How to set up screen sharing via VNC

1

Enable Screen Sharing

Go to System Prefs > Sharing. Untick Remote Management if selected. Next tick Screen Sharing. Select the All Users radio button. Click Computer Settings then tick ‘Anyone may request permission to control screen’.

2

Start VNC Server

In the Computer Settings pane, tick ‘VNC viewers may control screen with password’. Enter a stong password in the field to the right and note it down in a safe place. Click OK to return to screen sharing preferences.

3

Find VNC addresses

Your Mac will now display your computer name & local network address e.g. ‘vnc:// macbook1234/’. Make a note of this. Next, open System Preferences > Network and note down your Mac’s local IP address e.g. ‘192.168.43.121’.

4

Connect a Mac via VNC

If you want to share the screen of your Mac to another on your local network, log in to the other Mac and launch Safari. Click the address bar and enter the VNC address you noted down earlier e.g. ‘vnc://macbook1234/’.

5

Connect a mobile device

Mobile devices like iPhones don’t natively support VNC. However, you can install a free VNC client such as VNC Viewer. Setup differs for each app but usually you only need enter your Mac’s local network address to connect.

6

Connect remotely via VNC

If you want to access your Mac’s screen from outside the local network, you’ll need its external IP. Open Google and type ‘IP’ to view this. If your VNC client needs a port number enter ‘:5900’ after the IP address.