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Connection Troubleshooting Questions

While most users are able to quickly and smoothly connect Alfred Remote to their Mac, occasionally, certain network configurations can make it a little trickier.

If the Connection Troubleshooting FAQ hasn't resolved your issue, please answer a few questions when posting in the Remote Connection Troubleshooting section of the forum. Copy the questions below in a new forum thread and answer them as clearly as you can.

1. Are both your Mac and iOS device on the same wifi network? (Include IP addresses, subnet and router address listed on both devices)

2. What kind of network is it? (home, office, university, etc?)

3. Did you try restarting both your Mac and iOS device?

4. When you go to the "Add iOS Remote" step on your Mac, can your iOS device see the Mac at all?

5. Are you running anything that could block connections? (i.e. Little Snitch, NetBarrier, firewall settings on your Mac or network)

The guide below shows you how you can find answers.


1. Are both your Mac and iOS device on the same wifi network?

On your Mac

You can find out what network your Mac is on by clicking on the Wi-Fi fan icon in your menu bar:

Wifi Settings

To find your IP address, go to the Network Preferences app, accessible from the Wi-Fi fan. For any connection that has a green icon next to it, click "Advanced" in the bottom right. You may have more than one active connection (e.g. wired and Wi-Fi) so be sure to jot both down.

Under the TCP/IP header, note down your IP address, subnet and router details.

IP Address Network

On your iPhone or iPad

Launch the Settings app on your iOS device. Near the top, you'll see an item called "Wi-Fi". If you're already connected to Wi-Fi, you should see the name of the network next to it. Tap the Wi-Fi menu and press the "i" circle for information which includes your device's IP address.

Wifi on iOS

Please provide the IP address, subnet and router details.

Wifi on iOS - details

 2. What kind of network is it?

Are you on a home, office, university network?

Certain networks are naturally restrictive, such as corporate networks. Wired and wireless devices may be on different networks, or isolated from each other. Tell us as much as you know about your network and any setup differences that could make it non-standard.

3. Did you try restarting both your Mac and iOS device?

In rare cases, the protocol provided by Apple that allows an app to say "I'm here!" (called Bonjour) may need to be restarted. Try this first, as your connection issues may resolve themselves.

4. When you go to the "Add iOS Remote" step on your Mac, can your iOS device see the Mac at all?

On your Mac, go to Alfred's Remote preferences. Check the "Enable Alfred Remote Server" and click on "Add iOS Remote" in the bottom right.

Now, on your iOS device, launch Remote so that it says "Looking for Alfred" at the top.

Add Remote on iPhone

Can your iPhone/iPad see your Mac at all? If you can see your Mac, tap it to select it.

Let us know whether you can get to this screen, or further on to the Passcode screen.

5. Are you running anything that could block connections?

Alfred Remote will happily work with the macOS Firewall, provided that you allow the application to accept incoming network connections. Click "Allow" when macOS presents you with this message, or go to Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options to allow Remote.

Remote Connection

If network-restricting applications like Little Snitch, NetBarrier or similar are running on your Mac or elsewhere on your network, these may be stopping Alfred from connecting correctly.

Similarly, if your macOS firewall or a third-party firewall is active, this may restrict your connection. You can see whether your macOS firewall is active by launching System Preferences to Security & Privacy > Firewall.

If there are any other non-standard settings on your network not covered above, please tell us when reporting your issue. While some settings may seem unrelated, the information may help resolve your connection issues. :)

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