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macOS Screen Share not working if FileVault is enabled

Greetings to all the Community 

Is there anyone that can confirm the following behaviour on his/her MacBook Air M1 ?

From MacOS Big Sur 11.6.2 and on, the embedded Screen Share tool does not work if FileVault AND Firewall are both enabled.

The only way to have Screen Share working is turn off the Firewall if FileVault is enabled OR disable FileVault.

This thing is annoying me because Screen Share worked fine on my previous MacBook Air Intel based.

If you decide to have a try, please remember to wait for FileVault to complete the encryption/decryption and reboot before test.

Thank you


PS: Apple support has been already contacted but was not able to provide a solution

Posted on Feb 10, 2022 2:20 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 14, 2022 11:48 AM

Thank you both for you support.

Responding to your question here there is list of answers and additional info.

One more important info I did not provide in my first post is that doing the opposite, meaning accessing the MacBook Air Intel from the M1 works like a charme, as well as the file sharing works from both computers (directions).


I'm using my home network.

Apple Support page If you can’t share Mac computer screens - Apple Support did not help.

M1 MacBook Air is the host., and I'm trying to connect to M1 using an Intel MacBook Air (2019).

Please don't be mislead by the fact the M1 has Monterey 12.2.1 because when I discovered the issue both Macs had the same macOS, Big Sur 11.6.3. The M1 now has Monterey simply because, a few days ago, Apple Support asked me to update the Mac to the latest OS in the attempt to solve the issue, attempt that did not solve anything.


On both MacBooks the configurations are the same (I'm posting the screen shot from only 1 Mac), as follows:


The shared services that is Screen Sharing:


The FileVault status that is enabled:


The Firewall status that is enabled:


The Firewall options that show how Screen Sharing is allowed:

During the connection attempt I see


and the connection attempt ends with


I think that a deeper analysis is required like looking at some logs and/or verify the list of firewall allowed services/applications/ports that seems is not taken in count by the firewall itself but only on the M1.


Indeed this M1 is a very huge step forward but seems there are some issues, like for the keyboard backlight that turns on only after the login.


Thank you

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 14, 2022 11:48 AM in response to Encryptor5000

Thank you both for you support.

Responding to your question here there is list of answers and additional info.

One more important info I did not provide in my first post is that doing the opposite, meaning accessing the MacBook Air Intel from the M1 works like a charme, as well as the file sharing works from both computers (directions).


I'm using my home network.

Apple Support page If you can’t share Mac computer screens - Apple Support did not help.

M1 MacBook Air is the host., and I'm trying to connect to M1 using an Intel MacBook Air (2019).

Please don't be mislead by the fact the M1 has Monterey 12.2.1 because when I discovered the issue both Macs had the same macOS, Big Sur 11.6.3. The M1 now has Monterey simply because, a few days ago, Apple Support asked me to update the Mac to the latest OS in the attempt to solve the issue, attempt that did not solve anything.


On both MacBooks the configurations are the same (I'm posting the screen shot from only 1 Mac), as follows:


The shared services that is Screen Sharing:


The FileVault status that is enabled:


The Firewall status that is enabled:


The Firewall options that show how Screen Sharing is allowed:

During the connection attempt I see


and the connection attempt ends with


I think that a deeper analysis is required like looking at some logs and/or verify the list of firewall allowed services/applications/ports that seems is not taken in count by the firewall itself but only on the M1.


Indeed this M1 is a very huge step forward but seems there are some issues, like for the keyboard backlight that turns on only after the login.


Thank you

Reply

Feb 21, 2022 4:52 AM in response to KitCarson62

Hello community members

Just got the confirmation from L2 Apple support that this behaviour is by design.

In summary, a configuration based on a Mac with Apple Silicon having FileVault and Firewall active prevents any Intel based machine to access the Mac using the embedded "Share Screen" feature.

The only way to have "Share Screen" working is disable FileVault or Firewall.

At the opposite, there are no issues accessing the Intel based Mac using the one with Apple Silicon.

To me this explanation looks a lot strange, also because "File sharing" is working 🤨 ....


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Feb 11, 2022 3:37 PM in response to KitCarson62

Hello KitCarson62,


Thanks for reaching out using Apple Support Communities!

We understand you're not able to share the screen of your Mac when FileVault and the firewall are both enabled.


To learn more, do you see any error messages when you encounter the issue?

Can you confirm how you are attempting to share your screen?

Are you using Remote Desktop with these steps: Enable remote management for Remote Desktop - Apple Support

Or are you using Messages using: Share screens using Messages on Mac - Apple Support

Or, is this the screen sharing method you've tried? Share the screen of another Mac


This page has some troubleshooting: If you can’t share Mac computer screens


You can also make sure you're using the latest macOS with these steps to Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support

We hope this helps to resolve the screen sharing issue.

Cheers!

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Feb 14, 2022 9:46 AM in response to KitCarson62

Hello KitCarson62,


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities!

We understand the error indicates the connection failed for a remote computer or firewall issue.


Have you been able to verify your firewall settings are correct?

Are you using your home network to connect the computers, or are you using a work/school connection?

Were you able to complete all of these steps on this Apple Support page If you can’t share Mac computer screens - Apple Support


We hope these steps can better isolate and resolve the issue so you can share screens with your Mac.

Cheers!

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Feb 14, 2022 9:58 AM in response to KitCarson62

Hi KitCarson62,


Just to confirm:


  • Is the M1 MacBook Air acting as the host, or is it trying to connect to another Mac? If it's trying to connect to another Mac, what year and model is that Mac? What settings are configured on it for FileVault and the Firewall?


  • Are you only experiencing this behaviour in macOS Big Sur? Or does it also apply to macOS Monterey?


  • What Firewall settings do you have enabled on your M1 MacBook Air? To find out, go to System Preferences -> Security and Privacy -> Firewall -> Firewall Options.
Reply

Feb 12, 2022 2:37 AM in response to justin_900

Hello

I'm using the third method.

After some tens of seconds where there is a message saying "Connecting to ..." the attempts ends with the following error "Connection failed to xxxxxxx" and again below in the same message "Unable to communicate with xxxxx. Make sure the remote computer is available and the firewall is not blocking screen sharing."

This is all

Thank you for any confirmation this is a common problem and/or how to fix it.

I would like to have FileVault and the Firewall both turned on.


Reply

Feb 15, 2022 8:54 AM in response to KitCarson62

An additional info for those want help and have a better macOS knowledge than mine.

To avoid any doubt about other software could cause the issue I installed a fresh and clean macOS on an external SSD without any special customisation (ie: no iCloud account set) and used it for testing. Of course the tests confirmed the issue.

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macOS Screen Share not working if FileVault is enabled

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