How to enable Remote View and Remote Control for macOS devices

The Remote View and Remote Control feature of Hexnode UEM is a monitoring tool that helps administrators remotely connect to an endpoint’s display in real time. By starting a remote view session, you can actively diagnose device-end issues and detect device incidents. Using the Remote Control feature, administrators can access and control remote devices to troubleshoot and fix errors on their remote devices in real time.

Configuring Remote View and Remote Control settings on Hexnode

To get started, you need to ensure you’ve enabled the Hexnode Remote View widget from the Admin settings.

1. Go to the Admin tab and open the General Settings sub-tab.
2. Scroll down to find the Remote View & Control Settings section.
3. Select the checkbox corresponding to Enable Remote View and Enable Remote Control.
   
4. Save the settings.

Starting the Remote View session

Pre-requisite:

You must install the Hexnode Remote Assist app on the system before proceeding. To check if the app is already installed on the device, navigate to Manage > Devices and select your device. Under the Device Summary sub-tab, find the Enrollment Details section and check if Hexnode Remote Assist app is installed on the device.

If it says ‘No’, you may click on the update icon to initiate a fresh installation of the app on the device.

It might take some time to download and install the app on the device. If you’ve already installed the app, initiate the Scan Device action to refresh the status.

To start a remote view session for your macOS system,

1. Navigate to the Manage tab and select your device from the Devices list.
2. Find the Remote View widget under the Device Summary sub-tab.
3. Verify the requirements stated and click on Start Session.

While connecting to the device, you may see the following statuses on the remote view window,

• “Connecting to device” – Hexnode is attempting to connect to the display or is waiting for the user to grant screen sharing permission.
• “Permission granted” – The request to connect to the device has been granted, and you’ll shortly be able to view the device screen.
• “Session expired” – The connection request has timed out. Please reattempt by clicking on Restart.

Click on the expand icon to enter into full-screen view.

Starting the Remote Control session

1. In the Remote View widget, ensure that there is already an ongoing remote view session.
2. Click on Request Control.
3. To stop the Remote Control session, click on Stop Remote Control.

What happens at the device end?

When you initiate the remote view session from the Hexnode console, the device should receive a prompt to grant screen-sharing permission. Click Accept to grant permission.

When you initiate the Remote Control session, the device should receive a prompt to grant screen control permission. Click Accept to grant permission.

You can also use the Hexnode Remote Assist app to grant permission or select an alternate display screen for devices connected to multiple displays. Once a remote session request has been initiated from the Hexnode console, the app will start automatically, and the app icon will appear on the system menu bar. Click on the icon and select Open Hexnode Remote Assist to open the app.

To grant permissions from the Hexnode Remote Assist app, open the app and select Allow Once or Always Allow for Remote View and Remote Control.

• Allow Once: This option grants the requested permission once. After the session ends, the Hexnode Remote Assist app will no longer have remote access unless permission is granted again.
• Always Allow: This option grants the permission always when requested, or until the user manually revokes them. Once selected, the app can use Remote View and Remote Control as needed without requiring the user to reauthorize each time.

If you select the Deny option for Remote View, even if the permission is set to Allow Once or Always Allow for Remote Control, it will revoke the permission for the entire session. However, if you select Deny only for Remote Control, the permission to control the device will be revoked, but you will still be able to view the screen remotely.

Once you’ve granted permission, you may select an alternate screen to cast. Click on Select Screen, choose the display and click on Done.

Terminating the remote view session

To terminate the remote view session, click on the Stop button. On the end device, the user will be notified as – “Your administrator has terminated the remote session.”

The user may also manually terminate the remote view session from the Hexnode Remote Assist app by clicking Revoke Permission.