TeamViewer Connection Problems on Sleeping Mac

Ronald_S · 2022-01-26T20:37:51+00:00

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Hello,

I'm using TeamViewer (v. 15.26.4) to connect from my Android phone to my MacBook Pro (running OS 12.1) and it works perfectly fine when my computer is awake, the problem is when my computer goes to sleep I can't connect to it. On my previous Mac I somehow set it to wake up when it was sleeping and accept incoming connections, but I don't know how to do that now for it to work. Please help. How can I get this to successfully work?

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JoshP

Hello @Ronald_S

Thank you for your patience.

Could you please try clicking the checkbox for Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when display is off? This is in the Energy Saver settings as seen in your screenshot.

It appears this is the new version of the "Display sleep versus Computer sleep" mentioned in my original reply.

With this checked, I was able to connect to the device even after the Mac went to sleep.

Hope this helps!

All comments

JoshP

Hello @Ronald_S

Thank you for your post, and welcome to the TeamViewer community!

macOS has a few options that can cause similar issues to what you are experiencing with your Macbook Pro. Fortunately, they are all located in the same place in the macOS Preferences! This can be found in the Energy Saver options in the Mac Preferences.

📌Note: portable Macs have two separate settings options - Battery (1) and Adapter (2). Be aware that setting higher time-frames for overall sleep of the device can result in more battery usage. When relying on adapter, the battery would be unaffected.

First up - macOS actually has two separate forms of sleep - Computer (3) and Display (4). When the computer is put in sleep mode, this essentially puts the device into 'hibernation'. If the time frame for the whole machine going to sleep is set at a lower time, this could prevent you from simply requesting connection to the device when asleep - not to say it would be impossible to wake such a device - you would simply need to use TeamViewer's Wake-on-LAN feature to wake such a device.

The display sleep, on the other hand, allows the laptop to remain mostly on, while preventing the screen (arguably the bigger of power resources on laptops) from draining the battery as quickly.

My recommendation: When on power supply, I set my computer sleep time much higher than the time it takes for the display to go to sleep. Such unattended connections are usually not needed when running on battery (as the device is usually with me), so I keep these settings for optimal battery efficiency. The option for Computer Sleep alone may not prevent connections, however, which brings up the next setting.

Next up is the first check-box: Put hard disk(s) to sleep when possible (5). This feature theoretically helps save some battery life (depending on the type of drive in the device), but also means that when the computer finally goes to sleep it will also essentially turn off the drives as well. This will render the device unable to connect without such a feature as Wake-on-LAN.

My recommendation: If you do want to utilize such a feature on your Mac, please use the above link for Wake-on-LAN - otherwise, you can uncheck it!

The last option is Wake for Network Access (6) - which allows the device to wake up if a service on the device is requested. In cases where the device is not fully asleep, this option should ensure you can make a connection to the device even when it is 'sleeping'. Definitely ensure this one is checked!

I hope this helps clarify a bit, and also lets you connect to the device as you did before on the older device. Should you encounter any issues, feel free to reply here again.

Take care!

Ronald_S

@JoshP

I'll try that and see. I usually want to be able to connect to my home computer from my cell phone sometimes if I need something, while out all day at work in the office. That's why I'm looking to get this resolved. I'll try it and post back here adn let you know how it works out. Thank you.

Ronald_S

@JoshP This worked. Thank you!

JoshP

Hello @Ronald_S

Thank you for your patience.

Could you please try clicking the checkbox for Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when display is off? This is in the Energy Saver settings as seen in your screenshot.

It appears this is the new version of the "Display sleep versus Computer sleep" mentioned in my original reply.

With this checked, I was able to connect to the device even after the Mac went to sleep.

Hope this helps!

Ronald_S

Thanks @JoshP, I'll reach out to NordVPN and see if they offer that.

JoshP

Thanks for the clarification!

I had actually misread the version you were on, so I was using a screenshot from an older version! 😅 Sorry for any confusion.

Allow me some time to test some things with my own Mac on the same version as you.

One thing to note though: Incoming LAN connections does not affect wake-ups; this feature simply allows you to connect to other devices on your own network via their IP Address instead of the TeamViewer ID. If this is set to Accept Exclusively, it actually disconnects the device from the TeamViewer servers and you make connections as mentioned above. If set to Accept or Deactivated, you are able to make connections via the ID still.

Also, please also know that Wake-On-LAN has prerequisites and requires additional work in order to utilize. Using one method, for instance, the second device must be a computer connected via a network cable:

If Wake-on-LAN is what was used on the previous device, or you wish to use it on this device, please read through the following article:

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/kb/articles/33-activate-wake-on-lan-wol

Here is the Wake-On-LAN manual as well:

https://dl.teamviewer.com/docs/en/TeamViewer-Manual-Wake-on-LAN-en.pdf

As mentioned, I will run some tests on my own Mac and will get back to you!

Thanks for the additional info!

JoshP

That is great news! Thanks for the update.

I hope the upcoming weekend is good for you!

Take care.

Ronald_S

@JoshP Unfortunately I'm experiencing the same problems again where my TeamView app on my Android phone is unable to wake my MacBook Pro to connect to it. The settings are all the same from when you previously helped me with this. :(

Ronald_S

Can I get some help with this, please? :(

JoshP

Hello @Ronald_S

Thanks for the update.

I tested with my own Mac devices and was unable to replicate an issue as described in our initial conversations. If the option Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when display is off is checked, and the device is not actually in Sleep mode, then connections to the device were still possible.

That said, please ensure that the Macbook Pro is not in sleep mode. To actually "wake" a device from sleep mode, Wake-on-LAN is required:

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/kb/articles/33-activate-wake-on-lan-wol

As I was unable to replicate any issue with the above settings, I would recommend a complete reinstall of TeamViewer on the Mac. You can find instructions here:

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/kb/articles/4165-uninstall-teamviewer-on-macos

Hope this helps!

Ronald_S

Hi @JoshP ,

Yes, my Mac seems to go into into Sleep Mode and require a password to unlock again after a while, even though I have Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when display is off is checked for some reason. And I can't use Wake-on-LAN because it requires a hardwired connection, and the new 2021/2022 16" MacBook Pro with the M1 Max processor doesn't have an ethernet port, so there is no way to hardwire it in unless I purchase a USC C ethernet adapter; the only native option is to connect wirelessly. What other options do I have?

Unless maybe there is another option to prevent the Mac from going in sleep mode, and just turn off the display? Is that another option that might work? If so, what are the drawbacks to this?

Ronald_S

Hi @JoshP,

Thanks for your detailed response; I appreciate it. Unfortunately I have already tried a good deal of that, but in MacOS Monterey (v. 12.1), the power settings look different.

Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 2.58.03 AM.png

As you can see I already have "Wake for network access" checked.

And in TeamViewer, I've got it set to Accept Incoming LAN connections.

Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 3.01.52 AM.png

And in the "Wake-on-LAN" settings:

Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 3.02.14 AM.png

I've got it set to TeamViewer IDs within my network, and then I went into the Android app on my phone and looked int eh settings to find the TeamViewer ID for my phone and entered it into the "IDs to wake up your computer" section.

Still not working.

Ronald_S

Thanks @JoshP. Would setting up a static IP/Public address work even if I'm using a VPN? I'm using NordVPN, and I think the IP address changes whenever you connect to a new server (not sure if I'm understanding that correctly though).

Ronald_S

Hi @JoshP, do you know if this would work even if I'm using NordVPN?

JoshP

Hello @Ronald_S

Thanks for your post.

I took a look on Google and it seems that some VPN service do offer static IP in addition to the VPN.

I would recommend reaching out to the VPN company you currently use to see if they provide such services.

Hope this helps!

Denny000

I can’t connect to when Mac is sleep. It keeps showing as offline but it works perfectly fine on windows 10.

I tried wake on lan but it doesn’t work either. It keeps saying that can not reach device and no neighbor.

can anyone please help or suggest and alternative.

thank you.

Z41

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/discussion/comment/135725#Comment_135725

Passively looking for an up to date answer as well but maybe this can help.

JoshP

Thank you for the clarification, @Ronald_S

Regarding alternative options with Wake-on-LAN, it is also possible to set it up using a public address/static IP:

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/kb/articles/33-activate-wake-on-lan-wol#wake-up-the-target-computer-via-its-public-address

For this, you may be able to find tutorials or instructions on how to set something like this up so that you can wake the device even when asleep. Once you have set up a static IP/Public address, our Wake-on-LAN manual will help you set up everything in TeamViewer. You can download it in the link above.

Regarding the Mac going to sleep unexpectedly (even though the settings have told it not to), I am afraid that this would be better discussed with a certified Mac professional 😅 In this case I would recommend reaching out to a trusted technician, or even taking the computer in for an appointment at your local Apple Genius Bar.

If you come across anything else that may have helped contribute to the issue, please do update us here! I will continue to test to ensure the issue is non-replicable, just to make sure there is no widespread issue found!