Back to My Mac is being cut from all versions of macOS on July 1

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  • Reply 21 of 33
    MoaIGuymoaiguy Posts: 2member

    BTMM was for connecting the Mac's you own via iCloud (or MobileMe back then) a combination of some kind of Dynamic DNS and VPN, so you could access your files remotely, without you the user needing to fiddle with some third-party software... It would then show them in the Finder like it was connected locally, so it isn't for screen sharing, tho that is still included with MacOS.

    Try Zerotier One it does the same, they also have a client for iOS, and others.

    Sorry about my English.

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  • Reply 22 of 33
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    I'm very happy with "scrn", which replaces iTeleport (same people).  It has a Mac app and an iOS app (and even a Web app).  The Mac app makes all your Mac desktops accessible to each other and to your iOS devices.  This works both locally and remotely.  I'm actually very happy with the local connection, because it sacrifices a bit of resolution for lightning fast speed!  My connections to my other local machines are fast enough that I can easily use them as if I were sitting in front of them.  Very impressed so far!  

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  • Reply 23 of 33
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    polymnia said:
    one word: Screens.app

    problem solved.
    Doesn't work for my mini that's on a shared-IP VPN. BTMM did.
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  • Reply 24 of 33
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member

    chasm said:
    It seems odd to me that Apple would cut off simple screen sharing, given that its a great way to help other Mac users remotely. Getting relatives and friends to purchase and install a third-party app to do this is far more difficult.

    i get that its a very underused feature, and parts of it were redundant with modern systems, but screen sharing was a big help to me in getting many of my friends and family to switch to Macs.
    They haven’t, they’ve just cut off external access to the drive on your Mac, something that isn’t needed with iCloud. Screen sharing is still a part of macOS through settings it’s just not going to be as easy as you’ll need IP Addresses etc. That being said though I find apps like TeamViewer to be better for remote screen sharing.

    Not everyone wants to use the cloud, for anything, nor may they even be able to legally for privacy reasons.

    Speaking of workflow this is a feature I never found the time to learn that required specific macs (not universal) and is now being orphaned - so glad I never invested time in this - when will Apple just design it right and leave it alone, vs fiddling around with the latest and greatest soon to be cancelled in so many things - is itunes 12.6.x yet another example of outcry for workflow stability from those that use their macs (not ios) for more than basics...?

    Are we now thankfully almost getting caught up with Numbers, with category sort fairly recently available on iOS?

    I still use iWeb, and find it some of the most brilliant ease of use GUI web authoring software I've ever used. I also still boot into Snow Leopard for legacy access to files - like visiting an old friend... Back then major MacOS cycles were as long as 3 years (10.4, 10.6), and seemingly based on merit, vs an annual corporate calendar... Like Macworld I wish the tyranny of timing for macOS would fade back to merit based release timing, and hardware would use standard retail memory & slots... Stable yet flexible workflow, and less planned obsolesence...

    Long rant about a ton of non-BTMM-related things aside, BTMM did not "require specific Macs".
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  • Reply 25 of 33
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    MoaIGuy said:

    BTMM was for connecting the Mac's you own via iCloud (or MobileMe back then) a combination of some kind of Dynamic DNS and VPN, so you could access your files remotely, without you the user needing to fiddle with some third-party software... It would then show them in the Finder like it was connected locally, so it isn't for screen sharing, tho that is still included with MacOS.

    It was for BOTH of those things. 
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  • Reply 26 of 33
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    ivanh said:
    Airport Utility still has Back to My Mac in the latest update for Airport Time Capsule as released yesterday.
    What do you mean? I don't believe there are any BTMM features in Airport Utility. Either way, the latest update was a firmware update for your AirPort hardware, not the utility.
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  • Reply 27 of 33
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    ivanh said:
    Airport Utility still has Back to My Mac in the latest update for Airport Time Capsule as released yesterday.
    What do you mean? I don't believe there are any BTMM features in Airport Utility. Either way, the latest update was a firmware update for your AirPort hardware, not the utility.
    There is. I assume you add your iCloud ID to the BTMM section in AirPort Utility so the router knows to forward those packets, but not just based on the port number, but the specific ID, or it was just be a checkbox.
    edited June 2019
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  • Reply 28 of 33
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,480member
    Soli said:
    ivanh said:
    Airport Utility still has Back to My Mac in the latest update for Airport Time Capsule as released yesterday.
    What do you mean? I don't believe there are any BTMM features in Airport Utility. Either way, the latest update was a firmware update for your AirPort hardware, not the utility.
    There is. I assume you add your iCloud ID to the BTMM section in AirPort Utility so the router knows to forward those packets, but not just based on the port number, but the specific ID, or it was just be a checkbox.
    Oh yeah, I think I remember that now. I don't think that's in my version on my Mac, due to being part of Mojave. I do recall seeing this in older versions now.
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  • Reply 29 of 33
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    Soli said:
    ivanh said:
    Airport Utility still has Back to My Mac in the latest update for Airport Time Capsule as released yesterday.
    What do you mean? I don't believe there are any BTMM features in Airport Utility. Either way, the latest update was a firmware update for your AirPort hardware, not the utility.
    There is. I assume you add your iCloud ID to the BTMM section in AirPort Utility so the router knows to forward those packets, but not just based on the port number, but the specific ID, or it was just be a checkbox.
    Oh yeah, I think I remember that now. I don't think that's in my version on my Mac, due to being part of Mojave. I do recall seeing this in older versions now.
    I happened to notice when I did I the recent update to my tower AEBS. I was surprised to see it was still there after the update since I am running Mojave and they are killing the service.
    edited June 2019
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  • Reply 30 of 33
    normmnormm Posts: 653member

    I wrote:

    I'm very happy with "scrn", which replaces iTeleport (same people).  It has a Mac app and an iOS app (and even a Web app).  The Mac app makes all your Mac desktops accessible to each other and to your iOS devices.  This works both locally and remotely.  I'm actually very happy with the local connection, because it sacrifices a bit of resolution for lightning fast speed!  My connections to my other local machines are fast enough that I can easily use them as if I were sitting in front of them.  Very impressed so far!  

    Okay, "scrn" is apparently going away!!  I've now tried "Jump Desktop" and that seems to be a great replacement for "Back to my Mac" (and they have a very popular iOS app as well).

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  • Reply 31 of 33
    maltzmaltz Posts: 537member
    What is the benefit of Back-to-my-Mac over direct SSH/VNC?  Did it avoid the need to send a WOL packet sometimes, or just eliminate the need for a VPN?

    These types of solutions always scare me, as the local computer maintains network connections to an external server to maintain a NAT translation and open firewall port.  It is much better to just set up a proper VPN to your router, but call me an old fart...
    I *assume* that you can still do that - this just affects Back to my Mac, right, not screen sharing in general?

    But setting up an end-to-end encrypted connection between the two Macs is basically what this did.  There was just a public server in the middle, so that if one machine or the other (or both!) were behind firewalls, they could still communicate.  But if it works like most such things, it can't actually read the encrypted traffic.  It's just a relay.
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  • Reply 32 of 33
    maltzmaltz Posts: 537member
    Soli said:
    polymnia said:
    one word: Screens.app

    problem solved.
    I’ve never been able to get Screens to work outside of a LAN.
    Right.  Back to my Mac is just a way for screen sharing to work over the internet securely and without things like VPNs or SSH tunnels, which are less than user friendly, to say the least.  lol
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  • Reply 33 of 33
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    maltz said:
    Soli said:
    polymnia said:
    one word: Screens.app

    problem solved.
    I’ve never been able to get Screens to work outside of a LAN.
    Right.  Back to my Mac is just a way for screen sharing to work over the internet securely and without things like VPNs or SSH tunnels, which are less than user friendly, to say the least.  lol
    I was able to set up TeamViewer and get it to work well over the internet. Far too many features for my needs and it took a lot of time playing with it to figure out what will work best for me, but at least it's fee for non-commercial use.
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