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Q: Apple Remote, AirPlay and Screen Sharing connections have stopped working

System:

iMac 27" (late 2012)*, i5 2.9 GHz, OS X 10.10.1, iTunes 12.0.1

MacBook Pro 15" (mid-2010), i7 2.66 GHz (mid-2010), OS X 10.10.1, iTunes 12.0.1

Apple TV (2nd gen.)*

iPhone 4S 64 GB, iOS 8.1

Time Capsule 3 TB*, firmware 7.7.3 (acting as wireless bridge)

3 x AirPort Express* (current model), firmware 7.6.4 (all connected to cable router via Ethernet)

Virgin Media-supplied cable modem/router

 

* Connected to the router via wired Ethernet.

 

Problem:

Since upgrading to Yosemite, the Remote app on my phone struggles to connect to the iTunes library on either Mac or to my Apple TV, and AirPlay usually fails to connect to or stream music to my AirPorts.   

 

When I open Remote, either none of the devices are visible, or only one or two are. When I select one, occasionally Remote will connect, but usually all that happens is that the device's icon becomes highlighted. Sometimes selecting a visible device will cause Remote to attempt to connect, and then tell me that the connection failed, after which the device is no longer visible in Remote.

 

iTunes on the Mac is frequently failing to connect to the AirPorts Express around the house. Sometimes it will connect (though it now often takes about 20-30 s to connect); more often it will time out. Most of the time, not all of the APs or the ATV are visible (and there appears to be no pattern to the availability of any device).

 

Finally, since Yosemite, neither Mac appears in the Shared section of the other Mac's Finder sidebar. Instead, a numbered duplicated of the local Mac appears as a Share whether the other Mac should be visible. As a result, Screen Sharing will only work if I launch it directly, and enter the LAN IP address of the other Mac. Even then the connection attempt times out on the majority of occasions.

 

Troubleshooting steps taken:

Verified and repaired file permissions on each Mac, both in normal and Recovery mode. (Result: no change.)

Renewed DHCP leases on my cable router. (Result: no change.)

Altered the sharing name of each Mac. (Result: each Mac temporarily appears correctly in the other Mac's Finder sidebar, then vanishes again.)

Turned off Screen Sharing and restarted the Mac before turning it back on. (Result: no change)

Turned off Wake for network access in Energy Saver preferences and restarted the Mac, as I have seen it suggested that this might cure problems with Bonjour sleep proxies for iTunes libraries. (Result: iTunes libraries became temporarily visible in Remote, and one successful connection before things stopped working again.)

Power cycled my cable modem, all AirPorts and Macs simultaneously with a few minutes of rest with the power off. (Result: no change.)

Turned Home Sharing off and on again in iTunes and on iPhone. (Result: sometimes Remote will then connect to a device successfully once, but then the problem returns.)

Used a different Apple ID for Home Sharing. (Result: Home Sharing is successfully activated, but same problems remain.)

Posted on Nov 20, 2014 3:33 AM