Sources policy

Source hierarchy

Apple Support 247 uses the following source hierarchy. Primary sources are strongly preferred. Secondary sources are used to contextualise or explain primary-source material, not to replace it.

1. Apple's own documentation — Apple Support articles, Apple Developer Documentation, Apple Security Research notes and Apple's own published technical specifications.
2. Software vendor documentation — For guides covering third-party software (such as Microsoft Outlook for Mac), the software vendor's own support documentation.
3. Standards body documentation — IETF RFCs and other authoritative standards documents for networking and protocol-related guides.
4. Reputable technical publications — Publications with strong editorial standards and a track record of technical accuracy.

What we do not accept as sources

• Forum posts or crowd-sourced content without verified technical backing.
• Undated content where the software-version relevance cannot be established.
• Content from sources with a commercial interest in the troubleshooting outcome (for example, a repair shop's guide to the same error they offer to fix).
• Fabricated or paraphrased Apple documentation references.

Citing sources in articles

Every article includes a Sources and Further Reading section at the bottom that lists the primary sources used. These citations include the source title, the publisher and a direct URL. We do not cite sources we cannot link to, and we do not fabricate article numbers for Apple Support documentation.

Attribution

We do not attribute technical claims to Apple that Apple has not made. When we describe likely causes for an error code, we use language that reflects the degree of certainty ("commonly", "often", "can indicate") rather than presenting uncertain interpretations as Apple's official word.