Can't get SMB File Sharing to work - MacOS Ventura 13.7.5

[GH1852]

Until a couple of months ago, file sharing was working well. The current situation - My laptop appears as an SMB network server on other Macs on my LAN in a Finder Window. From another Mac, dns-sd -B _smb._tcp shows my Ventura laptop as being an SMB server. dns-sd -L "Machine Name" _smb._tcp shows "can be reached at MacBookPro.local.:445 (interface 7). If I try to connect from the other Mac, and I choose to connect as a registered user, it refuses a bad username and password - expected behavior. But if I put in the correct username and password, I see "connection failed".

From VLC installed on iOS or Apple TV, the share is also seen, and I can login using the username and password for the Ventura laptop. I don't see "connection failed". I see "Empty Folder" and the current IP address of the Ventura laptop. Even though I have 2 shared folders at the moment. With read/write permissions on each, and those permissions applied to enclosed items.

I've tried toggling File Sharing off, rebooting, and turning it back on. I've tried it in Safe Boot mode. And I've tried it with a new user. I've also verified that smbd has full disk access and file and folder access. And I've tried toggling that. The folders that are shared on the laptop all say "Folder shared with File Sharing" if opened in Finder. MacOS Firewall is OFF.

I feel as if I've run out of sensible things to try.

 

[Slartibart]

A. you can e.g., check the file sharing logs via console to better understand what‘s going on.

B. By any chance the shared folder(s) are using custom icons? If so, remove these and try connecting. (to remove: select folder -> right click »Get Info« -> select left upper small custom icon -> "cut" it via menu bar)

C. what is the output from running smbutil statshares -a in the terminal?

 

[GH1852]

A. you can e.g., check the file sharing logs via console to better understand what‘s going on.

B. By any chance the shared folder(s) are using custom icons? If so, remove these and try connecting. (to remove: select folder -> right click »Get Info« -> select left upper small custom icon -> "cut" it via menu bar)

C. what is the output from running smbutil statshares -a in the terminal?

Output of smbutil statshares -a is suspicious, IMHO- looks like nothing is really being shared?:

% smbutil statshares -a

==================================================================================================
SHARE ATTRIBUTE TYPE VALUE
==================================================================================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have done some hunting in Console, filtering for the term smbd and smb. Nothing. Would something show up is system.log or launchd.log? The 2 folders DO have custom icons, but "CUT" is grayed out. I may have to stop sharing them to do the cutting.

 

[Slartibart]

yep, you have to stop sharing/eject the shares. then remove the custom icons.

I suggest after that to check /etc/nsmb.conf - and adjust the credentials there according to your needs (using e.g., nano in the terminal):

[default]

# Only use SMB2/SMB3
protocol_vers_map=6

# Prefere wired network connections
mc_prefer_wired=yes

# Disable spotlight
spotlight=no

# Use NTFS streams if supported
streams=yes

# Enable soft mount
soft=yes

# Disable signing - that seems to cause often problems
signing_required=no

 

[GH1852]

yep, you have to stop sharing/eject the shares. then remove the custom icons.

I suggest after that to check /etc/nsmb.conf - and adjust the credentials there according to your needs (using e.g., nano in the terminal):

[default]

# Only use SMB2/SMB3
protocol_vers_map=6

# Prefere wired network connections
mc_prefer_wired=yes

# Disable spotlight
spotlight=no

# Use NTFS streams if supported
streams=yes

# Enable soft mount
soft=yes

# Disable signing - that seems to cause often problems
signing_required=no

OK, I went into file sharing and, at least for the time being, chose a folder in my home folder that has no custom icon and added it to File Sharing, and deleted the two that I had been sharing that indeed had custom icons. And my current content of nsmb.conf is as follows:

[default]
# Only use SMB2/SMB3
protocol_vers_map=6

# Disable spotlight
spotlight=no

#Use NTFS streams if supported
streams=yes

#Enable soft mount
soft=yes

#Disable signing - that seems to often cause problems
signing required=no

I still have identical symptoms - another Mac on my LAN sees my laptop, and refuses "connect as" if I put it in a bad password, but upon putting the correct one, I see "connection failed". VLC on my Apple TV lets me connect, but all I see is the IP address of my laptop and "Empty Folder". And the folder I am sharing isn't empty.

However: If I attempt to Connect to Server from another Mac, and give the complete address of the shared folder, i.e. smb://IP address/shared folder, the share mounts. smb://IP address refuses. Web browsers on MacOS and iOS also work, if I type in smb://IP address/shared folder name.

But anything in Finder itself - that is, My name's MacBook Pro, is impossible. From another Mac or from VLC, attempting to connect to "My Name's MacBook Pro".

So my Mac IS sharing the folder. But the only way of accessing it currently is using a complete IP address.