Guide

Connecting to the remote desktop

The full macOS desktop of the rented Mac from Windows or a Mac: Tailscale, a VNC viewer and signing in.

You connect to the rented Mac through the encrypted Tailscale network. The whole setup takes about 10 minutes, and the first hour of every rental is free, so you can set everything up in peace.

In our email with login details you get your username, the address of the Mac (it looks like 100.81.0.7) and, for remote desktop, a password. Wherever this guide says USERNAME and ADDRESS, use the values from that email.

For remote desktop you send us only the email of your Tailscale account. You sign in with the username and password from our email.

Windows

1. Install Tailscale

  1. Go to tailscale.com/download, choose Windows and install the app.
  2. Open it, click Log in and sign in with Google, Microsoft, GitHub or email. This creates your free Tailscale account.
  3. Check that the icon at the bottom right of the taskbar shows Connected.
  4. Send us the email address you signed in with.
  5. Once we share the Mac with you, Tailscale sends you an invitation email. Click Accept. The Mac then appears in your list of devices in the Tailscale app.

2. Install a VNC viewer

Download RealVNC Viewer from realvnc.com and install it. You only need the Viewer, not the server. It supports signing in with a macOS username and password.

3. Connect

  1. Type ADDRESS into the field at the top and press Enter.
  2. Confirm the warning about encryption or an unknown computer with Continue.
  3. Sign in with USERNAME and the password from our email.
  4. The macOS desktop appears. Close the window when you are done; everything you started keeps running.

Mac

1. Install Tailscale

  1. Go to tailscale.com/download, choose macOS and install the app.
  2. Open it and allow the VPN configuration when asked, click Log in and sign in with Google, Microsoft, GitHub, Apple or email. This creates your free Tailscale account.
  3. Check that the icon in the menu bar at the top shows Connected.
  4. Send us the email address you signed in with.
  5. Once we share the Mac with you, Tailscale sends you an invitation email. Click Accept. The Mac then appears in your list of devices in the Tailscale app.

2. Connect

There is nothing to install: Screen Sharing is part of macOS.

  1. Click the desktop so that Finder is active.
  2. In the menu bar choose Go → Connect to Server… (or press ⌘K).
  3. Enter vnc://ADDRESS and click Connect.
  4. Sign in with USERNAME and the password from our email. If you are offered a choice, pick logging in as yourself.
  5. Screen Sharing opens with the desktop of the rented Mac. Close the window when you are done; everything you started keeps running.

Troubleshooting

When the rental ends

We permanently delete your account and all its files and stop sharing the Mac in Tailscale. Copy everything you want to keep before the rental ends, for example to a cloud drive.

Stuck? Write to jakub@mokris.cz and attach a screenshot or the error text. We usually reply within minutes.

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