Starting with macOS Mojave (10.14) and macOS Catalina (10.15), you must give the Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions to VNC Connect. If you do not grant these permissions you will see a blank screen in VNC Viewer and/or have view-only access.
Please follow the steps below to set up VNC Connect for macOS correctly. These steps must be done locally on the remote computer itself, they cannot be done remotely or via the command line.
Device Access
Screen Recording (fixes black screen) - Catalina (10.15) and later
- Open System Preferences:
- Click Security & Privacy:
- Click Privacy:
- Click Screen Recording:
- Click the lock button to make changes, and then enter an administrator's username and password:
- If vncagent is listed, place a check/tick next to it, and then click the lock icon again:
Skip Step 7. - Otherwise, you will need to connect to VNC Server from VNC Viewer. Once you have connected, vncagent will appear in the list. Once vncagent is listed, go back to Step 6.
Accessibility (fixes view-only)
- Open System Preferences:
- Click Security & Privacy:
- Click Privacy:
- Click Accessibility:
- Click the lock button to make changes, and then enter an administrator's username and password:
- If vncagent is listed, place a check/tick next to it, and then click the lock icon again:
Skip Step 7. - Otherwise, click the + button:
then navigate to/Library/vnc/vncagent
and select the Open button:
and then click the lock icon again.
Instant Support
App is downloaded from the internet - Catalina (10.15) and later
You must specifically allow Instant Support to be opened on install as it is downloaded from the internet.
Click Open to allow the application to run.
App cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software - Catalina (10.15) and later
The below message will appear if you are using a custom branded version of Instant Support.
To launch a branded version of Instant Support, you need to follow the below steps.
- Click Show in Finder:
- Locate the Instant Support app you downloaded in the list of files:
- Right-click (or Control-click) the app icon, then click Open on the menu:
- Click Open:
- The app is saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can open it at any time by double-clicking it, just as you do with any registered app.
Screen Recording (fixes black screen) - Catalina (10.15) and later
Your end users may see a prompt similar to the below when opening Instant Support.
The end user will need to grant this permission so that you can view their screen.
- Open System Preferences:
- Click Security & Privacy:
- Click Privacy:
- Click Screen Recording:
- Click the lock button to make changes, and then enter an administrator's username and password:
- If Instant Support is listed, place a check/tick next to it, and then click the lock icon again:
Skip Step 7. - Otherwise, you will need to connect to connect to the end user using Instant Support from VNC Viewer. Once you have connected, Instant Support will appear in the list. Once Instant Support is listed, go back to Step 6.
Accessibility (fixes view-only)
Your end users may see a prompt similar to the below when opening Instant Support.
The end user will need to grant this permission so that you can control their screen.
- Open System Preferences:
- Click Security & Privacy:
- Click Privacy:
- Click Accessibility:
- Click the lock button to make changes, and then enter an administrator's username and password:
- If Instant Support is listed, place a check/tick next to it, and then click the lock icon again:
Skip Step 7. - Otherwise, click the + button:
then navigate to the location where the Instant Support app was downloaded (typically Downloads) and select the Open button:
and then click the lock icon again.
Comments
Super helpful! I had been frustrated about this for months.
Be sure to adjust it on the computer with vnc server on it.
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