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How to Remotely Restart or Shut Down Your Mac
Don't power off a sleeping Mac; use a remote restart instead
By Tom Nelson Tom Nelson Writer Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 28, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apple Macs iPad What to Know
On remote Mac: Open System Preferences > Sharing. Check the box next to Screen Sharing. Copy the address of the remote Mac.On local Mac: Open Finder or click the desktop. Select Go in the menu bar and choose Connect to Server.Enter the remote Mac address in format vnc://123.456.7.89. Select Connect. In the remote window, select Apple > Shut Down or Restart. This article explains how to remotely restart or shut down a Mac using Screen Sharing. It also contains information on using the Remote Login function. This information applies to Macs with macOS Big Sur (11), macOS Catalina (10.15), or macOS Mojave (10.14).
Remotely Restart or Shut Down a Mac With Screen Sharing
There are two ways to remotely access a Mac on your local network. The first is through the Screen Sharing function, which is disabled by default. On the Remote Mac Computer
To enable Screen Sharing on the remote Mac computer: Open System Preferences. Either go to the Dock and click the System Preferences icon or go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Select Sharing in the System Preferences pane. Select the Screen Sharing check box. Save or write down the network name of the remote Mac. On a Local Mac Computer
On a local Mac computer, follow these instructions to shut down or restart the remote computer: Open Finder or click anywhere on the desktop. From the menu bar, select Go and then choose Connect to Server. In the Connect to Server window, enter either the address or the network name of the remote Mac in the format vnc://numeric.address.ofthe.mac. For example, vnc://192.168.1.25. Alternatively, enter the network name of the remote Mac after the dashes, for example, vnc://MyMacsName. Select Connect. Depending on how you set up Screen Sharing, you may be asked for a name and password. Enter the appropriate information and then select Connect. A new window opens that displays the remote Mac's desktop. Move the mouse cursor into the remote desktop window, go to the menu bar and select the Apple icon. Select Shut Down to shut down the target Mac computer or select Restart to restart it. Use Remote Login to Shut Down or Restart a Mac
The second way is through the Remote Login function, which requires the use of Terminal, the Mac command-line interface. This feature is disabled by default and must be enabled on the remote Mac before you can control it from another computer. On the Remote Mac
Launch System Preferences. Either go to the Dock and click System Preferences or go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Select Sharing in the System Preferences pane. Select the Remote Login check box to enable remote login. Next to Allow access for, select Only these users. To add more users and groups, select the + icon and choose from the list that appears. Save or write down the command to access the remote Mac. It is listed above the Users panel and will look like ssh user@IPaddress. For example, ssh george@192.168.1.50. On the Local Mac
Now access the remote Mac from a Mac on the same network. Open Terminal. Select Applications > Utilities > Terminal. In Terminal, type the remote login command. This is the command you saved from the Sharing preferences pane on the remote Mac. It should look like ssh user@IPaddress. This gives you login access to the remote Mac. You may need to input your administrator-level password. To shut down the remote Mac, type sudo shutdown -h now. To restart the remote Mac, type sudo shutdown -r now. Instead of now, type +n, with n representing a number in minutes that will elapse before the command is executed. For example, sudo shutdown -r +5 will reboot the remote Mac in five minutes. If you shut down or reboot the Mac from the SSH command line, you may immediately lose your SSH connection. This behavior is expected. You can re-authenticate as soon as the remote machine has rebooted. How to Wipe Your Mac Remotely Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Connect to a Server How to Delete a File in Terminal on Your Mac How to Properly Reboot (Restart) a Windows Computer How to Reset Your Mac's PRAM or NVRAM (Parameter RAM) How to Map a Network Drive on a Mac How to Share Your Internet Connection on a Mac via Wi-Fi How to Screen Share With Another Mac's Desktop Mac Screen Sharing How to Restart a Mac in Recovery Mode How to Restore a Mac to an Earlier Date How to Back up Your Mac to an External Hard Drive With Time Machine How to Screen Share on a Mac How to Turn Your MacBook on or Off How to Remove Preference Panes From Your Mac How to Turn Off VoiceOver on a Mac How to Close Applications on Mac Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies