Back to My Mac: 2 questions

Question 1: B2MM works fine locally, but I would like to use it to access my office Mac. I understand that specific ports are used for this software (presumably using vnc:// protocol). I have a lot of port blocking set on my router for obvious reasons; which port(s) need to be open to make this work?
Question 2: Can I use B2MM to access a Windows XP machine running some sort of VNC client? I don't know from Windows, but if someone can help me with the painful process of making this work, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks
Justin Harlow

You need a upnp compatible router for it work. The computer will tell the router which port to open and to what machine to forward the traffic to. You may try to open ports manually but most routers have upnp so you should be fine. If not, according to Apple:
When signing into MobileMe and enabling BTMM, TCP port 443 is used. For connections between machines, BTMM typically uses UDP port 4500.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2084?viewlocale=en_US
You won't be able to use the finder "share screen" to view a Windows VNC server but there are plenty of nice and free VNC client out there.

Similar Messages

Basic Back to My Mac questions

1. Can I use Back to My Mac to log into my dad's Mac to help him when he questions or Mac issues?
2. Is the idea behind this to be able to retrieve a file off your other Mac when you are away from it? If so, can I use an iPhone or iPad to access files on my Mac?
Thanks.

Yes set up a second admin acount for you and with your apple ID and it works fine as long as you set up sharing corectly enabaling remote managemnt,file sharing and screen sharing and if your going to use a third party app load the helper app needed by the app on your dads Mac. If you would like to hide the second Admin account look here: http://www.hcsonline.com/support/white-papers/137-how-to-create-a-hidden-user-ac count I did this for my mom and it works great.

Back to my mac question

Ok so i've been reading up on the boards about this for a while, but i only had a chance to really start messing with it last night. However I am still bit confused about few things. So i guess I need help from somebody who got this thing to work and knows the ins and outs.
My set up is as following. intel core duo iMac, and MacBook Pro, connected via airport extreme. I've went into airport utility and enabled NAT. Both computers are logging into the same .mac account and back to my mac is enabled.
As you can guess, the computers are not seeing each other. They only see each other through local network but not back to my mac.
If anyone can help me out here I would appreciate it very much.
Thanks

Thanks. Specifically I just wanted to know if the reason she was able to take a photograph of the thief was by using Back to My Mac to take the photo. Can someone just answer that part yes or no? I realized from reading the news article that BMM was used by the laptop owner to access her computer and verify that the thief was online. I only was asking you guys if Back to My Mac is also the means of how she was able to snap the photo and how she got the photos remotely to send to the police. Can someone just verify yes or no about whether BMM can be used to snap photos remotely? I'll read the link to the extra detail soon.
*I only currently have a couple of desktop computers so I'm not yet familiar with what is involved in snapping a photo using one's laptop's built-in camera, let alone doing it remotely. I just wanted to get a general understanding about this; I assume it must be a quick and easy thing to do probably using software built into Leopard.

Back to my Mac, iDisk Questions

Hi, I have my iMac since Sept.07 and got a Macbook Air yesterday. Love every minute of it.
Today I set up my MBA for access to my iMac both through wireless at home and through Back to my Mac when out. Both work.
However, I have never used iDisk. If I have the option of using Back to my Mac, why would i need iDisk? As for iDisk, I'm assuming that this is space I have on my .Mac account, so would I be putting stuff in there that I might want to access through my .Mac account?
Thanks

And while BBTM works for you now, there may be times and places that, due to the way one of your traveling computers connects to the internet, BBTM won't work for you.
In that case, if the file was on your iDisk, you'd be able to get it regardless of how your computer is connected to the net.
Your iDisk can be used for lots of things, but I usually find the download times so slow as to not really be worth it.

Back to My Mac not working-a diagnosis and a solution

Hello all,
I own a small business and relied on Back to My Mac while traveling. I have had connection issues with BTMM since MobileMe was discontinued. I have found a solution but it is not an Apple solution. Skip to the end if you'd like the straight dope.
FYI: I have exhausted all possible Apple-centric solutions, to the best of my knowledge. This was verified over the phone during an extensive troubleshooting session with a senior Apple specialist. All Macs and OS involved are optimized (in theory) to work with Back to My Mac. The appropriate file sharing options were checked. Users had appropriate access privileges. I have a valid MobileMe ID that has transferred over smoothly to iCloud. Firewall settings were not the issue.
But before we go further, if you are having BTMM connectivity issues, you might want to examine this thread:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4071540
And see if it does the trick for you. It seems to have worked for a lot of people. But if it doesn't, please read on.
I have an iMac at my office that I connect to. I have a MacBook that I use to make the remote connections. Before MobileMe was discontinued, I read all support docs on how to make the transition to iCloud. Nevertheless, once MobileMe was discontinued, I began to have BTMM connection issues. My Macbook could "see" my iMac, and vice versa, but once connection was attempted, either through "Share Screen" or "Connect As…", the status bar would run indefinitely and no connection would complete.
First, I tried the Keychain solution indicated above. No dice.
Then I saw the System Preferences>iCloud message that Back to My Mac required NAT Port Mapping and/or Universal Plug and Play settings on my router. I have an old Linksys router, and I was able to upgrade its settings to UP&P, but not to NAT Port Mapping. The situation did not improve.
I went to an Apple Store, spoke with a pair of salespeople who informed me that the problem would most likely be solved by replacing my old router with Airport Extreme, which would automatically upgrade my network to the necessary UP&P and NAT-PM protocols, and if any issues existed after that, they would probably be firewall-related, which I could either fix on my own or talk to an Apple person about.
After installing Airport Extreme, the situation did not improve, and I called Apple Support. I entered the serial number into the web page, and was informed that I was not qualified for tech support because my warranty had expired, even though I had made the purchase the previous evening. I checked the option that indicated that I thought this was in error and that I was in fact qualified, and ten minutes later, I received a phone call from Apple.
At first, I was on the line with a Airport Extreme specialist, who ran down the Airport Utility checklist. With my wife at the Macbook at home, and myself in my office at the iMac and on the phone with the Apple specialist, the troubleshooting began. Once it was apparent that nothing was working, I was transferred to a "senior" specialist who indeed knew everything under the sun about networking and Back to My Mac, at least as far as I could tell. We checked various settings on all devices, Airport configurations, iCloud account validity, my network's firewall settings, etc.
Finally, the specialist suggested we check the settings on my home router, which was supplied by my ISP and not an Apple device. I asked him why. He said that if we enabled UP&P and NAT-PM on my home router, that would probably help make the connection. I informed him that while that might be a short-term fix, I travel as part of my job and need to make remote connections to my office, often from places where I have no control over the router settings. He informed me that because of those "variables" I might very well continue to experience connection issues, and that in some locations I would be able to connect, and some, not.
On the heels of all the time and money spent thus far, I was in disbelief. We spent some more time affirming beyond question that he was actually telling me what I thought he was telling me, and I cordially thanked him for his time and we ended the phone support session.
THE STRAIGHT DOPE: I learned from a senior Apple specialist that network and router settings not only have to be just right at the server location but *also* the remote location in order for Back to My Mac to work. Simply having an iCloud ID is not always enough. If you travel, you most likely have no control over router settings at your hotel, coffee shop, etc., and if you rely on remote connections as part of your job, you can't afford to take the chance that wherever you reside might not be BTMM compatible. I signed up for LogMeIn Pro, at a cost of $59.95 a year. It has screen sharing, file sharing *and* iPhone access, which BTMM does not offer. My remote connections are now almost instantaneous and without issue. Problem solved.
Please note, I have no ax to grind with Apple, I enjoy using their products and believe they are superior to Windows machines. I am also more than happy with the level of expertise, courtesy and efficiency of their support people. The Airport Extreme that I purchased is pretty cool, has kickass wireless signal, and has reduced the amount of wiring on my desk thanks to its wireless printing and hard drive capabilities. I feel a little burned that I bought it for no reason, but I have 14 days to return it, no questions asked. We'll see.
In conclusion, Back to My Mac does not seem to work as advertised. I am curious if anyone has had a similar experience. Hope this helps someone or at least, saves you some time.

Thanks for your thorough post. I too need to use BTMM on almost a daily basis for my job, and it has fallen short countlness times. I too have taken great pains to check all of the typical trouble shooting steps within iCloud and in the Apple keychain on each Mac etc, but after the latest rounds of system updates from Apple a few weeks ago to Mountain Lion, BTMM on one of my Macs is completely broken and unusable. I would concur that if you need remote access for "real" mission critical use, just bite the bullet and pay for a service like LogMeIn. You won't regret it and you will get real software support.

HT4907 I am able to connect to my Mac Mini on Back to My Mac through iCloud but the keyboard/trackpad on the MBAir or MBP with which I access does not register on the Mini. So I can see the screen but cannot interact with it. Mini works accessing MBP/Air

I am able to connect to my Mac Mini on Back to My Mac through iCloud but the keyboard/trackpad on the MBAir or MBP with which I access does not register on the Mini. So I can see the screen but cannot interact with it. Mini works accessing MBP/Air and I can use Mini to input data or interact with screens of those computers.

Regarding your first question about bookmarks, I think you discovered the answer in when you pressed the address bar. The second tab there has your bookmarks.
As for the keyboard, I'm not sure why your Firefox is reacting so slowly; mine seems to show keyboards even when I don't want them. If you have accumulated a lot of history, perhaps that's an issue?
Did you use any third party software to move your Firefox data from internal memory to the storage card?

Can't get back to my mac to work

I am guessing that this problem belongs somewhere in the server section.
I am very crossed about this, as I have been calling apple support twice, they told me to chip on all the remote functions in sharing, and since remote management chips off screen sharing, I wondered but did what they told me to do. I am now working on my laptop on an open network, but don't see my home computer that has been set ready for back to my mac.
I am crossed as support did not even know what back to my mac is or was, and if they then after some holding on tell me to do the remote stuff, it still does not work. My router and computer have firewall off, nothing is really blocking incoming traffic to my home computer.
Steve jobs and the apple home page make it look like kids play, why is it so hard for me then?
The only real manual for this is the silly kiddly like movie on the back to mac feature, nowhere but nowhere do I find an actual guide to find settings, net werk settings, what to chip on or off...
I have played with the UPnP of my router, the only thing I have not done so far is the port mapping thing.
I was able to screen share with my son in Belgium from England, that part works, so I think that I am not so stupid as I do feel now....
Why is taking me so much trouble and aggrevation to get it to work. Both laptop and home computer have leopard, have sharing on, have firewall off, I am so annoyed right now....

Hi, Catherine,
This forum is for Apple Remote Desktop, Apple's utility for managing networked Macs, so it really wouldn't seem to be the most appropriate place for your question.
I'm a bit puzzled, though, as to what it is you're trying to do. What "back to my Mac" are you referring to? If you're referring to the "Back to My Mac" that's a feature of Apple's .Mac service, that's a function only available if you're running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, but your profile says that you're running Mac OS X 10.4. If you are indeed running 10.5 and that is the function you're talking about, the best place to ask for help will be the Back to My Mac forum.
If that's not what you're referring to, please explain further what it is you're trying to do and perhaps we can direct you to the forum where you'll be most likely to get help.
Regards.

Back To My Mac: why can't I copy files between Macs?

I use Back To My Mac to connect between a Mac Book Pro and Mac Pro. These two machines have the same home directory name, but different passwords. My home network is on an Apple Airport Extreme.
A recent, persistent bug is causing havoc when I try to copy files between computers. Here is what happens:
1. I connect to the Mac Pro remotely from the MBP, using my Apple ID credentials.
2. Using a finder window on my Mac Book Pro, I try to copy a file TO the Mac Pro desktop that I'm certain doesn't already exist there. A "Preparing to copy" window appears.
3. After a few moments, a window appears: "Finder wants to make changes. Type your password to allow this." Again, I've already entered my Apple ID to connect to the Mac Pro. This window requires my Mac Book Pro sign-in in order to continue.
4. The next message is 'A newer item named “FileName.pdf” already exists in this location. Do you want to replace it with the older one you’re moving?'
Here are the results of my options from this dialog:
>>If I choose 'Keep Both Files':
-- A progress window appears (saying something like "copying 0 of 108 kb", but without any progress bar movement). I click the X button to stop the transfer, the progress window changes to "stopping" status, but remains on the screen for several minutes. My Mac Pro is unresponsive/unreachable via BTMM during this time.
-- After several minutes, the file transfer progress window disappears and my Mac Pro becomes available again via BTMM. There are now several THOUSAND numbered copies of the original. Each is 0 kb in size.
>>If I choose 'Replace':
-- A progress window appears, quickly followed by this message: 'The operation can’t be completed because an item with the name “” already exists.' The message appears exactly as written, without the filename between the quotes.
-- A file with the same name as the one I tried to copy over is now on the Mac Pro desktop, but it is 0 kb in size.
I'm lost -- not sure if this is a permissions issue, a problem w/ BTMM, or something else. Any input, advice, questions, etc. are very welcome.
Thanks

I'm having the exact same issue, did you find a solution. It's annoying!

HT4867 Problem, I can no longer admin my kids' computers using back to my mac

Now that the kids need to use their own icloud account to sync the ipods, computers and update apps I can no longer use my ID to manage their computers remotely. Why not a separate spot to log in for back to my mac outside the icloud ... this is a problem. Now all of MY comptuers are no longer accessable on my account because of the need for the kids to use other iCloud access to keep their stuff updated.

These are all MY computers ... my teen children just happen to be the ones that use them. My point / question is aimed at the fact that Apple has now illiminated the last few features that were any use to me by forcing this move to iCloud.
It is not possible to screen share with any computer that is not listed on your back to MY mac since screen share is part of that same system.
Now that the kids each need to have Icloud access to keep the ipods updated I can no longer do system updates with out sitting in front of each computer to do each update. This is a major waste of my time. Previously, I could just screen share and update them all from my office at MY business.
I was happy paying for mobile me and first they striped out "groups" which was a feature I was using, now they are killing Idisk which I was using and file sharing which I was using and web hosting which I was using, pretty much leaving only features that I have no use for remaining.
I had planned on buying Ipads and few more computers in the near future but I am so disappointed in the direction Apple took icloud I think I am done buying any more Apple hardware until they return some features to Icloud that I need.
Judging from this answer you must not have any teen kids to try to "admin" systems for. This situation requires Apple to acknolage that they need to add an administration access to back to my mac that works around the individual users ID.
Itunes has a seperate ID access ... why not do the same with Back to My Mac??? Admin level and user level???
Icloud is now totally useless to me.

BT Home Hub 3 + Back To My Mac / Port Forwarding

I've recently got BT Infinity and along with it a BT Home Hub 3 which doesn't seem to be playing nicely with Back to my Mac.
The setup on the Mac side of things is correct and I can see my remote computer but I just can't connect to them, or vice versa. The Back to My Mac preference is showing that the router needs configuring for better performance.
I've ensured UPnP is enabled and forwarded the following ports to the device:
TCP 5354
UDP 4500
UDP 5353
UDP 500
UDP/TCP 4488
Which I found listed in http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1629
After doing some checks on these ports using http://canyouseeme.org it would seem that only one of these ports is open, and even then it's occassional.
BT seem to state on http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12529/~/why-do-i-get-an-error-message-when-using-appl... that 'Back to My Mac' isn't compatible and this is due to a compatibility issue on Apple's part. Frustratingly this article doesn't indicate a date when this was posted. Never the less, I would presume this could only be UPnP related — i.e. the necessary ports won't open automatically. I'm unsure of what other compatibility issues there would be. If the ports are open it should work fine.
I've read numerous threads in many forums about the BT Home Hub 3 port forwarding not working correctly, is this still true? If so, surely the device should be deemed faulty or a firmware update should have been put in place by now to resolve this. I can't seem to find any recent articles regarding this.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi ollie,
If you're still having problems with this please feel free to contact us via the webform link in my profile and we'll check to see what the current status of the investigations with Back to my Mac is.
Cheers
Dean
BTCare Community Mod
If you like a post, or want to say thanks for a helpful answer, please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side of the post.
If someone answers your question correctly please let other members know by clicking on ’Mark as Accepted Solution’.

Back to a Mac or not???

To go back to a Mac or not that is the question more or
less...
My last experience with a Mac way System 7 days on a Mac
IIsi.
I have been using Windows for a while now and man, I'm am
just tired of patch the patch, worms, spyware.
The big question is what problems will I run into on a Mac
Powerbook with Dreamweaver and MS Access databases?
I guess, I will have to use CS2, yuck... I'm a Corel guy 8)

> To go back to a Mac or not that is the question more or
less...
>
> My last experience with a Mac way System 7 days on a Mac
IIsi.
There's been a few updates since then. ;o)
> The big question is what problems will I run into on a
Mac Powerbook with
> Dreamweaver and MS Access databases?
Well, if you want to use OSX on your mac, the biggest problem
is that you
can't run Access on OSX.
Granted, you probably shouldn't be using Access for web work
to begin
with...
If you are using Access, I'm guessing you are also using ASP.
ASP requires
IIS to run and IIS will not run on OSX either.
Of course, you can install Windows on a Mac, so you could buy
your Mac and
use it as a windows machine, but then you're back with having
the same ol'
windows probelms it sounds like you want to get away from.
Alternatively,
you could run Windows in virtualization mode on top of OSX,
which would be
nice.
Bottom line, though, if you are a web developer that works
mainly with
Microsoft technologies (.net, asp, access, etc.) it probably
makes sense to
stick with a Microsoft OS.
Otherwise, the Mac is a great web developer platform. OSX can
easily run
Apache, PHP and the like. As mentioned, you can also run
Windows so it
becomes a great testing computer as well.
-Darrel

Back To My Mac no longer working

For a couple years, I've never had a problem with Back To My Mac. I could control my Mac Mini at home using my Macbook Pro wherever I am. But since Yosemite, I've been unable to use BTMM. Screen Sharing still works fine when I'm at home, but not BTMM when I'm out of the house. Strangely enough, my Time Capsule shows up under "Shared" in a Finder window, but not my Mac Mini.
I've tried deselecting and reselecting Back To My Mac in System Preferences on both my Mac Mini and my MBP. I've tried restarting both machines. But nothing is working.
Oddly enough, it always says "Set up router for better performance" under Back To My Mac in System Preferences > iCloud, no matter where I am and what network I am on.
Any suggestions?

Hi Lee Farber,
Thanks for the question. Based on what you stated, it seems like you are having toruble using Back to My Mac. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you isolate or resolve the issue.
If you have issues using Back to My Mac - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Mario

Time Capsule Back to my Mac not working

Hello,
For the last two weeks I am not able to connect to my Time Capsule at work, before I saw it automatically on my iMac/MacBook Pro at home.
I already removed and rentered my credentails on the time machine for Back to My mac, unfortonatelly this didn't fix it.
What can I do?
Thanks in advance.
Greetings,
Robin Riegman

I have a similar problem. I had a new hard disk installed and upgraded to Lion at the same time. The IT person who did the job set up iCloud as a backup. Now when I connect my external drive, Finder doesn't see/recognize it, so I can't continue to do (or use) Time Machine backups. I do not want to back up my data to iCloud, but Apple's main object with Lion and Mountain Lion seems to be to force users to use iCloud. It doesn't give you a choice; you can't go back. When I try to sync my iPad to my Mac or take my data off iCloud and back up my Mac with Time Machine (external drive), the program menacingly threatens to remove all the data that I want to back up from my computer, leaving me with no data in iCloud or my Mac.
@r.riegman: sorry I can't help you. I'm going to try the Genius Bar, although Apple warns that backup issues are not supported.
In essence my question is: how can I go back to external drive backups with time machine without losing all my data after an initial designation of iCloud as the backup?
Will someone please r.riegman and me? The more time goes by, the more unbacked-up data we accumulate.
Thank you!
Artemide
Macbook Pro, iPad 2, OS X Lion (10.7.4)

Back to my mac and cable modem

I can't find a definitive answer to this question. Is there a cable modem that is compatible with Comcast that supports Back to My Mac?
Right now we have Comcast for business with fixed IPs, so I have just been using afp:// and vnc:// to access my home mac while on the road. But in the interest of saving $$$, I want to switch to Comcast for home, which doesn't offer fixed IPs.
The last time I tried (with Mavericks), I could not connect to any computer at home through Back to my Mac because the Comcast-supplied modem didn't support Upnp (Universal Plug and Play). A brief search could not find any cable modems that do support Upnp. Am I missing something, or should I give up on the idea?

Is there anyone out there who uses Back to My Mac (for sharing files and screens) and a cable modem? If so, how well does it work? Did you get a special modem or just the cheapest one that you could find?

Back to My Mac and Vonage Linksys RTP 300 Router

I am trying to get Back to My Mac to work with my iMac running 10.6.2 and my PowerBook G4 running 10.5. But I have a problem with my router... I use the Vonage (RTP-300) and it is not one of the supported routers on the list.
I basically have the same question as this user:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1518112
Although the question has been answered, I don't know how to use my Time Machine as the base station and have my Vonage connect to it without making it the router. Right now this is my set-up:
Cable box > Vonage RTP 300 > Time Machine > iMac
Can someone please help me with step-by-step guide? Thanks in advance!

Can anyone help me please? I'm desperate! Thanks in advance!

Trouble with Apple ID and iCloud's "Back to My Mac"

Hi,
I just upgraded to Mountain Lion. The first time I turn my Mac on, the System Preferences window opens on iCloud preferences. Everything seems sormal, except that the "Back to My Mac" option can't be activated because it asks me my password.
The problem is that it asks me to enter the Apple ID password for an older Apple ID email instead of my current Apple ID email
Some background: I used to have ([email protected]) as my Apple ID, but changed it to ([email protected]) some time ago. Back to My Mac is asking me the password for the oldemail@email Apple ID, which should not exist anymore
I tried the "forgot" option, but no email is sent to neither [email protected] nor [email protected] and if i try the "answer security question", I enter my birth date, but it says its doesnt match te records...
Thanks for your help!

Mr. Craig Sween replied with an answer to this question.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16359198#16359198
iCloud is not what I was hoping it would be.
Disappointed is an understatement.
FSCK THIS.

Back to My Mac: 2 questions

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for