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Hello!
I have Apple Remote Desktop, and 2 MacBook Pros, one that always stays at home.
I'm trying to access my home MacBook with the other one from a different network.
I have static IP address.
Is there anyway to do it?
Or, alternatively, is there anyway to do it with some other app? Like ScreenSharing?
Sorry, not a network expert....
Thanks!
Maria
Yes it’s more than possible and it’s a question that has been asked many times, over the years, on this forum.
The ports you need to forward are 5900 and 3283. The specifics on how to do this vary from router to router so consult your router’s interface and familiarise yourself with where those settings are set.
On your home Mac make sure it has a fixed IP address on the internal/private network. Typically this is usually in the 192.168.1.something range. Finally enable all the settings for ARD in the Sharing Preferences Pane.
From the remote computer you can connect a number of ways. Using the Finder or the Screen Sharing App. Even Safari should do it and of course the ARD admin App if you’ve bought it. With the Finder select “Connect to Server” from the Go Menu and key in vnc://thepublicIPaddressatyourhome and you should be there.
Be aware that WoL may not always work to ‘wake’ the home Mac and that remote connections can be slow and clunky. Depends on how good the broadband service is. I would set your home Mac’s sleep/power settings to be as ‘awake’ as you can make them.
Good luck Maria
Yes it’s more than possible and it’s a question that has been asked many times, over the years, on this forum.
The ports you need to forward are 5900 and 3283. The specifics on how to do this vary from router to router so consult your router’s interface and familiarise yourself with where those settings are set.
On your home Mac make sure it has a fixed IP address on the internal/private network. Typically this is usually in the 192.168.1.something range. Finally enable all the settings for ARD in the Sharing Preferences Pane.
From the remote computer you can connect a number of ways. Using the Finder or the Screen Sharing App. Even Safari should do it and of course the ARD admin App if you’ve bought it. With the Finder select “Connect to Server” from the Go Menu and key in vnc://thepublicIPaddressatyourhome and you should be there.
Be aware that WoL may not always work to ‘wake’ the home Mac and that remote connections can be slow and clunky. Depends on how good the broadband service is. I would set your home Mac’s sleep/power settings to be as ‘awake’ as you can make them.
Good luck Maria
Sure!
I've decided to use Screen Sharing, as that's enough for my needs.
So:
Also waking up the Mac seems to work well - so far at least.
But I was checking the logs and I do get a lot of access attempts...
My Mac password is strong, but would you suggest doing something else to be on the safe side?
Would it make sense to change the port to a custom one, so that it's less known?
Otherwise, you were talking about VPN, would you have time to tell me a bit more?
I know I'm going off topic and also abusing your kindness! ;)
Thanks a lot Antonio!
For the moment I'll stick with what I've got, and try to learn-experiment a bit more.
Also, an update in case anyone is interested in the setup I've ended up with:
Thanks again Antonio!
My home network has a static IP address. And there sits the MacBook Pro that I'm trying to access remotely, connected to the router via ethernet (so that wake on lan can work) and plugged into power at all times.
I'm trying to access it with another MacBook from a different location (which could be anywhere).
I wonder if that's possible with Apple Remote Desktop or with Screen Sharing for example, using the static IP address (and I imagine port forwarding on the router...?).
Thanks.
Gee, thanks so much!!
I had read some of the posts, but somehow missed some steps - this step by step guid is stellar.
Managed to screen-share over a different network, will check if wake-on-lan is reliable enough, otherwise I'll just keep my home Mac awake with the display off.
Thanks again!!
You’re welcome and let us know how you get on, if you can.
For the benefit of others who may be looking to do the same/similar thing, it’s the Remote Management selection you enable in the Sharing Preferences Pane. As a further tip if you hold down the option/alt key when clicking the options button, it will auto-select all the further options within.
Finally the ports mentioned earlier are well known to would be hackers, therefore it’s important a strong/secure password is used for the home Mac. To be extra secure, using a VPN would be ideal but that goes beyond the scope of this forum.
Glad it's working for you and that I could help and no, you're not abusing anyone's kindness :-).
It's more than possible your router offers some VPN capabilities. I've been looking at my residential router and it's limited in its scope and feature set. You lose nothing though by exploring its interface and seeing if anything remotely VPN-like is there.
VPNs work by facilitating a secure, encrypted connections from one remote location to another. VPN client software initiates one end of the connection and access to the home network is established by a 'server' at the other end. This can be another computer (with VPN dedicated software installed) or specialist hardware such as a router/firewall. Thereafter its all about choosing which security protocols you want to use. The higher up the 'food-chain' you go the more secure they become.
You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network
To be honest (no offence intended) I would stick with what you've got if you deem your passwords strong and secure enough. The time to move into VPN territory would be when you've gained enough confidence and knowledge in your networking skills. which you acquire over time and experience. Best advice I can give you now is to start exploring the subject and above all, enjoy it, as it is interesting, absorbing and worthwhile. Leastways I found it so :-).
Good luck again.
Which location has the static address? If it's not your home address would it be your workplace?
Remote Desktop (or another solution?) from different networks
