parents lockdown

ericjozef

The country I live in is going in lockdown, I want to install for my parents a computer to be able to keep in touch with them. I am not aloud to enter the elderly home, they have no idea of computers so I want to handle everything remotely. I bought an Imac, can prepare it beforehand, then deliver it, assistents at the home will connect it. It is vital to get it as solid as possible. Doing some tests with it right now, I must say I am not convinced.   It is defintely for private use, but if things work better with a licence I would prefer to do that, not seeing it work over there will only sadden and confuse them.  I would need to start or awaken the computer at their side remotely daily, and be able to videoconference, bringing in videocalls from their grandchildren (Blizz?), have largesize messages for them. Is this realistic? Any good advice appreciated. Eric Jozef.

Esther

Hi Eric,

Thanks for getting back to me.

It’s not possible to wake up a Mac computer that is fully powered down, as Apple doesn’t allow this. Macs can only be woken up from sleep mode. Windows and Linux PCs, however, can be woken up from sleep and hibernation mode as well as being fully powered down, so long as the hardware supports this. 

Learn more here: How does Wake-on-LAN (WOL) with TeamViewer work?

I think we are good to go without a license for your use case. Also - you do not need a license for the security features I recommended (2FA, whitelist) and I hardly believe you need Conditional Access for your connection to your parents' mac.

I hope this helps,

Esther

Esther

Hi Eric,

Thanks for your message and welcome to the TeamViewer Community.

Our general recommendation looks like this:

On your parents' mac:

1. Install TeamViewer Host or the full version on their mac. You will find the download here: Download TeamViewer
2. Make the setting to start TeamViewer with the system to always be able to connect as long as the mac is online.
3. Setup a permanent password for unattended access or Easy Access for your TeamViewer Account (If you have not already: Create a TeamViewer Account and activate two-factor authentication)
4. Safe the TeamViewer ID as a computer in your Computers & Contacts list
5. An extra layer of security: Add a whitelist for the mac and add your TeamViewer Account to it. With this, you restrict access for other persons

On your home computer:

1. Install the TeamViewer Full version on your home computer. You will find the download here: Download TeamViewer
2. Login to your Computers & Contacts list with your TeamViewer Account
3. You can now connect to your patents mac

You can either use TeamViewer or Blizz for the video calls. However, in TeamViewer, you can have only one to one conversations with the free plan. In Blizz, you can have up to five participants. 

Does this info help?

Best, Esther

 

ericjozef

Thank you for your swift reply Esther. This is clear and helpfull, and I will do as you suggest.

Just allow me a few more questions:

-is it definitely possible to activate, awaken the Mac remotely? I know it should be, but I wasn't able to. (Or can I handle remotely to let the screen go dark? I am a newbie. Do not know how far I can go in remotely managing their machine)

-What does acquiring a licence improve or secure? Or doesn't it make a difference towards the functioning itself? I figure there must be somewhere a spreadsheet or list as to compare, could not find it yet. 

Thanks a lot!  

Eric

 

Esther

Hi Eric,

Thanks for getting back to me.

It’s not possible to wake up a Mac computer that is fully powered down, as Apple doesn’t allow this. Macs can only be woken up from sleep mode. Windows and Linux PCs, however, can be woken up from sleep and hibernation mode as well as being fully powered down, so long as the hardware supports this. 

Learn more here: How does Wake-on-LAN (WOL) with TeamViewer work?

I think we are good to go without a license for your use case. Also - you do not need a license for the security features I recommended (2FA, whitelist) and I hardly believe you need Conditional Access for your connection to your parents' mac.

I hope this helps,

Esther

ericjozef

Finally I got everything working. Thank you so much for your help!

Eric