iChat screen sharing and video not working on MacBook but works on Mac pro

Have a look at TeamViewer its free http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/27332/teamviewer

Think it needs to be on both computers.

Hi,

Apple Remote Desktop is on each Mac as a Client.

As a matter of fact the Finder's/System Screen Sharing and iChat Screen Sharing both use the ARD engine.

For this reason in System Preferences > Sharing both Screen Sharing and Remote Management cannot be on at the same time.

The plain Screen Sharing app is invoked in the Finder > Go Menu > GO to Server and entering VNC:// and the IP of the other computer.

On a LAN this is just the IP.

For Long distance stuff it is the Public IP of the Buddy (The IP his IPS give him) and then his routing device has to Forward that port to the computer.

It does not involve an Audio chat like iChat does but you can use iChat if Audio chats work (or some other method)

As Defcom points out there are other solutions as well.

10:12 PM Sunday; February 5, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ralph and Tony,

First of all, thank you for getting back to me. I intend to try TeamViewer shortly as Tony suggested. But, I will also try what Ralph refers to as "plain Screen Sharing" as well. I may be a bit confused on one point, however. Ralph states that "Apple Remote Desktop is on each Mac as a Client." I am assuming that means IF you have downloaded this application? I could not find it as part of the Apple software that comes with Lion.

For what it is worth, I used FaceTime to create a video chat with the same person out of state who I have been asking to help me test iChat. It worked perfectly. Perhaps the iChat application and FaceTime are not to be compared but it does make me wonder why I can get the video chat to work on one and not the other.

To my simple way of thinking, this still points to an application issue with iChat or perhaps some interaction between iChat and Lion? And maybe even something having to do with adding the AOL servers to the mix.

Still waiting to see what the Apple engineers have to say now that we did the partition-related test. I'll let you know if I can get TeamViewer to work.

You will find the screen sharing app here, your hard drive > System > Library > CoreServices > Screen Sharing.app

Hi,

If you want to Use Apple Remote Desktop to control another Mac then you have to purchase the App.

The remote or distant Mac then has to have System Preferences > Sharing > Remote Management turned On and any incoming Apple Remote Desktop Data will trigger the engine/app/client part on that Mac.

The App is one folder deeper than the Screen Sharing App

Uploaded with Skitch!

For what it is worth, I used FaceTime to create a video chat with the same person out of state who I have been asking to help me test iChat. It worked perfectly. Perhaps the iChat application and FaceTime are not to be compared but it does make me wonder why I can get the video chat to work on one and not the other.

This does make it look more like iChat itself.

iChat Ports in table format

Note this is the iChat 4 and 5 Range.

Add port 5060 UDP for iChat 2 and 3 and extend the group of 10 to 16384-16403 (20 ports)

iChat 4 and 5 also uses an undeclared Random port to do the Screen Sharing part and works if you can and do use UPnP (Or Port Mapping Protocol) to open ports in your routing device.

This Apple Doc lists these ports for FaceTime

• 443 (TCP)
• 3478 through 3497 (UDP)
• 5223 (TCP)
• 16384 through 16387 (UDP)
• 16393 through 16402 (UDP)

The last two lines correspond to the larger group of 20 ports for iChat 3 and earlier with some overlap with the current Video/Audio ones in iChat 4, 5 and 6 (Last Line)

The line above that is a Jabber Server login port (normally)

Only the 3478 - 3497 ports are really outside of what iChat can use is connected to an iChat 3 user.

Ergo:- if FaceTime is getting is working then the firewall and the router are working.

Was the data capture done using This ?

/Applications/iChat.app/Contents/MacOS/iChat -errorLogLevel 7

(it gets pasted in to Terminal and it will then launch iChat (which should be quit before hand) and creates a log of doing so in Terminal).

8:57 PM Monday; February 6, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ralph,

To answer your question, the application the AppleCare person used was called Capture Data.

I appreciate your review of the ports that iChat and FaceTime apparently use. The more involved with this I get, the more I am coming to think it may be iChat after all.

One question for clarification on the screen-sharing alternatives you and Tony have suggested. He has suggested the Screen Sharing application and you have suggested going to "Servers" from the "Go" menu. I was wondering if you could clarify the difference between these two options? Thanks.

In the meantime, I hope to test TeamViewer and I'll let you know how this goes. I still want to try the other options you and Tony have mentioned, however.

Ralph and Tony,

Okay, we have tried TeamViewer and it works perfectly. I am waiting for Ralph to offer some clarification on the other two options the two of you have suggested. But the fact that TeamViewer works is yet more evidence that Apple has done something to result in the grief you have both shared with me on this issue. Of course, there still is the possibility that this may have something to do with AOL servers but I have my doubts.

Hi Gary,

Apple Remote Desktop as an App for every Mac (An CLient end version) is in the Core Services folder and then it's own Remote Management folder.

Access to it is by the purchased version of Apple Remote Desktop AND the option in System Preferences > Sharing > Remote Management being allowed.

This remote Management "Sharing" cannot be enabled at the same time the Screen Sharing is in the same System Preferences > Sharing list.

They do in fact both use the same ARD (Apple remote Desktop) engine.

I still list com.apple.ichatAgent.plist with a Modified Date shown as being in December (after I bought this computer and migrated a Leopard computer account to it)

The .plist shows the ARD option setting

Although I don't see the same items in the com.apple.IMAgent.plist (which is supposed to have replaced the ichatAgent one)

Back to the Screen Sharing App itself.

It is in Core Services and can be launched from there.

It is more common to launch it from the Finder's Go Menu > Go to Server and use VNC:// as the starting part.

Notes

Starting FTP:// will find any FTP server at the IP you put in it.

More common is to use AFP (Any Apple File Server) or SMB (Any Windows computer or Mac with the SMB option enabled in System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing > Advanced Button.

Most people use it to Browse their LAN to find computers that are not showing up in the Shares in the Finder for some reason.

SMB://192.68.0 (i.e. the router's range) .x where x is the IP number part for a computer within the LAN

As has been said the other way round you cannot have System Preferences > Sharing > Screen Sharing On if Remote Management is active (It will tell you if you try to set one and the other is active)

Actually Lion Allows you to "swap" to Remote Management but gives this warning for the move the other way

I hope that makes things clearer.

7:56 PM Tuesday; February 7, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ralph,

Thanks for the clarification. I have not yet tried the screen sharing app but will. In the meantime, I wanted to bring you up to date on an exchange I had with the AppleCare person. Basically, we did the following things to test iChat:

1. We connected my two computers with an ethernet cable and used bonjour to see if iChat would allow for screen sharing from one computer to the other and then reversed this. In both cases, iChat worked for screen sharing.

2. We disconnected the ethernet cable and used bonjour through my router. Again, iChat worked for screen sharing in both directions.

3. We then re-activated the AIM accounts for the two computers and tried to use iChat. It failed.

The Apple engineers are speculating that the problem is with my router. I think they are mistaken. I am now beginning to think the issue has to do with the connection to the AOL servers. I am thinking that perhaps we need to try another service and see if this makes any difference.

In the meantime, as I have already said earlier, we can use TeamViewer for screen sharing and FaceTime for video chats.

Just wanted to bring you up to date.

Noted.

7:28 PM Wednesday; February 8, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ralph and Tony,

Okay, this issue has been resolved and I wanted you to know what the source of the problem was. In short, it was the AOL servers. When we set up Jabber accounts, iChat worked perfectly. While I am certainly glad to get this behind me, it does raise a rather troubling question.

Why does this diagnostic process take so long? Despite the obvious complexity involved, there really were only a few major variables to consider. Yet, the time and effort to get to the root cause dragged everyone across a lot of landscape and it just seems to me that there has to be a better way to get to the bottom of this.

A good example might be the use of the so-called "test buddies." If this doesn't work, I would have thought Apple would have suggested testing the AOL servers between a computer they have with those entities, using an AIM account. Had they done this, we all would have been spending our time more productively--and much sooner.

Anyway, enough whinging about this. I just want both of you to know how much I appreciate the time and effort you have expended on this. The net result is not only that I have iChat working. It is also that you have given me alternatives to this that I most certainly will use at times.

A tip of the hat to you both.

Hi Gary

Glad to hear that it has been fixed, dont think i have came accross the AIM servers problem before.

Happy iChatting & screen sharing.

I have been watching this thread. It was great to see you guys work together. I agree, it shouldn't be this difficult Gary.

You say it is "fixed"/ Do you mean that you now know what the problem is? Or is it fixed?

I am having the same issues...

Also gald to hear all is well here as well.

Issues with AIM Servers that we have seen or know about.

1) Since iChat 4 offered the option to do an SSL option to the AIM servers we have known that iChat needs manually resetting if it gets dropped. (Nothing will make it do a Automatic Login)

Also the SSL server does not seem as stable as the regular server. This is probably due to the number of server they allocate to incoming/Login traffic.

Add to that the fact that it is more obvious when you get dropped.

2) Even back in iChat 2 (And since) there have been issues when the AIM Servers cannot seem to contact the Apple ones to check the passwords for @mac.com names (originally) and later MobileMe ones.

These can appear to be reacting differently as Apple runs them as two different servers/Lists.

2a) Apple are not the only people that AIM have agreements with where Passwords may need to be checked with a NON AOL/AIM server.

3) At one time AOL said a name was for "Life"

In about 2005 they started cleaning out old unused name and re-releasing them to be used again.

They did this at first leading up to Christmas then every 3 months.

What it entails is removing that Buddy Name from every Buddy List it is in. (i.e they maybe removing a Buddy from your List) Obviously the Buddy has been Off Line for some time and if you don't Display Off Line Buddies you may have forgotten about them.

This in turns causes a synch problem with all the AIM servers, the Buddy pic ones, the amount of servers they have running for backup, the ones that note who is On-Line and so on.

This could cause a worse case scenario where you couldn't login. At best it gave you an incomplete Buddy List.

For about 3 years this was quite intensive (every few months) but it seems to have disappeared now.

4) We know that if your end cuts the Internet Connection (or is cut) AIM resets whether you show as Logged in or not.

However the .plist for iChat thinks you are logged in (It has not Logged out) and this can cause problems the next time you try and login. (deleting the com.apple.ichat.AIM.plist normally sorts this)

Potentials (Never seen).

Excuse me whilst I explain something.

AIM call Buddies "Food"

"Food" is kept in "Feedbags"

In every day use you have two Feedbags that you use.

1) is the Buddy List as Screen Names only held at the AIM Servers.

2) Is the Address Book with the "First Name, Last Name" info.

Obviously both bits of info are in the Address Book but the app puts them together so you see real names

3) there is a third "Feedbag"

This is called Recent Buddies and whether you see it or not has been an option in iChat since iChat 4

It looks like a Group when you are using Groups.

It is held at the AIM Servers and you cannot alter it's contents.

It is a List of people/Screen Names that have had contact with you, but who are not actually in your Buddy List.

At one time your could delete the "group" in the Buddy List by using CMD and Click on the bar/header bit and then Backspace and confirming (iChat 3).

Using the AIM for Mac App you can also delete the group (it starts to build again but you tend not to see it in any App's login)

Issues not really the AIM servers

There is only one that I know of that fits in this category.

Parental Controls.

If you have a Non Admin Mac User Account on your Computer then it can have Parental Controls On if you wish.

This includes the option to Limit iChat and/or Mail.

Setting this immediately blocks all Buddies. They are flagged as such at the AIM server end.

Allowing one Buddy then changes that flagging to running an "Allow Specific People" list (although not listed as Blocked you cannot see these Buddies On line and they cannot see you)

As it is the Buddy List itself on the AIM server that get's flagged it will affect any iChat Account in your Admin (or non Parental Controls) Mac User if you use the same iChat Buddy List.

It would be "interesting" to know more about Apple's explanation of this.

8:33 PM Friday; February 10, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi Macsterguy,

Would you mind terribly if we asked you to start a new thread ?

This one was not Started by Gary and I believe the Original Poster probably unsubscribed themselves from the thread, however new posts do generate new emails which some people may not want.

You can reference/Link to this thread by posting it's URL.

Could you also give a summary of what you have tried and what OS and iChat Version you are using ?

8:43 PM Friday; February 10, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously