Conor.P.M

Q: Problems using 'Back to my Mac' with Yosemite

At home I have two Macs, an iMac and a MacBook, both running Mavericks. At work I use a MacBook Pro, also running Mavericks, and when I'm out I use a MacBook Air that was running developer preview of Yosemite.

 

My home iMac has now been upgraded to Yosemite. However when at work using my Mavericks MacBook I can no longer use 'Back to my Mac' to screen share back to my iMac, I get "Connection failed to "Conor's iMac", but I can still connect to the MacBook at home running Mavericks. I've also tried connecting to both Macs at home using my Yosemite MacBook Air but I get the same error.

 

I can screen share between all Mac when they are on the local network, but as soon as I'm using iCloud to screen share the only connection I can make is between Macs running Mavericks. It's almost as if 'Back to my Mac' via iCloud is broken in Yosemite.

 

I've tried disabling and reenabling 'Back to my Mac', signing out of iCloud entirely and then logging in again, but nothing I've tried so far will allow me to use iCloud to screen share between two Yosemite Macs.

 

Has anyone else seen this issue, or have any suggestions?

Posted on Oct 21, 2014 12:54 PM

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Q: Problems using 'Back to my Mac' with Yosemite

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  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Jan 14, 2015 1:03 PM in response to pfisher112
    Level 9 (50,142 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 14, 2015 1:03 PM in response to pfisher112

    First and foremost the OS X application firewall has absolutely no bearing on BTMM's ability to function correctly so forget that.

     

    Specific port forwarding should not be required but if you are not using an Apple router that always introduces an element of uncertainty. Allegedly the only requirement is to enable UPnP or NAT-PMP, but using an Apple router eliminates all doubt.

     

    The next thing to bear in mind is that the particular BTMM anomaly that is causing such grief is only a factor when attempting to connect from beyond your local network. Local network connections use local Bonjour discovery, and Yosemite did not break that ability. BTMM over LAN still wakes a sleeping Mac and everything else about it still functions as it always did. On the other hand BTMM over WAN is decidedly broken (unless you, your ISP, and all the equipment you are using supports IPv6, in which case it might work. I'm not in that position, neither are most other people, so I don't know).

     

    The fact Apple uses the same terminology ("Back to My Mac") for what are in effect two completely separate connection protocols doesn't help matters. Neither does the fact that they have chosen to obscure the nature of the services that accomplish BTMM over WAN, but that is probably a necessity given Apple's sensitivity to the possibility of unauthorized intrusion.

     

    ... I was thinking, can BTMM work on the same network but two different Macs?  I don't see why it can't work.


    Yes — when it's working — but at the moment BTMM is still broken, we're all still patiently waiting for Apple to fix it, and unless you are willing to keep Mavericks on all your systems there isn't anything else we can do about it.

     

     

  • by pfisher112,

    pfisher112 pfisher112 Jan 15, 2015 6:37 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 15, 2015 6:37 AM in response to John Galt

    John-  I disagree with you on the firewall has nothing to do with BTMM.  It might be true across the board with MOST people.  In my particular situation, I turned ON the Firewall and didn't change any default settings for incoming or outgoing.  Whatever setting by default is green, I left it alone.  Keep in mind, I turned ON the Firewall on my Mac Mini running Mavericks.  The next day, I am sitting at my desk at work, I turn on my MBA, I look at the SHARED section and my Mac Mini is NOT listed.  It doesn't even show up.  I went home and I turned OFF the Firewall on the same Mac Mini.  The following day, I am sitting at my desk and turn on my MBA, I look at the SHARED section and there is my Mac Mini.  Even as I am typing this message, I am connected to my Mac Mini that is sitting at home.  I am looking at my logon screen on my Mac Mini.   Again, I am at work as I type this message, I am sitting next to my MBA staring at the logon screen to my Mac Mini that is sitting at home.  Grant it, the screen sharing is slow. I am just backing up my statement to support my particular situation. 

     

    I do understand that BTMM is broken.  I am not disputing that fact.  There is no doubt that BTMM is broken with Mavericks and Yosemite.  Apple has to fix this issue.  We all know that we are at the mercy of Apple to fix the BTMM issue. I am planning on getting an Airport Time Capsule to further my case and to see if I am able to use BTMM on two Mac Mini's.  I want to be able to connect to both Mac Mini's.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Jan 15, 2015 7:56 AM in response to pfisher112
    Level 9 (50,142 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 15, 2015 7:56 AM in response to pfisher112

    ... I turned ON the Firewall on my Mac Mini running Mavericks.


    As I wrote, BTMM works with Mavericks. Forget about the OS X firewall. You may disagree if that makes you feel good, but trying to fix BTMM with Yosemite is an utter waste of time. It's your time to waste.

     

    I am planning on getting an Airport Time Capsule to further my case ...

     

    Great! It won't help.

  • by El Morche,

    El Morche El Morche Jan 15, 2015 8:43 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 15, 2015 8:43 AM in response to John Galt

     

    I am planning on getting an Airport Time Capsule to further my case ...

     

    Great! It won't help.

    I agree with John. Getting a Time Capsule won't help. I have one and can see and access it with BTMM but still can't see my Mac Mini.

  • by RaceTripper,

    RaceTripper RaceTripper Jan 15, 2015 11:13 AM in response to El Morche
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2015 11:13 AM in response to El Morche

    Agree with the others. Firewall settings have nothing to do with BTMM being broken, and changing them won't help. Also adding a Time Capsule or Airport Extreme will not fix the issue either. I have both and have used them all along. BTMM worked with Mavericks and has been broken with Yosemite 10.10.0, 10.10.1, as well as with the latest public beta of 10.10.2 I am using now.

     

    The bottom line is Apple shipped an OS with a major subsystem that is broken. These aren't just bugs. This is a significant oversight and should never have shipped in this condition. This would be like Porsche selling a car that shifts to neutral anytime you rev the engine to 4000 RPM. It's a fine and dandy thing until you actually try to use it the way it was meant to be used.

  • by pfisher112,

    pfisher112 pfisher112 Jan 16, 2015 12:12 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 16, 2015 12:12 PM in response to John Galt

    John,

     

    Just to be crystal clear, without any shadow of doubt, Back To My Mac is broken in Yosemite.  I know that you have stated that numerous times on this particular post and other posting as well. Likewise, other users have agreed with you and continued to troubleshoot there issue.  Based on the fact that BTMM is broken in Yosemite and you have stated that it doesn't matter which router you are using or if firewall is ON or OFF.  It doesn't matter whether you are signed into iCloud or not.  By all accounts, BTMM is still broken in Yosemite.

     

    At work, I have an iMac running Yosemite 10.10.1, I sign into my iCloud account and I make sure that BTMM box is checked and the Firewall is OFF. I restart this iMac. I log back into the iMac and I go to the Finder.  Do I see my Mac at home.  Yes or No?

     

    At home, I have a Mac running Mavericks. Do I see the iMac running Yosemite. Yes or No?

     

    Again, I know that you have stated that BTMM is broken in Yosemite regardless of the environment.  Router, Firewall ON/OFF, iCloud account, BTMM box is checked, wireless or wired, etc...  Apple has to come out with a fix.

     

    The bottomline, BTMM is broken in Yosemite which is what you have said numerous times regardless of the any router, router settings, firewall settings, iCloud settings, Mac model and type, wireless or wired, etc...  Just to be clear, that is what you state, right?

  • by El Morche,

    El Morche El Morche Jan 16, 2015 12:55 PM in response to pfisher112
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 16, 2015 12:55 PM in response to pfisher112

    Right! But as far as I know Apple does not monitor this forum. What you need to do is call Apple Support and register a case with them. If you have a new Mac Mini then you will be covered by their support. If not then you will have to wing it under a problem with Yosemite.

  • by Cadetshop,

    Cadetshop Cadetshop Jan 24, 2015 1:31 AM in response to Conor.P.M
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 1:31 AM in response to Conor.P.M

    I placed a note on the thread a while back also raising my hand up to someone who has experienced the failure of BTMM. I have totally abandoned waiting for a fix to the problem and have now experienced the incredibly reliable and stable LogMein software. I was really apprehensive about paying for the software but I have to say it works and is as reliable as apple products used to be, back in the good ol' days.  LogMein is simple, easy and "just works" The only downside is you have to pay for it, which is a small price to pay to avoid the headache of the current apple glitches.

     

    As a diehard apple supporter it pained me to abandon the apple product but I'm so glad I did.

     

    Sorry Mac, you are starting to turn into an ugly shade of PC!

  • by mrbofus,

    mrbofus mrbofus Jan 24, 2015 1:50 AM in response to Cadetshop
    Level 1 (23 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 24, 2015 1:50 AM in response to Cadetshop

    Another alternative is TeamViewer.  It's free for personal use and has worked for me whether I'm trying to connect to my home network from the coffee shop down the street or from different countries thousands of miles away.

  • by El Morche,

    El Morche El Morche Jan 26, 2015 2:47 PM in response to mrbofus
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 26, 2015 2:47 PM in response to mrbofus

    I've been having a look at TeamViewer and whilst it works well when my 2014 Mac Mini is awake I cannot get the wake-on-lan feature to work. I've set up the port forwarding as described in TeamViewer Wake-On-Lan Manual. The only thing I can't work out is how to setup ARP entries on my Time Capsule.

     

    Any help would be much appreciated.

  • by mrbofus,

    mrbofus mrbofus Jan 26, 2015 3:03 PM in response to El Morche
    Level 1 (23 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2015 3:03 PM in response to El Morche

    My iMac stays on, so unfortunately, I haven't gone through the setup process in a way that I can help you.  However, I don't think you need to worry about ARP entries even if you're using the public address Wake-on-LAN option.  If you don't have a static IP from your ISP, you should be able to use a dynamic DNS service for free to get to a specific computer on your internal network from the outside.  I know I've done that in the past when using other remote control solutions; I haven't needed to do that with TeamViewer yet though.

     

    Also, it might be worth considering leaving your Mac mini on.  Power usage for the Mac mini is minimal; 6 watts when idle and 85 watts at max usage [ Mac mini: Power consumption and thermal output (BTU) information - Apple Support ].  And most of the time, it's probably closer to the 6 watts figure than the 85 watts figure.

  • by El Morche,

    El Morche El Morche Jan 26, 2015 3:43 PM in response to mrbofus
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 26, 2015 3:43 PM in response to mrbofus

    Many thanks for the prompt reply mrbofus.

     

    I use noip.com as I have a dynamic IP address  but it crossed my mind that the wake-on-lan function of TeamViewer isn't working for the same reason that BTMM isn't working.

     

    I will try leaving the Mac Mini on in the meantime but I will still pursue Apple for a resolution to this issue.

  • by mrbofus,

    mrbofus mrbofus Jan 26, 2015 6:06 PM in response to El Morche
    Level 1 (23 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2015 6:06 PM in response to El Morche

    Ironically, I didn't even think about the BTMM and Wake-on-LAN issues being related.  But that's a good possibility.

     

    Yeah, at 6 watts, I'd say leaving the Mac mini would be the easiest way to solve the problem for you right now.  It's too bad it doesn't work like it used to/it's supposed to.

  • by RaceTripper,

    RaceTripper RaceTripper Jan 26, 2015 7:04 PM in response to mrbofus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2015 7:04 PM in response to mrbofus

    Wake-on-LAN is not the problem with BTMM. I have a Mini. I allow the monitor to sleep but not the Mini itself. That doesn't matter for BTMM. If I'm not on the LAN where the Mini is located I cannot reach the Mini via BTMM.

  • by mrbofus,

    mrbofus mrbofus Jan 26, 2015 7:07 PM in response to RaceTripper
    Level 1 (23 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2015 7:07 PM in response to RaceTripper

    RaceTripper wrote:

     

    Wake-on-LAN is not the problem with BTMM. I have a Mini. I allow the monitor to sleep but not the Mini itself. That doesn't matter for BTMM. If I'm not on the LAN where the Mini is located I cannot reach the Mini via BTMM.

     

    I don't think either of us was saying that Wake-on-LAN was the problem with BTMM; we were just conjecturing that the two issues might be related.

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