Keep Your Mac Powered On
Ensure that your Mac or MacBook is connected to a power source and powered on, as it won't be able to wake up for incoming connections if it's turned off. Screens cannot power up your Mac if it’s shut down.
When connected to a power source, your MacBook can be in clamshell mode and will still respond to connection requests.
Enable Wake for Network Access
On the Mac you want to connect to:
macOS 13 Ventura or later
- Click this link to open System Settings.
- Select Battery or Power Adapter, depending on whether your Mac is a laptop or a desktop.
- Select Options…
- Under Wake for network access, choose Always.
macOS 12 Monterey or earlier
- Click this link to open System Preferences.
- Select Energy Saver or Battery.
- Select Power Adapter if available.
- Enable Wake for network access.
Prevent Your Mac from Sleeping
Optionally, you can also prevent your Mac from sleeping:
macOS 13 Ventura or later
- Click this link to open System Settings.
- Select Battery or Power Adapter, depending on whether your Mac is a laptop or a desktop.
- Select Options…
- Enable Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off.
macOS 12 Monterey or earlier
- Click this link to open System Preferences.
- Select Energy Saver or Battery.
- Select Power Adapter if available.
- Enable Prevent computer from sleeping when the display is off.
Possible Issues and Workarounds
Some factors can prevent incoming connections:
FileVault
FileVault might prevent you from connecting to your Mac, especially since a user may need to physically log in before the Remote Management service can start. This typically happens because FileVault keeps the disk encrypted until a user logs in to decrypt it. As a result, services like Remote Management or Remote Login cannot start until the Mac is unlocked.
Common Scenarios Where FileVault Blocks Access:
- Powering On a Mac That Was Turned Off: FileVault requires a physical login to decrypt the disk when a Mac is powered on, making remote access impossible until the user logs in.
- After a Manual Restart: If the Mac is restarted manually, FileVault may block access unless it was restarted from an authenticated session.
- Power Outages: When the Mac starts up after a power outage, FileVault prevents access until the disk is decrypted with a physical login.
How to Resolve FileVault Blocking Access:
-
Disable FileVault (Not Recommended for Security):
- If FileVault significantly disrupts your workflow and security is not a primary concern, you can disable it in System Settings under Privacy & Security > FileVault.
-
Use authrestart to Bypass Startup Authentication:
- If you have physical access to the Mac and want to ensure it reboots without requiring login, use the following Terminal command on the remote Mac before restarting:
sudo fdesetup authrestart - This temporarily caches the decryption key and bypasses the login requirement for the next restart. It is particularly useful for applying macOS updates remotely.
- If you have physical access to the Mac and want to ensure it reboots without requiring login, use the following Terminal command on the remote Mac before restarting:
Screen Savers
- Disable the screen saver or the password requirement to disable the screen saver.
Resetting Remote Management/Screen Sharing
Sometimes, resetting the built-in service can resolve connectivity issues. For detailed instructions, refer to this article.
Reinstall ARD
Reinstalling Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) may resolve connection issues in some cases. The latest version of Remote Desktop is available here.
Get Help from Apple
For further assistance with wake issues, you can consult these Apple support articles: