and change it back again so that my husband can use the shared printer. My husband has an iMac and MacBook on the same network. I also have an iPad.
It's a wireless network with a Thomson router.
Any ideas gratefully received!

Margaret,
Sounds like your computer is still registered on the network when logging in.
Try this setting: System Preferences > Network > Click Airport on the left > click Advanced.. bottom right > Airport tab > Check "Disconnect when logging out". > click OK.
See if that helps.
Regards,
Captfred
Message was edited by: captfred

Computer names keep changing

In the Finder side bar, the name of my computer and the name of one other computer shared in my home network keep incrementing i.e. the same name reappears but with a digit within parenthesis
e.g. MyComputer (6).
The names of the other devices (hard disks) do not change.
Any known reason for that?
Any suggestion on how to avoid, or reset, that ?
Thanks

Hi,
Are you seeing multiple IP addresses and Mac addresses for a device listed in the device list? You can apply the following steps to fix the issue:
Step 1: turn off each device
Step 2: go to the device list and delete the device that is showing the multiple ip address
Step 3: turn on each of the devices one by one and once it's showing in the device with a single ip address, add the device in the DHCP reservation list.

Computer name keeps changing to [myname]'s mac (2)

I change it manually to [myname]'s mac. but few days later the "(2)" keeps appearing. I know its not a "problem", but I don't understand why that happens.

Mine does the same thing. I have also seen others mention the issue as well.
I think that it has to do with your iMac and your router not interfacing correctly. It seems to occur when the Mac wakes up and asks the router for an IP through DHCP and the router has not forgotten the Mac's last IP. The router tells the Mac that another device is using that name and so the Mac alters its name to obtain an IP.
Dah•veed

Computer name keeps changing after Yosemite install

My iMac keeps getting into some sort of conflict with itself that causes it to rename itself.
It's normally "Pajundrum's iMac". A morning or two after installing Yosemite, I got a message on my iPhone that my Apple ID was being used on a new device, "Pajundrum's iMac (2)". I can go into the System Preferences->Sharing and reset the name, but if left it will keep incrementing itself.
If I'm using the computer when it happens, I get a message stating, "Another device on the network is using your computer’s IP address."
This is the only iMac on the network. It is only connected to the network one way (through WiFi).
I've tried reseting my router, but that didn't seem to affect anything. Does anyone know what could be causing this, or how to resolve it?

Regarding to this, there're two different solutions how-to fix this issue:
Go to System Preferences -> Energy Saver. Select "Power Adapter" and then uncheck "Wake for network access".
Go to Macintosh HD > Library > Preferences > SystemConfiguration and delete the following files:
com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
NetworkInterfaces.plist
preferences.plist
and reboot after. They'll be recreated correctly after that.

[SOLVED] Network interface name keeps changing

My network interface name keeps changing between wlp2s0 and wlan0. This is a real pain, since I never know what name will be generated at boot. Most of the time it's called wlp2s0, so this is what netctl is set up to handle by itself. At boots were wlan0 is generated I have to connect manually.
I've tried making the name static by adding a rule to the /etc/udev/rules.d/10-network.rules. The rule i added was:
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", ATTR{address}=="48:5d:60:7e:64:e9", NAME="wlp2s0"
Wlp2s0 is generated at boot alright, but I still have to connect manually with this solution. As if the "new" wlp2s0 is not recognized as the old one (same MAC). What gives?
This is on an Asus Eee 1001PXD, with the Qualcomm Atheros AR9285.
Last edited by madr (2013-05-18 20:09:34)

I've now been able to replicate the issue, and run the command:
journalctl -b
I did find the output:
mai 18 02:30:02 <hostname> systemd-udevd[126]: error changing net interface name wlan0 to wlp2s0: Device or resource busy
I haven't been able to process the whole output yet (I'll continue tomorrow if necessary), but I've found some things that I hope will clearify things. I get similar outputs to the following a lot throughout:
mai 18 02:30:03 <hostname> dhcpcd[237]: wlan0: carrier lost
mai 18 02:30:03 <hostname> dhcpcd[237]: wlan0: waiting for carrier
mai 18 02:30:04 <hostname> systemd[1]: [email protected]: control process exited, code=exited status=1
mai 18 02:30:04 <hostname> systemd[1]: Failed to start Automatic wireless network connection using netctl profiles.
mai 18 02:30:04 <hostname> systemd[1]: Unit [email protected] entered failed state.
mai 18 02:30:04 <hostname> systemd[1]: Starting Network.
mai 18 02:30:04 <hostname> systemd[1]: Reached target Network.
EDIT:
I see now that this is later in time, so that's not so strange after all. I'll look some more.
EDIT2:
The error code that a name change i impossible is the first time the term 'wlan0' occurs in the log. However there's a line much earlier that talks about wlp2s0:
mai 18 02:29:59 <hostname> systemd[1]: Expecting device sys-subsystem-net-devices-wlp2s0.device...
But as I said, if this information doesn't help, I'll have a closer look at the output tomorrow. Getting late here in Norway now.
Last edited by madr (2013-05-18 01:20:50)

Mac Computer Name Keeps Incrementing

Hi, I have a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini, both on WiFi connected to an Airport Extreme. Since upgrading to Yosemite, both computers keep changing their name (as seen in Sharing under Preferences) every few hours.
For example, the name changes from "MacBook Pro" to "MacBook Pro (2)", then "MacBook Pro (3)" and so on. This is occurring for both Macs. They each have unique names and there are no other devices on the network, so I don't understand why the name keeps changing as if there is a conflict. I don't see any other error messages. I can change the name back in Settings, but it immediately increments again. Rebooting all devices does not change the behaviour. Neither Mac is connected via Ethernet, only WiFi.
Anyone else see this kind of behaviour? Any ideas how to correct?

Apple doesn’t routinely monitor the discussions. These are mostly user to user discussions.
Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.
Feedback
Or you can use your Apple ID to register with this site and go the Apple BugReporter. Supposedly you will get an answer if you submit feedback.
Feedback via Apple Developer

Why does the "Computer Name" sometimes change?

                Not a big deal, just curious, why does the "computer name" sometimes change?
                 The name will be the same, but it will add a number....2,3,4...I always change it back so it doesn't have a numeric value next to it, but just wondering why it happens.
                                        Thanks.

Can also occur after your computer is put to sleep and then wakes back up or after your computer is force quit and immediately restarted. Sometimes the router 'believes' the computer is still connected when it actually isn't. When that computer re-establishes a connection the router 'tells' the computer that a computer with that name already exists so it has to change its name. By default a computer running MacOS adds a number (or increments its number) when this happens.

Command to Open "Computer Name/Domain Changes" window

Running the commands SystemPropertiesComputerName or "sysdm.cpl" in command line will open the System Properties window. I still have to click on the "Change" button to
get to the Computer Name/Domain Changes window. Is there a command to get to the
Computer Name/Domain Changes window directly? I have been searching the internet for several days. I've also tried using SendKeys (batch file, VBScript, and in PowerShell) and to send two TABS
and an ENTER key but I can't get it to work. The command doesn't seem to work on the
System Properties window.
Thank you,
Tom

Hi
B.Gandomkar,
Would you please tell us the purpose by doing this ? If you want to rename the computer from this tab.
Here are several links may be helpful:
Rename-Computer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849792.aspx
Set Computer Name using PowerShell
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7824.set-computer-name-using-powershell.aspx
How to Rename Computers Using PowerShell and a CSV File
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/2243.how-to-rename-computers-using-powershell-and-a-csv-file.aspx
Best regards

Network share name keeps changing

I have setup my eMac to have the network share name eMac but it keeps changing into +eMac (2)+ does anyone know why?

well I do, but a short while later.
or some weeks or even month later, I can do it again.
this is a problem because I need to connect to it from my server.
the server is a Dell PowerEdge 1650 (I know, old, but it was cheap and it does the trick) which is running Linux Ubuntu Server 9.10 "Karmic Koala", since it's a server I did not install a DE(desktop environment) so I need to use the bash or shell (depending on what I do, since it has both)
how I connect it like this (on the sever):
+mount -t nfs "emac.local:/dev/macintosh HD" /storage/nfs/emac/+
the problem here: I use a DHCP, with DHCP reservation.
since I use DHCP reservation the IP should not change.
but the DHCP reservation doesn't really work correctly,
because of this, if my mac is offline (A.K.A off, I never disconnect it), the IP is in the pool, and thus can be assigned to a other computer.
since the IP may change depending on if it is on at a given time.
I need a way to always successfully identify my emac.
for this I use the network name.
and now it changes too!
which means that in order to find it I need to know if it still has the same network name, or what it's IP is.
I can find the IP from a web browser since it's my router who is my DHCP.
but the server doesn't have one.
so I'd have to use a other computer, since the router doesn't allow SSH/TELNET connections.

My Computer Name Keeps Changing

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