iPhone 12 Pro VLC SMBv1 Authentication for MacBook Air

[jennachaplin]

Re: VLC on iPhone. I just installed it but when I use the network connection to connect to my MacBook via wi-fi it goes to an 'SMBv1 Authentication required' panel and the correct user + password for my Mac does not work and there is no url generated in the browser on my Mac. I've tried searching for a solution and apart from a thread on VLC which did not help have found nothing. I also a bit wary of being asked to download another app (SMB) to resolve this issue as I believe that VLC is trustworthy (open source) but I'm not taking anything else on faith these days.

 

[barbu]

Is your Mac set to share any files?

 

[jennachaplin]

Thanks for replying to my question.
Yes, I have File Sharing turned on (although it is only showing the default Public folders - but I can change that). Also, I see this "Computers on your local network can access your computer at:
XXXXX-MacBook-Air.local"
on the file sharing panel so I wonder if that's needed and if so, how to do it.

 

[barbu]

Perhaps try connecting to your share with the Files app, then open the videos from there.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Nplayer is good at connecting to shares

 

[Slartibart]

iOS/iPadOS do not support SMB1. Which version of MacOS are you running? There are various apps for iOS/iPadOS which bring their on implementation of the old SMB1 protocol, if you’re looking just for a video player try Infuse on your iPhone- even the free version offers this… and much more like PiP, etc.

 

[jennachaplin]

Thanks for the responses so far. I am concerned only with finding and using the best music app for iPhone. Vox has problems with uploading and streaming and Onkyo HF stops playing with auto-lock so I thought I would try VLC (since I have it on my MacBook) but this ridiculous SMBv1 problem with uploading by wi-fi makes me want to delete it. Why doesn't the app itself give you some guidance as to how to deal with this? Why would VLC release it when this is a known issue? I guess I will contact VLC about this directly. What is wrong with the developers at these companies that they create apps that don't work as advertised? I work in software development so don't give me excuses about how difficult it is.

 

[Slartibart]

Thanks for the responses so far. I am concerned only with finding and using the best music app for iPhone. Vox has problems with uploading and streaming and Onkyo HF stops playing with auto-lock so I thought I would try VLC (since I have it on my MacBook) but this ridiculous SMBv1 problem with uploading by wi-fi makes me want to delete it. Why doesn't the app itself give you some guidance as to how to deal with this? Why would VLC release it when this is a known issue? I guess I will contact VLC about this directly. What is wrong with the developers at these companies that they create apps that don't work as advertised? I work in software development so don't give me excuses about how difficult it is.

Hm, AFAIK vlc on iOS/iPadOS uses the system API/frame works to access network volumes. There is no support for SMBv1 on iOS/iPadOS. So again, which version of MacOS are you running?

 

[jennachaplin]

I am on Big Sur 11.6. So, surely therefore VLC know that there is no support for SMBv1 - so why is it asking for authentication when I try to connect to the MacBook? And, in case it's relevant, I'm on iOS 15.0 (just updated yesterday, before usingi VLC). And, OMG, there's already a 15.0.1 because they didn't fix all the bugs! I'll do the update overnight - it always takes way longer than they say it will.

 

[Slartibart]

Make sure you have the latest version VLC for iOS/iPadOS, as well as Big Sur. On your Mac bring up "System Preferences" and tap on "Sharing"(add the folder you want to share if its not just the Public-folder of the user you want to use).

Tap "File Sharing" to uncheck it wait a couple of seconds then tap it again to re-enable it.

Now try to connect again with VLC.

If that doesn't work try the next step.



On your Mac bring up "System Preferences" and tap on "Security & Privacy" then tap Tap "Privacy" and then select "Full Disk Access" from the list on the left.

Tap "smbd" to uncheck it, wait a couple of seconds then tap it again to re-enable it.

Now try to connect again with VLC.

 

[jennachaplin]

Just a quick note to say thanks a lot for your help. I will have to try this later today as I've got a ton of stuff to do on this Saturday morning in Canada.

 

[jennachaplin]

Hi again. So the first time I tried your suggestions, Slartibart, doing both steps, it was a little different, it went on to the connection step but the little orange clock icon kept on going round and round and round..... for 10 mins. So I restarted the iPhone, restarted the MacBook, ensuring that the VPN was off. Removed and re-installed VLC for Mobile from the App store and tried again. First time I got the SMBv1 again. Did this all again and still SMBv1. The odd thing is that the removed/ replaced app seems to have remembered the 2 connection settings I entered originally (one with user and password, the other with that long file sharing name and password) and I can't get rid of them as maybe that is now causing the problem...(you would think that VLC would allow me to clear or reset them?). Don't know how to make this image smaller.

Sorry, very large image - screen capture from phone. If only Onkyo would ignore the lock screen I would give up on VLC and just use that. I paid the extra $ and it plays my hi-res 96/24 files really well.

 

[Slartibart]

can you just check with Infuse wether it works with a different app?

 

[jennachaplin]

Infuse is a video player (that's what I see when I click on your link). I am not interested in a video player. I want something that plays the hi-res music files that I own (not iTunes or any other 3rd party). I want something that just works without all this stupid SMBv1 nonsense. The only problem with Onkyo HF is that it won't continue when auto-lock screen comes on. Otherwise, if it worked as it should, then I would not be wasting so much time trying to find something that does work. The alternative is to use a DAP but I just don't want to spend a huge pile of cash on one of those yet. I could just give up on all this and accept that I have to remember to turn auto-lock off when using Onkyo and remember to turn it back on when I leave the house. Sigh. I can't believe that there isn't a simple app out there that plays hi-res music without any problems or all the extraneous crap that the developers try to load onto it.

 

[Slartibart]

I understood that you want to play audio - my suggestion to try infuse is related to try wether a connection via smb is possible.

 

[jennachaplin]

Sure, fair enough, and I appreciate you taking the time to try to help me. I really do. So, since, oddly enough, when I use AirDrop, it does not give me the option of placing the file in VLC, I decided to connect my iPhone to my Mac with a cable (as that works faster than AirDrop with Onkyo anyway).. and so, finally, I can drag my music folder into the VLC folder in iPhone / Files in Finder... I turned on auto-lock to 30 seconds, started the album, put the phone down and let it lock, and amazingly, it continues to play all the tracks without stopping like Onkyo does. So....PROBLEM SOLVED... although I wish it would have worked simply on wi-fi, I don't mind finding my cable and connecting the phone to the Mac. That's good enough for me. Thank you again for your help; you are real ambassador for the quality of this forum and I will be back for more.

 

[Slartibart]

you’re welcome. Nice that you found a solution for yourself. ?

 

[jennachaplin]

Hey! Guess what, I did it. Here's the solution. In File Sharing, click Options and select the account to allow sharing. It will prompt you for the login password. Then, when SMBv1 Auth comes up on the iPhone VLC app, enter your username and password. I did that and can now see the shared folders on my MacBook through VLC on my iPhone.
My main complaint now is why isn't that info available at VLC - e.g. in FAQ? Maybe I'll let them know when I have some time.

 

[barbu]

Hey! Guess what, I did it. Here's the solution. In File Sharing, click Options and select the account to allow sharing. It will prompt you for the login password. Then, when SMBv1 Auth comes up on the iPhone VLC app, enter your username and password. I did that and can now see the shared folders on my MacBook through VLC on my iPhone.
My main complaint now is why isn't that info available at VLC - e.g. in FAQ? Maybe I'll let them know when I have some time.

VLC app has no way of knowing that the share isn’t configured correctly. All it can do is try to connect.

 

[jennachaplin]

Hi barbu. I'm talking about VLC's website and FAQ or possibly any Help info available in the app. There is a forum for this topic on VLC but VLC themsleves have not posted any helpful info. In my opinion, they should do this to help people, not just ignore them. If you work for VLC, please pass this on.

 

[barbu]

Hi barbu. I'm talking about VLC's website and FAQ or possibly any Help info available in the app. There is a forum for this topic on VLC but VLC themsleves have not posted any helpful info. In my opinion, they should do this to help people, not just ignore them. If you work for VLC, please pass this on.

I recommend getting involved with the project then. No one works there, it’s not a company. It’s an open source community and I’m sure they would welcome the help with the documentation.

 

[jennachaplin]

Yes, thank you barbu, that is correct. I will look into it but my I.T. job doesn't leave me much free time for volunteer work. I have already posted my solution on the forum.