My other Mac vanishes from Finder
QMy Mac mini and MacBook Pro are on macOS 10.13.6 and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Recently, the mini has started to disappear from Finder’s sidebar, even though the Macs are in the same room, and only reappears when the mini is restarted. How can I stop this? by A n d y S h a r i f
AWait until the problem recurs, then work systematically to diagnose it. In System Prefs’ Network pane on each Mac, check their IP addresses. Make a careful note of those configurations so you can rule out any basic connectivity failure.
Regardless of whether each Mac is set to obtain an iP address from the router or use one that’s set manually, to be able to ‘see’ one another their IP addresses need to be on the same subnet. So 192.168.1.3 and 192.168.1.8 are fine, but addresses which differ in any of the first three numbers – 192.168.0.7, or a selfassigned address starting with 169.254 – indicate a problem.
When you’re happy with those settings, it’s wise to save them as a new Location using the pop-up menu at the top of the Network pane.
If the addresses and network settings appear good, run Wireless Diagnostics on the mini while it’s still disconnected from your MacBook Pro. If that confirms its connection is fine, and your IP addresses are on the same subnet with a mask of 255.255.255.0, then try connecting to the mini again: in Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server, then enter the other Mac’s current IP address.
If you’re staying with High Sierra for the moment, downloading and installing the latest Combo updater over the top of your existing installation may be a useful generic fix.