RemoteX

Support

RemoteX 1.0 · macOS 15 or later

Most problems with a remote desktop are one of four things: the server is not running, nothing can reach it, the password is not the one macOS expects, or a permission has not been granted. In that order.

Connecting to another computer

"Connection refused" or it times out

Nothing is listening at the far end, or nothing can get to it. Check that the other machine has its remote desktop server switched on — on Windows that is Settings → System → Remote Desktop, on another Mac it is Start Server in RemoteX's menu bar. Then check that its firewall allows port 3389, and that you are on a network that can reach it.

If the machine is somewhere else on the internet, the connection needs a route to it: a forwarded port on its router, a VPN, or something like Tailscale. RemoteX connects directly and does not relay through a server of ours, so it cannot get through a router that has not been told to let it.

The login is rejected

Use the account name and password you would type at the far machine's own login window. On a Mac that is the short account name — the one that matches the home folder — not the full name and not an Apple Account. On Windows it may need the domain prefix, DOMAIN\\username.

It connects, then the screen stays dark

The session is up but the far machine is not sending frames. If it is a Mac running RemoteX, that Mac has not been granted Screen Recording — see below. Give it fifteen seconds after the grant; the server picks it up on its own.

The picture is soft, or lags when I drag

Session quality follows the connection. On a slow or lossy link, reducing the session window size helps more than anything else, because there are fewer pixels to send. Over Tor expect noticeably higher latency — it is several relays each way, by design.

Hosting — letting others connect to this Mac

The server will not start

The menu bar will say why. The usual cause is that Screen Recording has not been granted, and RemoteX waits rather than starting something that would fail at the first login.

Granting Screen Recording

macOS does not let an app ask for Screen Recording with a prompt you can accept in place — the switch has to be flipped by hand. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording and turn RemoteX on. The server starts itself as soon as the grant lands; you do not need to restart anything.

If RemoteX is not in that list, start the server once — asking is what puts it there.

The remote keyboard and mouse do nothing

That is Accessibility. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and turn RemoteX on. Without it you get a session you can see but not use.

Run RemoteX from the Applications folder

macOS ties these permissions to where an app lives as well as to how it is signed. A copy run from Downloads, from a disk image, or from anywhere other than /Applications can behave as though it has no permissions at all, with no error to explain it. Drag it to Applications first.

Nobody can reach this Mac

The menu bar shows the address to hand out. Check that both machines are on the same network, that macOS's firewall is not blocking incoming connections (System Settings → Network → Firewall), and that the other end is connecting to port 3389.

Hosting is greyed out or missing

Hosting requires an Apple silicon Mac. Connecting out works on any Mac running macOS 15 or later.

Reporting a problem

Email support@remotex.app and include:

• What you were doing, and what happened instead
• Which half — connecting out, or hosting
• Both machines: model, macOS or Windows version
• Anything the app or the menu bar said

Logs are written to ~/Library/Logs/RemoteX. Attaching the most recent one usually turns a report into a fix.