How to Access and Control Mac Remotely For Any Device

admin, How To , February 6th, 2023 , 0

Remote working has become a thing of today’s digital era, especially after the world got hit by the pandemic. It helps us maintain a work-life balance where we can improve our overall productivity with a more flexible approach. Remote working gives us the liberty to work from anywhere and prioritize important tasks with spontaneity.

So, just like any other device, you can also control your Mac remotely. Yes, you heard that right! You can easily control your Mac remotely from any device and access your files and other data.

In this post, we have listed a complete guide on how to access Mac remotely from another device.

Let’s get started.

What is Remote Desktop Connection?

Remote Desktop Connection on a Mac is a feature that allows you to remotely access and control another computer over the internet. This can be useful for accessing a work computer from home or accessing a home computer while traveling.

With Remote Desktop Connection, you can use your Mac to connect to another computer running Windows. Then you access its applications, files, and resources as if you were physically in front of that computer.

But how to access your Mac remotely while you’re away from your device? Let’s find out!

Also read: How To Allow Pop-Ups on Mac or Unblock Them

How to Access your Mac Remotely?

1. Via Remote Login

To enable remote login on your Mac, follow these quick steps:

Step 1: Tap on the Apple icon placed on the top menu bar and select “System Preferences”. Tap on “Sharing”.

Step 2: Check on the “Remote Login” option in the Sharing Panel.

Step 3: Once remote login is enabled, select the “Allow access to:” option and tap on “All Users”.

If you want only selected users to access your Mac remotely, tap on the “Allow access to:” and select the “Only these users” option. Choose the users or groups that you want to have remote access to on your Mac. You can also tap on the “+” icon to add more users to this list.

Step 4: Now, to connect to your Mac from another computer, you will need the IP address or hostname of your Mac. You can find this information in the Sharing panel under the Remote Login section. Make a quick note of this information as you may need it to access your Mac remotely.

You can use the Remote Desktop Client, Microsoft Remote Desktop app, or any other Remote Desktop software to access your Mac remotely. You simply need to enter the IP address of your Mac to connect to your device.

NOTE: While allowing remote access on your Mac, your device gets more exposed to risks of data loss. Hence, make sure that your Mac is installed with the latest macOS update and security patches that reduce any potential security threats.

Also read: How to Reduce PDF File Size on Mac

2. Screen Sharing

Screen Sharing is another useful way to access and control your Mac remotely. It is a built-in screen-sharing feature that allows you to access your Mac from another device on the same network. Here’s how you can use the Screen Sharing feature on macOS:

Step 1: Tap on the Apple icon placed on the top menu bar and select “System Preferences”. Select “Sharing”.

Step 2: Check on the “Enable Screen Sharing” option in the Sharing Panel.

Step 3: Once screen sharing is enabled on your device, you can easily access your Mac from another device on the same network. Make a quick note of your Mac’s IP address and hostname and keep it safe.

Step 4: On the other device, launch Finder> Go. Select “Connect to Server”.

Step 5: Enter the IP address and hostname of your Mac, and hit the “Connect” button to start sharing screens.

Step 6: Once you are connected, you can control the remote Mac as if you were sitting in front of it. You can access files, run applications, and control the mouse and keyboard.

3. Via Terminal

Yes, you also use Mac’s Terminal app to enable remote login on your Mac. To do so, you can use the SSH (Secure Shell) command. SSH is a dedicated command-line tool used to access and control your Mac remotely. Here’s how you can remote log in to Mac using the Terminal app:

Step 1: Head on to the Applications> Utilities folder and open the Terminal app.

Step 2: The standard format of the SSH command goes like this:

ssh username @ remote-mac-address

Step 3: You simply need to replace the “Username” with your Mac’s username and enter your Mac’s IP address after the “@”.

Step 4: Enter the username and password of the target device when prompted. And that’s it.. Once you are logged in, you can run commands on the remote computer and even transfer files between your Mac and the remote computer using the secure shell protocol.

Also read: How To Password Protect Folder on Mac

Conclusion

This wraps up our guide on how to access and control Mac remotely from another device. You can use any of the above-listed methods to control your Mac remotely from any other device. Just make sure that your Mac is installed with the latest macOS update and security patches so that you can share your files between devices without any potential risks.

Which method do you use to connect to your Mac remotely? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box!