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Apple Alerting Customers to Upcoming Discontinuation of Back to My Mac in macOS Mojave
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I use Screens from Edovia, very nice app.
https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/screens-4/id1224268771?mt=12
https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/screens-4/id1224268771?mt=12
No problem. You should really try it out. Very simple and super fast. Here are some screenshots taken on my iPad Mini. Running in Safari.
Just need to download a small agent on the remote machine and create an account which will enable you to manage several machines if needed
PCP is the NAT-PMP successor:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Control_Protocol
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This is what enterprises use, INCLUDING APPLE!
So as I understand it:
- You can automatically connect to another host on your own network using Screen Sharing. However, this has nothing to do with the BTMM use-case.
- You can also automatically connect from another network to a Mac on your home network by specifying your home network public IP (or dynamic DNS) and poking holes through your firewall (bad idea).
- You can connect from another network through your home NAT firewall by specifying your Apple ID instead of a hostname / IP address, but you'll have to have someone at home click the Accept button. (or run a Sikuli script to do it for you).
Yes, this seems like the approach they should have taken versus just killing it off.
I think you already know that there is no such alternative.
Now, that being said, BTTM didn’t work reliably for everyone. Routers had to support the underlying technologies. I’m sure Apple dealt with plenty of support headaches as a result of third party router firmware upgrades. When Apple offered their own routers, BTMM made more sense as a feature.
The other big issue, of course, is that most of Apple’s customers are on iOS these days and BTMM offers them nothing. Plus the only way to get back to your Mac was from another Mac. There’s not much value in that if you’re using a shared PC at a hotel business center.
Your a and b requests are more or less achievable with a VPN router that supports dynamic dns. Setup will require a bit more work, but once it’s up and running, you shouldn’t have to touch it. With dynamic dns, the only thing you will need to remember is your router’s hostname. Turn screen sharing on and you can now access your entire network from any device (so long as you have the VPN configured and connected).
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If your home router is a vpn router and you make a vpn connection, you don’t need to poke holes in your firewall. You make a connection to your router and you have full access to any device on your network. Screen share. Print. Access a NAS box. Whatever.
LOL, by that logic I guess they'll have to drop one (or some) of Mojaves features to get OS 10.15 out the door next year. I guess my bar for Apple is just set too high.
Thanks for the explanation of how BTMM works. I didn't realize that all traffic had to pass through Apple once the connection was established. That does seem like a lot of overhead. For all we know, Apple might be planning to introduce a new remote desktop service in iCloud that supports all of their devices. This would make more sense than trying to keep BTMM going. Or perhaps their usage data has shown them that very few people use BTMM, so why bother supporting it when plenty of third party solutions exist?
[doublepost=1534971920][/doublepost]Apple Giveth, and Apple taketh away, AT ANY TIME THEY DAMN CHOOSE.
Apple today began sending out notifications to customers letting them know that support for Back to My Mac is ending in macOS Mojave.
Back to My Mac was not present in the first developer beta of macOS Mojave and it has not been available in any subsequent beta, but many customers may have missed the news of its imminent sunsetting, which has now been confirmed by Apple.
Back to My Mac is a feature that is designed to allow Mac owners to connect to one Mac from another Mac for file transfers and screen sharing purposes. It lets users set up a network of Mac computers with two or more Macs, but it can be complicated to set up and use, which may be why Apple has decided to discontinue it in favor of simpler measures.
Apple is directing customers to a support document that outlines the changes coming to Back to My Mac, instructing them on how to transition to iCloud Drive, screen sharing, and Apple Remote Desktop.Apple's support document suggests customers can access all of their files across devices with iCloud Drive, operate other Macs with screen sharing, and manage Macs remotely with Apple Remote Desktop, software available from the Mac App Store for $80.
Many Back to My Mac users are likely to be unhappy with Apple's suggestion to transition to Apple Remote Desktop for remote management given its high price and the fact that it sees few updates, but there are other options like TeamViewer and LogMeIn.
Article Link: Apple Alerting Customers to Upcoming Discontinuation of Back to My Mac in macOS Mojave
"we noticed that you're not using the comma key enough, therefore we are removing it"
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I know plenty of people that rely on it, however, if it's not a new feature and they don't exactly tout it anymore, then nobody knows about it.. Like many AMAZING mac features, MANY people don't know about.
I don't think people here understand the new Apple. Apple determines they have an App that needs to go away and replace it with something else, so they neglect it for a few years, then cancel it, then wait a few years to see if they need to write a new version or not. This way they avoid 5+ years of development costs. My guess is that in 2022+ they will release a cloud based version. This way it becomes a keynote bullet point.
This is what your over cost, low functionality Apple purchase get you, so you should stop complaining. The only thing Apple cares about is whether or not your going to buy the new shinny thing, nothing else, they have no loyalty to customers and won't until people quit buying Apple products just so their friends will like them.
This is what your over cost, low functionality Apple purchase get you, so you should stop complaining. The only thing Apple cares about is whether or not your going to buy the new shinny thing, nothing else, they have no loyalty to customers and won't until people quit buying Apple products just so their friends will like them.
Can I access remote mac’s files with Teamviewer?
(I use BtmM mainly for file sharing...)
(I use BtmM mainly for file sharing...)
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Remember that Apple's target customers are teenagers. No teenagers are doing this so your out of luck. Apple decided that catering to actual computer users is not their thing. The only reason they release Macs these days is to avoid the bad press of canceling the Mac line completely. However, crippling them to the point of no one buying them is exactly the reason they will use to cancel the entire Mac line.
Oh and if you think developers will need them, think again, all of the development tools can run, or are easily capable of running, on linux. Apple converted all of their servers to linux a decade ago, you need to get the hint.
That's what I said, you need a separate computer or a special router setup for that. Difficult for many, impossible for many too. Maybe you don't control your router.
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Sounds like you should have one set up as a server if you're doing that. I've installed macOS Server on my Mac mini. It works great. I use the VPN service to get on my local network from elsewhere.
Does anyone know if this affects the feature where you can invite/request screen share using Messages?
I use that for family members often.
I use that for family members often.
you are absolutely bang on here ! Sooo.. I'll be making the move to DaVinci... getting PC's instead.. not that I want to.
It's probably time for change, our 8 trusty 2012 quad core Mac Mini's have had a great run. time to start afresh.
Are you from USA? Then you can try to issue a class action lawsuit.
"Back to my Mac" is outstanding technology. Backed by VPN with ease of mouse click and available everywhere. I use it for access two my Apple Time Capsules in different cities. I don't understand how to access these files later, buying some Linux-based hardware, connecting VPN on-demand channels and… err, even don't want to think in a such way!
I highly dislike what happens in modern IT world for the last several years…
15 years ago I switched to Apple because Windows was annoying me badly. 15 years later Apple is doing the same thing, not only just with macOS but with their entire line of Mac based products. While I have no inclination to go back to Microsoft and PCs, it doesn’t mean that I’m not considering other alternatives. Way to go Apple.
No, it doesn't effect that feature--in fact, that type of screen sharing (that Messages uses) is one of Apple's recommended alternatives.
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No, only the mDNS traffic goes through Apple. RFC 6281 explains BTMM. Figure 1 shows that the IPsec tunnel goes directly between endpoints--not through Apple. The mDNS information, however, is cached on Apple's servers. So link speed is a function of the two networks you're connecting, not Apple's servers (except perhaps for the initial link negotiation). Flakiness, however, can be caused by either of the two networks or Apple's servers. When Apple isn't caching the mDNS information properly, the routers on either end aren't forwarding information, or one of the Mac hosts isn't updating it's mDNS information, things start to break down.
The reason all the data doesn't have to go through Apple is that BTMM automatically performs port mapping for the IPsec tunnel on your router so long as that router supports either NAT-PMP or UPnP IGD.
Taking away BtMM, Apple offers only iCloud for file sharing?
How greedy is that?
Maybe next batch of macs have their system disks also in iCloud?
Oh, well,
Maybe this was coming when they axed their routers.
Tech.customer service is the biggest cost in ITC industry and before they could say that they support BtMM only with Apple’s routers and if they would support BtMM now, support should be able to help customers to tweak hundreds of different router models. Financially not possible. At least for Apple.
How greedy is that?
Maybe next batch of macs have their system disks also in iCloud?
Oh, well,
Maybe this was coming when they axed their routers.
Tech.customer service is the biggest cost in ITC industry and before they could say that they support BtMM only with Apple’s routers and if they would support BtMM now, support should be able to help customers to tweak hundreds of different router models. Financially not possible. At least for Apple.
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It is until you need to move past 200. If you need 250 you have to move to the $10 plan. I have 4 family members on my plan and we manage with 200 but are getting closer to that line. We will have no need for 2TB soon.
Apple is getting so greedy and yet Google just keeps delivering. I'll just go ahead and leave here (it's free BTW): remotedesktop.google.com
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remotedesktop.google.com enjoy