has anyone used this app called Screens, i have a few questions about it

[mrgreeneyes]

i cant seem to be able to connect to my mac when i am away from home. it seems to only work when i am home and connected to wifi.

is there a better colution to remotely connect to my mac? i have tried Anydesk, i dont like that fact that i can't save my connected device, i have to remember my ID, i have tried teamviewer, i dont like that i have to have the app running on my mac in the dock.

 

[Mike Boreham]

i cant seem to be able to connect to my mac when i am away from home. it seems to only work when i am home and connected to wifi.

is there a better colution to remotely connect to my mac? i have tried Anydesk, i dont like that fact that i can't save my connected device, i have to remember my ID, i have tried teamviewer, i dont like that i have to have the app running on my mac in the dock.

Yes I use Screens and love it. Tried TeamViewer, VNC, Jump and like it best.
It works fine away from my local network.
Don't know what to suggest, it will prob be a setting somewhere, so keep trying!
EDIT I assume you have the complementary Screens Connect installed?

 

[mrgreeneyes]

Yes I use Screens and love it. Tried TeamViewer, VNC, Jump and like it best.
It works fine away from my local network.
Don't know what to suggest, it will prob be a setting somewhere, so keep trying!
EDIT I assume you have the complementary Screens Connect installed?

how did you setup screens to work remotely?
did you have to create a connection and use your ip address?

i tried my external ip address and it wont connect.

 

[chrfr]

how did you setup screens to work remotely?
did you have to create a connection and use your ip address?

i tried my external ip address and it wont connect.

The Screens Connect client needs to be running on your Mac at home, and signed into your Screens account. This will then handle the access for you, and you won’t need to know your home IP address.

Screens Connect - Make your computer reachable from anywhere - Edovia

Screens Connect lets you connect back to your Mac or Windows PC from wherever you are in the world.

edovia.com

 

[mrgreeneyes]

The Screens Connect client needs to be running on your Mac at home, and signed into your Screens account. This will then handle the access for you, and you won’t need to know your home IP address.

Screens Connect - Make your computer reachable from anywhere - Edovia

Screens Connect lets you connect back to your Mac or Windows PC from wherever you are in the world.

edovia.com

I have the screens connect app running in my Mac, when I am on my home network I can connect to my Mac and see it and control it, but I can’t when I am away from home.

 

[chrfr]

I have the screens connect app running in my Mac, when I am on my home network I can connect to my Mac and see it and control it, but I can’t when I am away from home.

Are you signed into the same Screens account on both your home and remote computer? The Screens Connect app has some diagnostic features to show if it’s working as it should.

 

[Mike Boreham]

how did you setup screens to work remotely?
did you have to create a connection and use your ip address?

i tried my external ip address and it wont connect.

I can't add to what @chrfr has said. It was straightforward and I didn't have to do anything like manually entering IP.

 

[mrgreeneyes]

Are you signed into the same Screens account on both your home and remote computer? The Screens Connect app has some diagnostic features to show if it’s working as it should.

yes i am signed into the screens connect app on my mac and iphone.

 

[Apple_Robert]

yes i am signed into the screens connect app on my mac and iphone.

More than likely, your router is blocking access. I have the same problem with the AT&T Uverse router. I use JumpDesktop asI find it faster, more fluid, and never gives me trouble connecting.

 

[jdb8167]

Your internet router needs to support inbound mapping of ports for screens to work. Most routers can do this automatically but some require manually setting inbound mapping of ports. Every router is different so you will have look at the manual.

I have started using a 5G access point from T-Mobile recently and it doesn’t support any inbound mapping. Not automatically nor manually. To solve this I started using Tailscale. It works great for me and I have access to my local network again when I’m away from home.

 

[Mike Boreham]

More than likely, your router is blocking access. I have the same problem with the AT&T Uverse router. I use JumpDesktop asI find it faster, more fluid, and never gives me trouble connecting.

I tried JumpDesktop and liked it except for this problem...which doesn't seem to be a common complaint so maybe won't apply to the OP.

 

[mrgreeneyes]

I tried JumpDesktop and liked it except for this problem...which doesn't seem to be a common complaint so maybe won't apply to the OP.

Thanks I’ll give jumpdesktop a try, I wish it wasn’t $20.00 for it though.

 

[mrgreeneyes]

Your internet router needs to support inbound mapping of ports for screens to work. Most routers can do this automatically but some require manually setting inbound mapping of ports. Every router is different so you will have look at the manual.

I have started using a 5G access point from T-Mobile recently and it doesn’t support any inbound mapping. Not automatically nor manually. To solve this I started using Tailscale. It works great for me and I have access to my local network again when I’m away from home.

Is tailscale basically a VPN?

 

[jdb8167]

Is tailscale basically a VPN?

Yes but a very sophisticated one that gives you access to your network with nearly no configuration. It’s brilliant software. And free for reasonable personal use.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Just as an update to this thread, though I expect the OP has moved on by now. I recently changed my router to a Linksys AX4200, and I can't get Screens to work outside my local network, same as the OP. UpNp is enabled in the Linksys but Screens Connect keeps reporting "Port mapping failed".

I know in theory I could use the manual port method, but it seems simpler to use Jump Desktop which works away from my local network. TeamViewer also works. I like the screen image quality more with Screens as previously.

In fact Jump Desktop and Teamviewer both work from remote location with UpNp turned off in Linksys.