connection failed on home network between macbook pro and mac mini

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connection failed on home network between macbook pro and mac mini

Hi. I have a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2012 Mac mini. I've had them connected on my home network for some time, but now for some reason they refuse to connect. I'm trying to reach my Mac mini from the MacBook Pro on wifi, but I get a connection failed message. The path bar shows the connection, but the window is completely blank. I sometimes shut both computers down for the night, and start them up again when needed. The Mac mini is basically a media server with LOTS of storage, so it also gets to store some other non media stuff there's no room for on the MacBook Pro.

Any ideas what's going on? Thanks for any suggestions that might help!!

-- VikingShips

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Feb 23, 2023 8:14 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Lissy_12

Community Specialist

Feb 24, 2023 2:54 PM in response to VikingShips!

Hi VikingShips!,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! To help isolate the issue you'll want to check a few setting. First, if you go to Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Network in the sidebar, from here choose Firewall on the right. If Firewall is turned on, click "Options to see how it's configured". To changed these settings see the following guide:

Change Firewall settings on Mac

Additionally, if you're using more than one router, make sure that the devices are connected to the same router. The same if using a guest network or a Virtual Private Network (VPN), keep all devices on that VPN, or disconnect all devices from the VPN.

Hope this helps!

Have a great day.

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Answer 2

VikingShips! Author

Level 1

32 points

Feb 25, 2023 3:22 AM in response to Lissy_12

Hi, Thanks for your response. I tried checking all that, with no satisfaction... What I did find to work was to go back to the Mac mini and re do some of the sharing settings. I think it must have done an OS update, and I had reformatted my external drive, but that shouldn't really have changed the sharing settings on the main storage. I added my Home Folder to sharing, in addition to Administrative and main user permissions to that folder, in addition to the main storage unit in sharing. I still cannot see the main drive as I could before, but I can now access all the files I need, as they are in my home folder there.

I should probably add that both my MacBook Pro and the Mac mini are running up to date versions of Ventura. Yeah, I know, the Mac mini shouldn't be able to do so, but there are ways around it available on the web... The same OS on both computers makes everything work together more smoothly.

I can access my files once again, which was my goal, even if it appears the main HDD is no longer accessible as it was before. Moot point, it seems.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions!! Hope this experience helps someone else in a similar situation.

VikingShips!

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Answer 3

Feb 25, 2023 11:20 AM in response to VikingShips!

VikingShips, You're welcome! Glad we could help.

Please do not hesitate to reach back out to us if you have questions or need any additional support. Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Cheers!

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connection failed on home network between macbook pro and mac mini

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