Using and troubleshooting Back to My Mac in Mac OS X 10.5
Summary
Requirements to use Back to My Mac
- An AirPort Extreme or Express base station, or third-party Internet router, which supports UPnP or NAT-PMP (see here), with the latest available firmware installed (version 7.4.1 or later for AirPort).
- A MobileMe subscription.
- Two or more Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard-based Macs that are configured to use the same MobileMe account (Mac OS X v10.5.7 or later is strongly recommended).
- Screen sharing requires a 300-Kbps, or faster, bi-directional Internet connection (up/down) between the computers. (File sharing may be usable with slower connections)
Note: Some firewalls, such as at a large organization, may not allow some Back to My Mac connections. For example, you might not be able to contact your Mac at work from home, but you might be able to contact your Mac at home from work. Check with your organization's network administrator.
See this article for detailed information about security and Back to My Mac.
Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.5, Back to My Mac, MobileMe
Setting up your computers for Back to My Mac
Perform these steps on each of your Macs:
- From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
- From the View menu, choose MobileMe.
- If you are not already signed into MobileMe System Preferences with your MobileMe account, input your MobileMe account and password and click log In. Remember to use the same MobileMe account on each Mac.
- Click the Back to My Mac tab.
- Click the Start button if Back to My Mac is off.
Perform these steps only on each Leopard-based Mac that you want to "get back to" with Back to My Mac:
- In the Back to My Mac pane of the MobileMe System Preferences, click the "Open Sharing Preferences" button.
- If they are not already enabled, select both Screen Sharing and File Sharing.
- Close the System Preferences window.
As a test, open a Finder window. Your other shared computers should appear in the Sidebar. You should be able to select a shared computer to automatically connect to it. If not, go to the next section.
Troubleshooting Back to My Mac
If Back to My Mac is not working as expected for you, use the suggestions below if they apply to your situation.
- If you are using Mac OS X v10.5.3 or later, open the Back to My Mac pane of the MobileMe System Preferences to see if any diagnostic messages are provided to assist you with troubleshooting and resolving the connection issue.
- Make sure the computer you are trying to connect to is not sleeping.
- If you are using Internet Sharing, you may need to turn it off. Find out more about Back to My Mac and Internet Sharing compatibility here.
- Make sure Back to My Mac is enabled on all computers, and that you have met all of the requirements listed above.
- Update all computers to Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later.
- If you are using an AirPort Extreme Gigabit Ethernet base station, make sure your firmware is up-to-date (open AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or later).
- If any of your computers are configured with the same Computer Name, change their Computer names.
- If two of your computers are configured with the same Local Hostname, change the Local Hostname on one of the two computers (this might be the case if your computers were updated from Mac OS X v10.4).
- Check your network for a multiple NAT setup, and reconfigure your network as needed.
- Make sure NAT-PMP or UPnP is enabled (if you are using an AirPort Extreme Gigabit Ethernet base station, click here for information about AirPort Extreme Gigabit Ethernet and NAT PMP).
- Ensure TCP port 5354 and UDP ports 4500 and 5353 are open on your firewall. To learn more about ports used by Apple products, click here.
If you still are unable to use Back to My Mac reliably
Contact MobileMe support. Be sure to provide the following information:
- A detailed description of your network setup for each computer, including router types/models, modem brands, and so forth
- The details or screenshots of any diagnostic messages provided in the Back to My Mac System Preferences pane
- The results of the traceroute performed on each computer when checking for a multiple NAT setup
- The Computer Name and Local Hostname of each of your computers
- Any other troubleshooting steps you have performed
Additional Information
Note: AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsules with AirPort firmware 7.4.1, or later, allow for Back to My Mac access to some certain USB devices connected to the base station / Time Capsule. For more information, see article HT3486.