Can't connect to office computer from home

I've double checked the public IP for my office computer. Have made sure I'm entering IP, UN and PW correctly. ARD fails to verify my identity and I can't connect. I have done so in the past but ARD has always been finicky which seems strange. I'm using an Apple product to remote access between two apple computers. Both are updated to latest version of Sonoma OS. Reading some comments here I begin to wonder if ARD can reliably do this kind of remote access work or if it is only reliable if both computers are on the same network intra-office?


Can anyone help?

Mac mini (M2, 2023)

Posted on Oct 11, 2023 1:59 PM

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3 replies
Question marked as Helpful

Oct 12, 2023 11:49 AM in response to TChards

Something has possibly changed? Are you in control of your workplace's firewall? If not then check with your work's IT department to see if they've done something their end. I'm wondering if the remote connection is not being made because the local IP address handed out to your work computer is now different to what it was before, or they're using a segmented network and not facilitating VNC requests across the subnets.


". . . wonder if ARD can reliably do this kind of remote access work . . ."


ARD would not be my choice but it can work reliably as long as the remote location you're trying to connect to is set up correctly. If you're not the one doing that end of it then don't be surprised if you have problems.


". . . or if it is only reliable if both computers are on the same network intra-office?"


This is what ARD was designed to do and in my experience is the preferred way to use it. Having said that I've been using ARD for 18 years and it is not without its quirks and yes, its occasional unreliability. Apple have not fundamentally changed the way it works or addressed any of its oddness in all that time and seeing as they moved out of Enterprise capable software and hardware a long time ago I would be surprised if they address any of its issues any time soon.


My 2p.

Question marked as Helpful

Oct 13, 2023 4:53 AM in response to TChards

It may be something as simple as a forced reset - possibly due to internet connectivity issues - or software/firmware update to the router? Usually a forced reset would set everything back to defaults which would potentially wipe any bypass configurations you've configured in the firewall. I would also double/triple-check the fixed public IP address you lease from your ISP is what it's supposed to be (call them). It won't be the first time an ISP makes changes to such without letting you know first. I would also change the password you've set for the VNC configuration. If it's a password you set a long time ago and there has been software updates to the firewall it may need to be strengthened.

Can't connect to office computer from home

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